Ask Lemmy

Presenting facts to conservatives.

Talking with .ml users, turns out you really can't fix stupid

Figuring out that you can’t change anyone’s mind by arguing online

The only thing you achieve is a dopamine hit for being right

All that they’re great at is detouring, distancing, playing down, doubling-tripling down, disassociating, strawmen and more illogical fallacies.

it's all they have, facts have an overwhelming liberal bias; science and research keep making them look like fools for their decisions and lifestyles; they're going to try to repeal the 19th amendment because they're tired of losing the votes from half the population.

never do they try to fix their problems, address the needs of their base, it's always doubling down on hating some portion of the population that must be to blame, see POC, transfolk, the dark scourge of ANTIFA etc

Arguing with religious people. Especially the ones who ring doorbells

Living in modern society.

I do everything I'm supposed to, i jump through hoops all day all week all year, making the responsible and correct decisions, and there is almost no reward. The reward is I get to keep doing it instead of getting to do anything else with my life. The reward is that I get to keep supporting this system that barely supports me, this system i was born into and never agreed to depend on for survival.

Such is the life of a slave i guess

If the boss doesn’t like you for whatever reason you’re done.

Just get out of there, fighting their bullshit never works.

trusting mods of any social media platform to apply rules unilaterally. you'd be better off trusting a bear while being slathered in bacon grease.

99% of all arguments on the internet. Someone is almost always going to engage in some kind of pedantry, butwhatabout, technicality, argumentative fallacy, etc. to try to make themselves right and/or imply the OP was wrong in some way. They are not open to having their mind changed. Especially when it comes to politics, and there’s essentially no hope for religion at all. This generally applies to IRL discussions, too. At least the internet argument you can just walk away, block, or unsubscribe to any replies to the thread.

In the same vein…expecting anyone to change. People have to change themselves, and it’s not up to you. You can’t make it happen except maybe in the most extreme situations, and even then it might be iffy.

And I hate to say it, apologizing on the internet. Once the downvote train starts and shitting on the offender’s posts there’s almost no way out and any apology isn’t worth the effort. I find this kinda hypocritical seeing as there are numerous internet posts about the value of admitting you don’t know something or might have it wrong, and how we shouldn’t shame people for admitting that, yet if someone screws up and apologizes they’re usually hosed. Just reinforces not apologizing.

Really trying to change anyone's mind online. I've just given up trying to debate evil, I just try to make people laugh at them now.

Of course it's a losing battle. Remember what Sartre said:

Never believe that fascists are completely unaware of the absurdity of their replies. They know that their remarks are frivolous, open to challenge. But they are amusing themselves, for it is their adversary who is obliged to use words responsibly, since he believes in words. The fascists have the right to play. They even like to play with discourse for, by giving ridiculous reasons, they discredit the seriousness of their interlocutors. They delight in acting in bad faith, since they seek not to persuade by sound argument but to intimidate and disconcert. If you press them too closely, they will abruptly fall silent, loftily indicating by some phrase that the time for argument is past.

Conservatives around the world for the past ~30 years (if not longer) have been slowly adopting fascist methods and talking points. And for the past ~10 years, conservatives and fascists have formed a Venn diagram of a circle.

Getting involved in a land war in Asia. Also going in against a Sicilian when death is on the line.

Fallen for those blunders more than once!

Trying to keep my house clean. I have a three year old and a 2 year old. The only time it's ever truly clean is late at night after they go to bed and I'm exhausted. The minute they get up it's like a tornado goes through here.

Arguing facts with an idiot, an ignorant person

Trying to apply nuance to a discussion that consists of people that only want to polarize the subject.