@sadiesayit Well sure, I think we answer “yes” because it’s what we aspire to and consider to to be the “correct” answer, but even on a subconscious level we may defend people who seem to be “one of us”. Just going off of the politician example, I frequently encounter people making excuses for behavior from politicians from their own party or ideological leaning, behavior they would hastily condemn if the politicians were from the opposite party. They’re not necessarily doing it flagrantly, it’s just how we are. We don’t like it when people who identify with us engage in bad behavior, so we ignore it or cover it up or make excuses. I think a lot of us sometimes have trouble admitting when “our side” is doing something wrong, from what I’ve observed.
And I also recognize that “condemnation” is sometimes requested in bad faith, such as the “where are all the moderate Muslims?” question that comes up every time there’s an Islamic terrorist attack, as if “moderate Muslims” are assumed to be on the side of terrorists by default unless they make the specific condemnation being requested and prove that they’re not radicals. If I were a Muslim, I wouldn’t want to dignify that request.
If things are more nuanced, then by all means discuss it. I’d be interested to hear some examples from people as opposed to simply a “yes” answer.
To respond to @KNOWITALL‘s request, I can think of a time when I brushed off an instance of a gay man hitting on a straight man and trying to “convert” him, behavior that can verge on harassment and is widely condemned when straight men do it to lesbians. It was subconscious for me; I realized afterward that I had automatically tried to make an excuse for him and act like it was no big deal. But even though I am gay myself, I can recognize when other gay guys are being shitty and shouldn’t defend behavior that I’d condemn in someone else.