Discussing politics with people who don't share your views........

[whitehall]

Only a couple of years ago a republican Tea Party member could enter a left wing establishment and even engage in political banter without a problem. Today the same encounter might lead to assault or worse. What happened? Why did the democrat equivalent of a republican Tea Party member take a freaking gun and try to murder conservative republican members of congress last year? The liberal media isn't curious. Why did a small town small restaurant owner try to assault the Press secretary in the Trump administration when few people would have even recognized the name of Obama's press secretary two years ago? Maybe democrats go freaking mad cow crazy when they lose an election. TDS is the only thing that would explain it.

 

[SassyIrishLass]

LOL I'll just put this here....leftists, smh

My nephew tried to school me on cultural appropriation. It didn't end well.

My nephew tried to school me on cultural appropriation. It didn't end well.

 

[Vastator]

You know, there has been a lot of talk (mostly by comedians) about how people like to live in an echo chamber and only talk with others who think like them. Some have said that discussing politics with someone who doesn't agree with you is a way to mend the divide and learn compromise. Face to face negotiation has been proven to lead to compromise and understanding.

Turns out that ain't the case when it comes to the Internet. Seems that if you are discussing politics with a person different than your group can actually be worse than living in a bubble, because people will dig in even harder in their views. I guess the lack of face to face communication is what causes it to happen.

Caught in a political echo chamber? Listening to the opposition can make partisanship even worse

Dwelling in a political echo chamber — where you only encounter people who agree with you — is hardly conducive to a healthy democracy.


But it turns out that broadening your horizons by perusing opposing points of view on social media may just make the partisan divide worse.


That’s the depressing result of an unusual experiment involving 909 Democrats and 751 Republicans who spend a lot of time on Twitter.


“Attempts to introduce people to a broad range of opposing political views on a social media site such as Twitter might be not only ineffective but counterproductive,” researchers reported this week in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.




Political polarization is on the rise in America, and the results aren’t pretty, the study authors explained.


“Americans are deeply divided on controversial issues such as inequality, gun control, and immigration,” they wrote. “Partisan divisions not only impede compromise in the design and implementation of social policies but also have far-reaching consequences for the effective function of democracy more broadly.”


The researchers, led by Duke University sociologist Christopher Bail, set out to do something about this problem by harnessing the power of Twitter.


They already knew people become more inclined to compromise on political issues when they spend time with people who hold opposing views. Face-to-face meetings can override negative stereotypes about our adversaries, paving the way for negotiation.

We’ve reached a point... And this point always comes... Just like in a bad marriage; where there’s nothing left to say. No more compromise. No more going along, for the sake of getting along... Eventually there comes a time when the different sides have to fight it out; or go their separate ways. Unfortunately, (or fortunately) it seems that’s the point we’re at.

 

[task0778]

Newsflash.
We talk past each other.

There is no discussing anything with Trumpers and really not much chance of a real discussion with Republicans in general.

No matter what evidence is presented to them...the response is always

Hillary!!!....or Obama!!!!...

The only reason I bother is to counter their bullshit for any open minded people out there

I read this and I have to laugh. Do you really think the anti-Trumpers are any different from their counterparts? Do you really think the Liberal/Progessives are any more open-minded? I don't know that most people out there in America are anywhere near as politically motivated as most of us are in here. Most of them are too concerned with their day to day concerns.

 

[Lesh]

Only a couple of years ago a republican Tea Party member could enter a left wing establishment and even engage in political banter without a problem. Today the same encounter might lead to assault or worse. What happened? Why did the democrat equivalent of a republican Tea Party member take a freaking gun and try to murder conservative republican members of congress last year? The liberal media isn't curious. Why did a small town small restaurant owner try to assault the Press secretary in the Trump administration when few people would have even recognized the name of Obama's press secretary two years ago? Maybe democrats go freaking mad cow crazy when they lose an election. TDS is the only thing that would explain it.

About 5 years ago I took a Tea Partier sailing. What a mistake. I tried everything I could do to avoid political discussion and was treated to a 6 hour compilation of the Rush Limpdick show.

Needless to say that didn't happen again

 

[candycorn]

Well Mac, you can see it here on these boards everyday. I think that the anonymous nature of message boards makes people less likely to compromise.

What concerns me is that I'm seeing more and more of this manic behavior in real life. More and more people I talk to and see are walking around, one inch away from completely losing their shit on someone. Screaming, not listening, ever.
.

And you don't even notice the high correlation with them being leftists, do you?

No, not at all. Sometimes when talking with a new client about taxes, they go off on the same shallow, naive talking points I hear on talk radio and see here daily.

Lefties see more volatile and angry, Righties seem more trained and obedient.

Just my observation, of course.
.

Righties here routinely prescribe civil war as a remedy to all our ills. Your observation is inaccurate

 

[tycho1572]

No, not at all. Sometimes when talking with a new client about taxes, they go off on the same shallow, naive talking points I hear on talk radio and see here daily.

Lefties see more volatile and angry, Righties seem more trained and obedient.

Just my observation, of course.
.

The left "debates" on emotion. The right on logic

There’s also a level of ignorance involved.
I saw that when a leftist woman at work joined me for lunch. I don’t think she’ll be doing that again. lol

You debate one leftist you've debated them all, same talking points and when you corner them they scream "you racist, bigoted, homophobe!!!!" and run away

That particular woman has known me for years from work. She knows I’m in the habit of respecting everyone.

She sat down when she noticed I was watching Fox News. That’s when I realized she was a leftist.
That’s also when she learned I’m a Trump supporter.

