There's also a whole lot of people who point out the middle ground fallacy just so they can avoid examining their own beliefs. No, the correct answer is not always exactly between the two sides. But no, that doesn't mean that one side or the other has a monopoly on recognizing the best way to handle things.

Centrism and objectivity aren't reflexively seeking "the middle," just refusing to buy into either tribe's propaganda and FUD.

My opinion as well. I'm a centrist solely because no party seems to fully define me. It doesn't mean I think we need a split-down-the-middle solution for every problem. Sometimes you need to lean far to one side or another to make things work. That's... fine? Why do people seem to get so upset about this. I swear this sentiment is treated like you're a terrorist for saying it, but I've also never met a single person who can look at any political party and say it represents all of their ideals.

Having talked to many, many, many self-proclaimed centrists. A lot of them are either left- or right-wing moderates who don't want to claim a camp. Primarily because both sides are so polarized these days.

Did you know Elon Musk considers himself center left? Some people think he's a right wing nutjob. Plenty of right wingers think he's a leftist still.

Uh, maybe, but if you're already thinking about things as "just refusing to buy into either tribe's propaganda and FUD." then you're pretty clearly not actually objectively considering reality.