October 26, 2004

Southpaws, Are You Tired of Losing Debates to the Reich? Not to dampen the light and frohliche atmosphere of the monkeysphere. Considering how precious little debate there is on anything meaningful (at the national level), does this sort of thing have any hope of appearing, or being applied, outside the context of college or high-school competition type things? (thanks, or apologies, to octopusdropkick.net)
posted by clockzero 20 years ago
  • This oughta be good.
  • FUCK!
  • Dear world, I am an idiot. Please feel free to piss on me. Thanks. Here, I'll open wide. AAAA
  • It's a bit hard to have reasonable discussions with a group of people whose idea of a debate is to counter your points with non sequitors and ad hominem attacks.
  • World to fuyugare: it's ok. A. Reynolds: Yeah, that's always a problem. What I like about this is that I see it as part of a new, powerful movement on the part of the Left. Will it finally get up off its ass and actually do something about the state of the country and world, and about the viciousness and sub-mental discourse of the Right?
  • If you're losing debates, you're not debating well enough.
  • I call ad hominem on BBF. You have no right to call my mother such things. Please go away, n00b troll.
  • Wow, that's bad advice. Is this a joke and I'm not getting the punchline? The best way to lose a debate is to start by thinking "I'm right, and he's stupid. This will be easy." Believe it or not there are some pretty good reasons to be a conservative. Said good reasons, admittedly, are also good reasons to vote against GWB but that's another argument I think.
  • As a leftie (left handed that is) I had great hopes for this thread. Finally, I thought, my kind would get a forum for our views. But Nooooo! it's politics again. (and US politics to boot!) Curse you right-handers and your hard to use scissors!
  • zedcaster: don't forget the stupid can openers and the bane of my existence, right-handed subway turnstiles. argh.
  • I think that middleclasstool has just conclusively proven that all left-wing people are bitter, twisted, idiotic, closet communist, dangerously insane, homosexual robots that explode at the slightest provocation.
  • I think that zedcaster and ambrosia have just conclusively proven that all left-handed people are bitter, twisted, idiotic, closet communist, dangerously insane, homosexual robots that explode at the slightest provocation.
  • *explodes*
  • You...just..damnit...fuck...ass... *explodes, spewing levers and pulleys* Fuck.
  • *tries to explode* Pfft! Can't. /walks off thinking, "why me?"
  • I am ambidextrous. Hah!
  • /walks off thinking, "why me?" Because you is a nOOb!
  • I think this is interesting, and a good tool to use. Of course, you actually have to know what the real underpinnings of the issues are (otehrwise, it's just a catch-phrase), but it's an excellent rhetorical reframing device. Reactionary conservatives have been really successful in using reframing devices to get average people to think about issues in ways that predispose them to come to congruent conclusions with the Right. Using a disruptive framing device to oppose that is about the only way to turn things around and require at least a modicum of thought. There are certainly many great reasons to be a conservative (though fewer to be a Conservative), but those are rarely applied in a logical and debatable way. I'd like to spread this meme.