When political discussions lead to screaming

[mopaul]

that's where i draw the line. if i'm having a lively discussion with someone i can tolerate an opposing opinion and i will venture on politely until the other person starts to raise their voice. take pat buchannan for instance, he speaks in a normal tone until the discussion gets heated, then his voice goes up 6 octaves into falsetto and his face turns purple and he goes postal. that's where i give up the debate.

and i usually tell the other person up front, if you wish to discuss politics with me, fine, just don't start screaming at me or i'll say good day to you sir.

unfortunately, shows like the late crossfire and hardball have turned discussions of religion or politics into screamfests, a sad situation, but it's nothing new. it shows how polarized many people are. i've even lost a few friends because they started screaming at me, which i won't put up with.

in my opinion, screaming is generally a republican tactic, they are usually the first to get all screamy in a debate, as if simply turning up the volume and trying to shout down your opponent means you won the debate.

there's just something so primitive about, primitive as in primate, primate as in ape.

[XanaDUer]

1. And they are the first to curse, too.

...

[mopaul]

2. i have a filthy mouth

and i'm not afraid to get vulgar if that's how they wanna play, but keeping one's own voice down while the opponent screams wildly is always amusing.

[KarenS]

3. I will not debate with the Republican bumpersticker slogans,,,,,

you know, those one liners that have zero basis in fact.

I just spent several days with my daughter & son-in-law who are willfully ignorant of the truth but watch O'Reilly & Hannity,,,,,
They smirk at my liberalness, they say I'm too passionate, they say I'm selfish, they say I'm embarrassing. They are smug in their attitude. Faux christians, even.

I admit I'm the one who yelled first, I probably even cussed first.

Whatever. I will not stay there again.

[HughBeaumont]

9. Repuke bumper stickers are nothing but hate slogans.

Everything on one is based on either a media-pumped lie or hatred or fear of someone or something, and not what's actually happening in the real world.

Luckily, I don't have many *-supporters in my family. I have a dad who hates ALL politicians and voted for Kerry holding his nose. He's a retiree who is currently getting shanked because of corporate buyouts and pension reduction.

[Freedom_from_Chains]

4. Well we like to think of ourselves as being civilized

but the fact is we are still quite barbaric. We've just put a good veneer on it in the last couple of hundred years.

[Hutchewon]

5. The problem

with withdrawing when they start shouting is that it leaves only the wing-nuts on the field. Recently, I've been posting on a political board that had been taken over by neocons. I've had some modest success hitting them with their own tactics. They love ad hominem attack until they are the target, then they will accuse you of name calling. I find like most bullies they don't do well if there is a strong counter attack.

Also, since most of them are using talking points, they don't know what to do when your refute the talking points with facts. I imagine at the time they are really perplexed that it isn't working the same way it did for Rush.

[flordehinojos]

6. i lost a good friend too because i screamed at her support of bush's war .

she didn't like my screaming at her ... and really, i wasn't screaming at her... it was just my pent up anger at bush's war coming out as i talked to her--a friend who, to this day, i still cannot understand her support of bush's war.

so, i guess the point i am trying to make, sometimes the screaming has more to do with the person themselves and what may be going on inside of them, than with the person that they are screaming at.

i've read somewhere that bipolar disorder runs in the pat buchanan family--and whether he directly suffers from it, or not, i don't recall what the article said...but i attribute that to the fact that it is easy for him to lose his kool.

i also know how difficult it is to sit through when someone is screaming at you. i guess there is just no easy way to talk calmly about bush from two different points of view because like you say, it all so polarized.

i should look into my own primitive emotions.

[mopaul]

7. i too enjoy a good scream

but if i catch my own voice rising, i check the pressure. i'm not above it, i'll do it, but i'd rather not.

[flordehinojos]

13. thanks i know ..me too; but sometimes i don't hear myself but some good

friends who hear me usually tell me, "okay, time for a break, or you'll give yourself a heart attack." so ... we sort of joke about it... but i don't think anything rises my blood pressure as much as george bush and his stealing of america.

:)

[abluelady]

11. Me Too

And I don't think I was screaming. I probably was just over-emotional. But heck, do I want friends who support the moron? Nah!

[flordehinojos]

14. O:-)

:) i just still can't understand how this particular person supported the war...i guess it just hurt me to lose a friend over my screaming--when at the times my friend has gotten over-emotional in her speech, i've always known it was never directed at me. i was just the venue (our friendship) that provided the outlet.

[abluelady]

15. I Think with My Friend

the friendship ended because I was more knowledgeable about my arguing than she was. Or else maybe it ended because I think she thought I was lying. Opinions are one thing but when someone doesn't believe you when you state facts, it is different. Ironically, I believe she believes like I do--she just doesn't want to admit it. WTF is that about?

[tlsmith1963]

8. It's Sad, Isn't It?

People used to have civil discussions about politics, but now, you just can't. I blame people like Limbaugh, but it's also people like Springer, unfortunately. A whole generation has learned that you can't express an opposing view unless you scream it at someone.

Tammy

[mdmc]

10. don't argue with an idiot, mopaul

they will drag you down to their level and then beat you with expedience.


When things get that heated, I usually trump out the "Bush caused / wanted 9-11" and "Prescott Bush was a nazi financier" tripe. Nothing fosters civic debate like shining light on the evil empire.

And while we are on the subject, why do liberal intellectuals bait neo-cons? It is really not that fun...

[Kansas Wyatt]

12. I've found the easiest way to completely shut down Republican tactics...

Is to tell them to go and read PNAC, and who endorses it, and think about what has happened over the last five years. Tell them to pay special attention to the 'New Pearl Harbor' part, and then come back with their arguments.

They never seem to want to argue anymore, and are humble little puppies.