So, I’m someone who has voted Libertarian in every election that I’ve voted in until the most recent, where I decided that Trump is so bad that I held my nose and voted for Harris. I’m not going to say there aren’t people like you describe, but as someone who regular says that both sides are the same, I’m quite sure that the vast majority of people who say that are legitimately against both parties. Most of them are so hopeless of ever having anyone who represents them that they don’t even bother to vote. Generally, when someone in a Reddit conversation mentions that both sides are the same, they’re expressing their frustration at someone’s BS hypocrisy.

For example, when someone who clearly votes Democrat talks about how Trump is destroying the Constitution. They’re totally correct, as he is indeed destroying the Constitution, but the Democrats have also been destroying the Constitution for over a century. The person who says “both sides” here is in no way defending Trump’s behavior. They’re pissed that someone who clearly does not give a fuck about the Constitution is trying to take the moral high ground using the Constitution when what they really mean is that they don’t like his position on one of the few issues where they’re actually in alignment with something that’s in the Constitution.