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Does anyone else get anxiety trying to debate with idiots?

NPVinny

NPVinny

Member
Dec 13, 2017
516
9/10 times it's because of some dumbass Facebook post I see. Like today it was in response to someone posting this:




And I'm like... Do you know how many laws were changed/enacted to make sure 9/11 never happened again? And then I say that with every new gun massacre we can't even pass shit like universal gun checks when a (super! Depending on which poll you go with) majority of Americans want it.

This guy comes back with "hurr do your research idiot there is no majority that wants that. At least not if you look at anyone not named the Brady Institute" and it takes me all of 2 seconds of Google searching to gather half a dozen links to present to the dude.

Now I'm just sitting here waiting to see if they respond and I don't know why I do this to myself. There's some tiny piece of me that really wants to believe that people can change their mind when presented with new information, but I'm really not sure it's worth the added cortisol levels.
 

JasonV

Member
Oct 25, 2017
1,891
You cannot "argue" with people are are not engaging in good faith. You just can't. There's a good series on it you can check out:

 

PRed

Member
Jan 7, 2018
234
Almost no conversation is worth your mental health. Prioritise yourself first.
 
she_esh

she_esh

Member
Sep 12, 2018
17,700
Ireland
Paraphrasing here but "arguing with idiots is like playing chess with a pigeon, eventually they knock all the pieces over and strut across the board like they won". I learned the hard way through countless tedious arguments online
 
nsilvias

nsilvias

Member
Oct 25, 2017
10,172
debating these people only gives credence to their beliefs by making it seem like they might have a valid point. your supposed to ignore them like you ignore the dude with a tinfoil hat that thinks the goverment cant control their mind anymore
 
Alucrid

Alucrid

Chicken Photographer
Member
Oct 25, 2017
8,350
they got a point about nobody needing their own airplane though
 
MisterSnrub

MisterSnrub

Member
Mar 10, 2018
4,140
Someplace Far Away
I used to get flustered, but nowadays it's as though I have a button inside me that gets pressed whenever somebody crosses a certain line of awfulness. I just go cold and all I want to do is verbally brutalise them. Whatever the psychological equivalent of trampling a person's head into the dirt is, that's what I want. Obviously, that is terrible.

Life experience has shown me that bigotry cannot be reasoned with, but you can certainly deepen your own emotional problems by pouring your precious life energy into that void. So leave them to rot on their own. Their existence is misery, just by debating them you are validating the idea they have something worth debating over. Don't.
 
El Bombastico

El Bombastico

Avenger
Oct 25, 2017
21,280
The moment you attempt to argue with them, they've already won. By debating them in good faith you are already acting like their bullshit stances have any sort of logical merit, which is all they care about.
 
purplemonkey111

purplemonkey111

Member
Mar 7, 2020
1,019
USA
Depends. If I'm bored and want to piss someone off, or I got better things to do. Since I will have a better luck developing superpowers then convincing them.
 
Don Fluffles

Don Fluffles

Member
Oct 28, 2017
4,904
Things the 1st amendment don't actually protect
  1. Death threats
  2. Screaming "Fire" in a crowded theater
Can we add "bad faith arguments from the right" to the list?
 
R1CHO

R1CHO

Member
Oct 28, 2017
582
There is nothing to get there.

Idiots are defensive. They believe, don't think.
 
Carbon

Carbon

Member
Oct 27, 2017
2,811
Having worked at a company with a person on staff who's borderline Q crazy, anxiety isn't the word I'd use.

It's exhaustion.
 
JohnsonUT

JohnsonUT

Member
Oct 27, 2017
1,006
Something I saw suggested here that I haven’t had a chance to try myself is to out crazy them. “You believe in 9/11. LOL!”

Basically if you can’t ignore them, mock them.
 
TheMadTitan

TheMadTitan

Member
Oct 27, 2017
16,010
Debating idiots is a hobby of mine. You work em right, you can get them visibly annoyed and pissed off.

Might not change their mind, but changing their mind isn't the point. The goal is to:
  1. Piss them off
  2. Get any fence straddling witnesses to consider logic and reason before they go down that rabbit hole
  3. Barrage them consistently enough until they enter that phase of self reflection that will either put them on the right path eventually or cause them to double down.
    1. Piss them off some more if they double down.
I get lots of enjoyment out of #1, of course.
 
Irene

Irene

Member
Feb 22, 2021
525
I have a childhood friend that I kinda don't consider friend anymore, since they've been acting problematically. I've debated them once before and they're just .. well, an idiot, that is the embodiment of confirmation bias and all that. I've blocked them now, just the thought of even talking to them exhausts me.
 
Wrapped in Black

Wrapped in Black

Member
Mar 10, 2018
6,577
nsilvias said:
debating these people only gives credence to their beliefs by making it seem like they might have a valid point. your supposed to ignore them like you ignore the dude with a tinfoil hat that thinks the goverment cant control their mind anymore
Click to expand...
Click to shrink...
You can’t ignore half the motherfucking country. It’s like trying to ignore the roach infestation in your house, meanwhile some of them are already sleeping in your bed with you.
 
SpaceBridge

SpaceBridge

Member
Oct 31, 2017
2,161
I mean I dunno if I agree with not engaging with racist conspiracy alt right but jobs. Not countering their takes let’s them spread it.

That being said; it’s exhausting and I’ve yet to witness any of them change views. Some eventually go mask off though which maybe is a win.
 
matrixman92

matrixman92

Member
Oct 26, 2017
5,110
Early on in quarantine I would waste hours and hours of my day arguing with people on Facebook. What a waste of my life. I finally just broke the cycle and stopped going on Facebook as much. There was one time where I legit spent like 80% of the day arguing with people. Horrible way to live. And yeah it does give me anxiety.
 
Forerunner

Forerunner

The Fallen
Oct 30, 2017
8,848
San Diego


Seriously though, it is a waste of time. Facts do not change people's beliefs, this has been shown with the backfire effect if anything all it does is strengthen their convictions.
 
TheKeipatzy

TheKeipatzy

Member
Oct 30, 2017
916
California for now
I don't get anxiety because there's nothing to be anxious about.

I guess it's because I was grilled in since 15 to be an apologetic and defend one's reasoning for believing things so to me it's always fun to go for it.

That said I would never do that on Facebook. Facebook is way too crazy and derivative and Twitter's even worse.

I guess being called an apostate and stuff by j dubs and even worse things by right wing people that's not affected by it on face to face.
 
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