Ok I admit it. I'm prejudiced.

[Bluzmann57]

Against all the dumb so and so's who just keep on spewing rw talking points at the expense of actual facts. The dumb motherfuckers make my blood boil and I prefer to stay away from then, but it's just not always possible. Yesterday, I attempted to talk with one of them, but to no avail. You know the type, "Obama is a Socialist", "Ayers, Wright, terrorists", "No Government regulation on banks", "Obama is a Muslim", and on and on. As already stated, they make me angry. So if they try and talk their stupid shit to me, I am going to have to just walk away so I don't end up in jail. Because I feel a need to beat them even more senseless than they already are. Ok ok, I'm done ranting now.

[Warpy]

1. A simple "Oh, shut up!" should suffice

Anybody who rants about religion, politics or sex to unwilling people needs to be taught he's a blowhard and a clod.

They won't learn manners unless we teach them. Their Mommas sure did a piss poor job of it.

[Flabbergasted]

2. Give them a big smile and laugh....No words necessary. Eye rolls and snorting also effective. nt

[TahitiNut]

3. "Better to be quiet and be thought a fool than open your mouth and remove all doubt."

When folks spew such blatant lies, that's how I respond. With a smile, of course. :silly:

[onlyadream]

4. It's no use arguing with "those ones"

My BIL the other day said, "vote for the white guy!"
My hubby replied, "I didn't know you were a racist!" We all knew BIL is an asshole (in every sense of the word), so I guess we should have known.

[Dogmudgeon]

5. Get them to keep talking

If you get a ranter to "talk it out", they will frequently calm down and stop hating.

A lot of times, they'll even gain insight about the psychological pressure that provoked them to rant, and drop their hateful opinions.

Granted, it's not easy to do this on the spur of the moment, and doing what amounts to therapy with a wingnut is generally impossible, but as a general "tactic", getting a ranter to talk (and to answer non-inflammatory questions) is extremely effective.

--p!