Yes, the only reason to say such things to people discussing their lived experiences, is for the entirely selfish reason of exonerating oneself. “Not all white people!” “Not all men!” Not all_______!” (I’ve observed that the type of people who say such things seem to have no problem generalizing blacks, women, Muslims, gay and transgender people…)

Yeah, we know it’s not all men, because if it was, no woman, of any age, would be able to walk five feet, without being sexually assaulted by any man who happened to wander into her orbit.

It’s completely useless to the listener to hear that all men are pigs, except for the one guy claiming he’s special, because, not all of them…So I can only assume the reason for saying it is to absolve the claimant of any guilt about their lack of action.