It's Impossible To Argue The Facts When The Other Guy Doesn't Have A Respect For Facts

[stopbush]

Whether it's religion, rednecks or Republicans, presenting and arguing the facts gets you nowhere. Ever notice how fantasy trump facts with these people?

[ThomWV]

1. You can't even have the argument if the other guy can't be depended on to be honest.

[BlooInBloo]

2. Yep. That's why I rarely bother.

[virgogal]

3. Ditto! eom

[Dr Fate]

4. Never argue with a conservative unless a moderate is listening in.

Something I learned years ago- dont argue with a conservative expecting to change his mind- argue with a conservative in order to change the minds of the audience.

If you are making a good case, the moderate will see that you are using facts, while the conservative is ignoring them.

For instance-Here at DU, I never argue with Blue Dogs & DLCers in order to change their minds, but to expose their tactics & lack of concrete values to fence sitters who might be reading the thread...

[ixion]

5. This is the core of the problem, in a nutshell

we've splintered into groups whose dialog in unparsable by those not in there group.

It's the start of something very unfortunate, in my opinion.

[Journeyman]

6. "Facts, sir, are the enemy of truth!" . . .

-- Don Quixote de la Mancha

[Burma Jones]

7. Hence Truthiness

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Truthiness

[gratuitous]

8. So, dispense with the facts, at least initially

There have been a couple of good posts recently where someone has approached some sign-waving, slogan-spouting know-nothing to ask him (usually him) about his sign or his slogan. It takes about three questions to get behind the sign or the slogan, but it becomes obvious really quickly that the fellow doesn't know the first thing about what he's supposed to be protesting. It's at that point that facts become really useful.

[Libertas1776]

9. Dining room tables

don't have the ability to comprehend "facts."

[lunatica]

10. Try making shit up about their so-called heroes

Make up lies about Bush, Palin, Limbaugh et al. Just make shit up. The more outrageous the better. Say you read that the reason Sarah Palin is pissed off at Levi is because she tried to seduce him and he rejected her because she confronted him in bondage gear and begged him to spank her. Tell them Limbaugh has paid millions of dollars for really sleazy hookers, the sleazier the better to grind their high heals into his groin. Or that you heard that Laura Bush said George has a tiny little wee-wee and has never given her an orgasm.

Then watch their heads explode. When they say it isn't true tell them to prove it.

[pipi_k]

11. One reason I refuse to argue about religion is that

IMO, it IS all fantasy.

yeah, the Bible is real, but how do we know that what's in it isn't all fairy tales or the crazy rantings of people with mental problems or on drugs or something?

Not to insult the religious, but really...

there's some seriously messed up stuff in the Bible...