I went through exactly this last night. It's funny for a minute or two, but gets exhausting so fast.
this post was submitted on 17 Nov 2024
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I find it's helpful to practice parsing political arguments and recognizing underlying worldviews as well as understanding and applying my own. With the right attitude it can be a compassionate and worthwhile way to put good out into the world. But still, have to be measured with how invested you get and know when to walk away.
Objective Materialism vs Subjective Idealism go brr
It's so weird to me that people will respond to something and then get angry that I don't engage them in debate. People don't owe you anything.
I fell super hard into this in 2020. I would try so hard to gently explain to people that, yes, COVID is real and that, yes, Donald Trump lied about election interference. There was some post about more people in some county voting than were registered. I literally found the county's records and showed them that no, there were more people registered than voted and that the post was a lie. You know what they said? "You found that with Google, which is a liberal source."
It's not worth it. I don't engage. I'm a much more stable and happy person because of it.
Yeah, i had someone dictating my position to me and then debating that made up belief last night. It was surreal.
"Incorrect! You have 2 more guesses for which search engine I used."
I think it was because I told them something like "you can just Google the county's election information" and gave them the official link with the information.
Actually, debate between hostile strangers online serves an important role in churning up internet drama. This is vital to the continued survival of the popcorn industry.
I've changed people's minds with arguments.
Face to face, this is definitely possible. I've convinced more than a dozen people that climate change is real, and humans are the primary cause of it in face to face conversation. Online, where tone is easily misinterpreted, everyone is a stranger, and people are more able to rapidly retreat into a bubble of others that agree with them, I think it does a lot less good - but every once in a while, something works a little bit for someone.
More importantly, if we decide that we should all exist in our isolated bubbles of (non)social acceptance, it leads to the rise of extremism in some of those groups, and even the most terrible ideas can be allowed to fester and grow. Pretty much regardless of who you are, or what you believe, you probably have an example or two of such beliefs.
I did that once, afterwards they hated me.
If you press them too closely, they will abruptly fall silent, loftily indicating by some phrase that the time for argument is past. It is not that they are afraid of being convinced. They fear only to appear ridiculous or to prejudice by their embarrassment their hope of winning over some third person to their side.
-Sartre
Two additional sentences at the end of the often posted quote from "Anti-Semite and Jew". Those two sentences were always included in the quote when I first saw it making it's round years ago. Now it takes hunting to find the complete quote. Most sites cut it off after "the time for argument is past". I wonder who would benefit from us forgetting those last two sentences.
I was always told never to talk about politics or religion because guaran-fuckin-teed you're not going to change someone's mind, and it'll just end in arguments.
Obvious exceptions are politicians/pedophiles but that's neither here nor there
There are a billion topics you can share your opinions about and change people's world-view for the better, please America, SHUT THE FUCK UP ABOUT POLITICS AND RELIGION!!!!! 😂
Yes it's only yous savages
Also, the debate crowd doesn't actually want to hear you to change their minds if new information is presented, they just want a platform to parrot their bullshit in a way they look legit and smart, and they can't do that without the debate. So, as usual, don't feed the troll.
They're absolutely being disingenuous, but I think it's important to keep in mind that the purpose of debate is not generally to change the mind of the person you're debating with. It's intended to be done with an audience (or judges in a formal competitive debate), and it's the audience that you're trying to sway to your side.
Wow thank you for this meme. The comments in the post above this one were absolute dog shit, and I seriously was on the verge of engaging with them. I didn't engage. Yayyyy
I absolutely disagree and want you to change your opinion right now!
Unfortunately, social media is highly influencial of public opinion, so it is a civic responsibility that those with life experience and expertise with things need to engage in. Failure to do so effectively is rolling over for ~~MAGA~~ Nazis 2.0.
We need to be better at rhetoric and debate. Cicero wrote over 2 millenia ago about the power of eloquence.
"Wisdom without eloquence does too little for the good of communities, but eloquence without wisdom is, in most instances, extremely harmful and never beneficial. If, then, anyone exerts all of his energies in the practice of oratory to the neglect of the highest and most honorable pursuits of reason and moral conduct, he is reared as a citizen useless to himself and harmful to his country; but the person who arms himself with eloquence in such a way that enables him not to assault the interest of his country, but rather assist them, this man, in my opinion, will be a citizen most helpful and most devoted both to his own interests and those of the public.”
In recent years, the unwise have weaponized eloquence. The wise among us have failed spectacularly at understanding the importance and power of persuasion.
Won't somebody feed the trolls?!
Trolls like you?
Nazis making shit up and moderation failing to silence them is not a question of eloquence. Fuck off with that.
debates fine but you don't need to finish it or win it. Its a process.
Any tips for organizing in person debates with friends?
Get good at cooking. No, really! People love to eat.
find friends that like to do that sort of thing
Ah yeah? But what if I call you a big Chicken-Butt?
/s
That's what I get for guessing what 😔
I like this.
Also don't forget that a considerable number of the users that would engage in a debate with you are either children or bots.
Or trolls. I swear the internet as a whole forgot that the best way to deal with all of the above (AND idiots!) is to stop engaging.
I blame modern social media. People are too well trained to feed the algo, even here on the fediverse.
The internet would be a different place if you always got to see a picture of who you're arguing with (people would immediately see that I can't be wrong)
Yeah it would be a great place for rightoids to hunt queers and attack them on optics
yes i agree that jd vance should die.
Anything that costs me peace of mind is too expensive for my tastes
This is something I wish I'd learned many years ago
Peaceful arguments is just not a thing online. There is no learning nor seeing the other perspective - Just people being defensive and manipulative.
You win debates for onlookers, you're not meant to change the perspective of the person you're debating, you're meant to make them look like idiots so that any lurkers who quietly agree feel bad and change their viewpoint. The left lost because they weren't willing to do this hard enough.
The on lookers don't care. That's why they are on lookers. The best you might do is prevent someone searching for an ideology blindly adopting some rando's. Honestly, though, if they are letting rando's arguing online form their worldview you are far from actually helping them.
They don't care consciously, but subconsciously they'll know and remember the time and idea was defended badly whenever it comes up, especially if their knowledge on it is a blank or close to blank slate.
If you make it entertaining and thus a source of dopamine, and even better yet very consumable - you've got bonafide content and then people start caring, even if it's only for lulz.
They'll associate your views with intelligent witty dunks and the dopamine they bring and have a favourable view of them.
That's both the model of the "Le angry feminazis!" reaction channels of the post-gamergate world and the hbomberguys of the world, especially his earliee stuff.
It unfortunately also not a thing in real life. Tried to convince my mother's partner that transphobia and homophobia is bad. Best I could do is to him admit it was not about "protecting the children".
It never has been and never will be about protecting the children, not with the full roster of diddlers they keep in positions of authority...
A human trafficking minor fucker was tapped for AG.
Roy Moore, the guy that was supposed to replace Jeff Sessions as senator wasn't allowed in the mall. Too diddly.
"They're not sending their best."
I know it's wrong and primarily unjustified to think this, but sometimes I feel that we've evolved not at all as a species. We've developed fancier stuff, but barbarism is alive and well. It's just wearing an expensive suit now.
Looks around
I'd say it's justified.
If it were constructive it would be called a discussion, not an argument or debate.
It is possible, but especially in the bigger communities its usually just throwing poop at each other(that's at least my experience).
Yeah I've burned a depressing amount of time in conversations that aren't going somewhere. And yet, I keep finding myself back at that toxic ass watering hole 😔
Love this ❤️