Ive been involved in a lot of debates / arguments in my time. From - TopicsExpress

Ive been involved in a lot of debates / arguments in my time. From topics as wide ranging as politics, cars, religion, breakfast cereals....you name it, Im happy to venture an opinion on it. Even if its a I like the way that cereal has pieces shaded in mission brown. The other doesnt. Call me a one eyed cereal eater, I dont care... One thing that has been peeving me of late is the lack of ability of some people to follow one of simple rules of debating: Fight the argument, not the person. If I say something you dont agree with, thats fine. Thats half the fun of a debate. But dont make it personal. I know I wont. I dont think less of you because you love pasta more than you like rice, but I do expect you to have some solid, well thought out reasons for your stance. Even if debating me is what makes you stop and consider your position...Ill wait. Come up with something, destroy my argument with facts and figures, experiences and anecdotes then set up your own stance and be prepared for me to do the same! In my opinion, its this too and fro that makes a debate great. It helps seal friendships and definitely helps you learn to not take yourself too seriously and to occasionally eat some humble pie (especially if you have friends as learned as I do). It helps you stay real and it helps you to know yourself. If you get personal and attack me for my views, say you say something like You must have yellow fever to like rice so much! Watch out youll grow Chinese eyes and start calling yourself Sum Ting Wong Right there...Youve lost the debate... (sorry to all my Asian friends, no offence intended, but it was all i could come up with at the time.) I will even stop to admonish someone who backs my stance if they behave in this manner... What do you think? Is it ok to turn a debate personal. If so, under what circumstances?