Last night I went to the bar to watch basketball. Instead, I got the full litany of RWTPs. [View all]

[NRaleighLiberal]

Place was packed, only one seat left at the bar and I made the mistake of turning to the person next to me and commenting that the game seems to be starting a bit late. There must be a Seinfeld/Curb Your Enthusiasm type descriptive term for what happened next when the fellow next to me saw the opening - gave him a centimeter, and he took over my evening.

I guess it is good practice every now and then to end up sitting next to someone that is your polar opposite in terms of ideology. Among the wonderful lines I had thrown at me (and gleefully rebutted)...

"this global warming stuff is just another case of politics and big government trying to brainwash people. I remember a few years ago when the weather around here was really cold...The government is telling the scientists what to say"

"I believe in evolution - and that we will evolve into where sperm count lowers and we have fewer babies - so carbon emissions will be reduced, and we will evolve to be able to deal with it"

"My wife and I are in therapy because she just doesn't get me.... I really think money is the most important thing and I also think that man should be the hunter/gatherer/wage earner, and my wife should be the one staying home with the kids"

"the only things that should be government-led are our country's defense - everything else should be privatized"

and that is just a small selection of where the chat went over the 2.5 hours I was there.

Oh the fun I had.....the poor beleaguered fellow didn't know what hit him as I whacked away every talking point he had and he ended up saying "hey man, you really made me think about some of these things"

But - and I guess this is the learning - when you are face to face with someone, you actually engage with facts - the internet is so different when you can just toss any old insult or throw away comment at someone. Just reinforced how important it is for people to actually talk. I really think I may have put a pinprick into his right-wing bubble that he clearly lived in his whole life.