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Should you debate a liberal?

Should you even try to have a debate with someone who won't even listen to your side of a debate?

LetaEaglefeather 7 Mar 12
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17 comments

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0

Yes, only if I need a pass time

0

There are the few and far between liberals who can engage in fair ,factual rational debate without resorting to demeaning personal ( although meritless) insults ,but when you can it’s quite enjoyable.
But don’t think it will be long before they’re completely extinct.

Lack of knowledge and understanding leads a person towads a non prolific debate.

1

Better chance arguing with a fencepost

Sometimes it feels that way. I tried to have a rational conversation with a declared liberal and they just started yelling at me that i was a racist . That i refused to listen ect. All over the question how do we for all the freebie stuff they wanted feom the government. Hence why my question here.

3

I have spent the better part of the decade working on communicating across ideological divides on social media and I won't to point out a couple issues I have with this question -

The first is you ask about debating a liberal, and then follow it up with the implication that liberals "won't even listen to your side of the debate". Labels can be vague things and imprecise things. Most on this site would not appreciate having their world view or ability to communicate reduced to a single word, so it only seems fair that we be careful about doing the same in kind.

To answer your question in the spirit I believe it to have been meant, I would say yes. We should always strive to debate those that may disagree with us. For multiple reasons, the most obvious being that we think we're correct and if we're correct we should look to share the fact that we are correct. But just as important is the fact that in most things we aren't correct, and its through discussion with those who have a differing perspective that we can learn enough to know just how incorrect we are and work to change that deficiency.

Now I'm sure we're all thinking "Yea but it's like talking to a brick wall where my points are misinterpreted, my intentions misread, and basically everything I say is given the least charitable interpretation and I'm made out to be the villain without even my day in court!"

If you're going to engage with those who disagree with you in the culture wars, be prepared for this outcome 99.99% of the time. If you are not prepared for this losing statistic, then you shouldn't be engaging in the debate. If your goal is to consistently engage with strangers on the internet and convince them that you're correct, you're going to be disappointed. Changing someones mind takes an investment and a level of trust that the average internet user is just not going to grant you. Adapt long term strategies where the goal is to learn the truth, not short term strategies of convincing others that you're right.

And lastly, accept the fact that perhaps the other person has a point, perhaps a very valid point, and that maybe the issue preventing communication is your own inability to admit being incorrect rather than the other individuals. Simple rule of thumb to live by - If two people look at the same thing and have wildly different interpretations, stop thinking that one is right and the other is wrong. Statistically speaking, both are wrong, and need to communicate to move closer towards the truth.

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I thank all of you who have posted thus far . Very good answers to my question. It is all most appreciated

3

Absolutely set rules.

  1. a rew days to gather the information needed
  2. if emotions get out of hand take a break
  3. don't let them take you of the subject they will try
  4. always use facts and let freedom of reseach in the debate
  5. never ever Apologize for being right!! This is a must!
  6. never walk away smug debating is for educating not winning ( a must)
    7 always be confident in the subject at hand your coming from fact's not emotion.
  7. use numers they are indisputable ( from different sources)
  8. have a time limit very important not to get overwhelmed or emotional ( you can debate later on)
3

Debating is a great way to sharpen your conversational skills as well as clarifying your logic. It also helps to read books and focus on specific topics in your research. Watching videos is also good. However, what I've found is that many times one has to start over again and again with each new encounter. The Liberals are myopic and never agree on a logical baseline in their discussion and points.

4

I debated an anti-trump, pro-obama, liberal once by pointing out the absurdity of her argument. I told her that I was perfectly willing to believe her but she hadn't provided any evidence to back up her claims. I was then called a "sad little wanker" by a complete stranger.

It was then that I bailed out of the conversation yet I continued to have a bunch of strangers bombard me with insults.

In conclusion, I don't think it's possible to debate someone that is not willing to listen and just wants to fight.

3

It's not much of a debate if they aren't willing to listen. For me, it is much more important to act right then to have to be right. Once the insults and intimidation begins, I end the discussion before I say things I'm ashamed of later.

2

Well some of my left wing friends told me I shouldn’t, but I’m here for you all.

3

Perhaps a reasonable one but never a leftist

Reasonable leftist here, come at me.

@InternetDorkWeb Let’s look for each other on the various threads here and see where we disagree. Come at me is not exactly a reasonable response under the circumstances

@Clammypollack It was a playful remark, not a serious one. 🙂

5

I would never debate anyone who is not willing to have an honest, open, and respectful dialog. If these are not present, nothing changes.

4

Yes, of course. But don't tell them any facts or you'll hurt their feelings and then you'll just be a racist/sexist/mysogenist/homophobe/Islamophobe (delete as appropriate)!

3

I wouldn't classify all Liberals in same class as the snowflake types. My son who is madly in love with, who he terms as a strongly opinionated feminist, is reluctant to bring her over for a visit. I told him that I would treat her respectfully, but he's worried about any resulting conflicts. This hurts my heart that he would sacrifice a family relationship, but I have to respect his protecting her. Putting her first must mean I did something right, or does it mean I'm a shit mum, not too sure on that, lol

No you raised him right he is doing good protecting her well done.

2

Yes... You should always try to have the discussion, but if it becomes clear that no common ground, compromise or concessions can be made (by either of you), sometimes you just have to agree to disagree and walk away from the conversation.

Unfortunately telling we will have to agree to diagree gets me a time out on facebook lol. I was told that is hate speech.

@LetaEaglefeather And that's why I'm spend more time on here than I do on Facebook, now. 😉

2

Heck yes, do it all the time.

So much fun making fools of them, which is like falling off a log.

4

You should debate an IDEA...regardless of who you are speaking with

Thank you

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