You're a {slur} for believing such {op's source}.
Real {imagined good guys group} like me know the truth and we're better than {punching bag other group}.
{slur} {slur}!
Others are always in bad faith, but not us, duh.
At least that's how it looks like looking at the reports I get.
So many people talk at each other rather than taking to each other.
The idea of talking to each other is flawed anyway. The fact that there are 2 sides to a discussion doesn't automatically validate both sides. Sometimes, many times one side is just objectively wrong.
There's also a third audience most people don't consider: everyone reading the thread that isn't engaging directly.
You might not convince the direct 'opponent' in an internet debate, but can still make an impact on others that might be more open to listening to a new perspective.
Yeah, but behind that wrong side is a valid person, and without a discussion you’ll never know how they ended up on that wrong side. Without knowing how they got there, you’ll never be able to sway them away from the wrong side and they will continue to be wrong.
I think everyone has something worth saying, but in the majority of cases I just don’t have the time, energy, or patience to get to that something.
I'm sorry to tell you that this is naive. Some people are just awful. Telling them they're awful or showing them won't change anything. You're living under the delusion that people at their core are on equal footing of being basically good. They aren't. It takes great effort and introspection to even move the needle toward good, and no one ever achieves it fully.
Take someone like Donald Trump. You think that guy has value buried deep inside? He doesn't. He is proud of his awfulness. You think the right words or right people in his life at 77 years old are going to bring out something meaningful? C'mon...
I don't think he's redeemable because at this point, he's choosing to be what he is. I still empathize a bit with his circumstances, though. He was created to be what he is. I pity him. Same as my ex husband. They both bluster because they are, inside, incredibly insecure. They know on a subconscious level that they don't contribute anything worthwhile, and they fear they aren't worthy of respect or love. So they resort to control and fear.
It is quite pathetic, really. Thank heaven my ex doesn't have Trump's platform. His tyranny is much more localized.
This is a great point for the vast majority of opinions. I have an aunt who's a flaming, angry conservative. She and her husband lost their jobs because of Obama tax increases and he now works as a flunky for his brother.
I understand where she's coming from because I listened. Didn't stop me from blocking her eventually, though. One must limit the amount of toxicity one sees on a daily basis.