LOL, yes, they are nuts.

I work with a leftist. We walked in the break room and FoxNews was on. He said, "I can't watch Fox News and changed the channel to CNN without asking me." Then he asked about it. I said either is fine, I like a variety of channels. I never discuss politics at work or with people I don't know in general.

He's not a jerk, he's a nice guy. But he makes comments that he thinks I'm a Trump supporter since then. It amuses me, I haven't told him no, I'm not a Republican at all and didn't vote for them. Just not going to discuss it.

Trump supporters are overwhelmingly quiet about it at work. Leftists always make it known

While we have several break rooms throughout the hospital, I usually eat in the cafeteria with others.
Talking politics at work is also discouraged.

That said; this leftist saw me watching Fox on my phone and decided to join me. lol
I’m thinking/hoping it’ll be the last time she does that.

 

[SassyIrishLass]

Well Mac, you can see it here on these boards everyday. I think that the anonymous nature of message boards makes people less likely to compromise.

What concerns me is that I'm seeing more and more of this manic behavior in real life. More and more people I talk to and see are walking around, one inch away from completely losing their shit on someone. Screaming, not listening, ever.
.

And you don't even notice the high correlation with them being leftists, do you?

No, not at all. Sometimes when talking with a new client about taxes, they go off on the same shallow, naive talking points I hear on talk radio and see here daily.

Lefties see more volatile and angry, Righties seem more trained and obedient.

Just my observation, of course.
.

Righties here routinely prescribe civil war as a remedy to all our ills. Your observation is inaccurate

Who's the masked marauders showing up at events using violence and which side are they on? Hint it's starts with an A and ends with an A

 

[Lesh]

Who's the masked marauders showing up at events using violence and which side are they on? Hint it's starts with an A and ends with an A

And who are they confronting?

White nationalist racists and fascists.

Ya know...your buddies

 

[SassyIrishLass]

Who's the masked marauders showing up at events using violence and which side are they on? Hint it's starts with an A and ends with an A

And who are they confronting?

White nationalist racists and fascists.

Ya know...your buddies

Wrong shithead, I think they're all idiots....and if anyone are fascists it's ANIFTA but an idiot leftist won't recognize a fascist...them being one

Keep picking and I'll keep kicking your dentures in.

 

[Pete7469]

If your point was that there is at least one idiot on both sides, then congratulations. I award you with an honorary degree as master of the obvious

And yes, I know you're an authoritarian leftist who believes anyone who thinks we should be allowed to make our own choices is a lunatic. That's not new information either. Just FYI, government has demonstrated none of these magical powers to make our lives better by making our choices for us that you ascribe to them.

You on the other hand do normal things like call people racists and tell them that your military experience taught you how useless guns are for defending yourself

ABedwettingSailor is just another drone. He doesn't have anything to say he isn't parroting from Huff Po or some other agitprop website.

Bravo on that merciless rebuke. If he had a frontal lobe he'd be driven to drink himself to death out of a sense of shame.


.

 

[dblack]

TDS is the only thing that would explain it.

But what explains "TDS"?

 

[tycho1572]

Oh no. I think you're triggered Sassy!

The tourettes always comes out when they're triggered

And internet tough guy acts?

Pathethic

Your post reminded me of an episode of South Park...



lol

 

[Natural Citizen]

Well Mac, you can see it here on these boards everyday. I think that the anonymous nature of message boards makes people less likely to compromise.

Compromise is a very destructive thing in politics. Especially when both political parties are putting out bad legislation that serves only to erode liberties. And compoubnded by the fact that many in the electorate haven't yet been taught the proper role of government. What happens is we get a good dose of all of the bad legislation when there's compromise. And liberties are therefore destroyed in a bipartisan effort.

As far as discussion boards go, especially where there is no defined mission statement, you're gonna get nothing but disagreement. Voting is likely the scope of political action for most Americans, however.

I contend that the most dangerous faction in the American political faction is the extreme center. Reason being is because if they have their way, we'll get nailed by every bit of bad legislation that comes out of DC from both theoretical parties. Again, though, all they really do is vote, so...

That said, I have friends on both political sides. I learn things from from all of them in some way. In fact, I agree with them a great deal in terms of the problems wit hwhich we're faced in America today.

It's their solutions where I tend to separate from them.

 

[Lesh]

It's their solutions where I tend to separate from them.

And your solutions are?

 

[Natural Citizen]

And there's no such thing as anonymity.

 

[Natural Citizen]

It's their solutions where I tend to separate from them.

And your solutions are?

We have a very good guide. The Constitution.

It is not necessary that we all agree on everything. It is only necessary that we agree that we should all be free.

 

[dblack]

... It is only necessary that we agree that we should all be free.

Unfortunately there's no longer consensus on that.

 

[Pumpkin Row]

Newsflash.
We talk past each other.

There is no discussing anything with Trumpers and really not much chance of a real discussion with Republicans in general.

No matter what evidence is presented to them...the response is always

Hillary!!!....or Obama!!!!...

The only reason I bother is to counter their bullshit for any open minded people out there

Implying, of course, that any criticism of Obama wasn't met with "You're a racist". The vast majority of leftists are just as bad as the Trump supporter who believes any criticism of Trump makes you a slack-jawed idiot.

 

[Natural Citizen]

... It is only necessary that we agree that we should all be free.

Unfortunately there's no longer consensus on that.

I think the biggest issue is that freedom just isn't understood.

But, you know, that's what we're here for. Plant seeds...