Language warning, I suppose. It is possible to call bullshit on the facts. It is not right, it is not helpful, and it is not accurate. But it is possible. I am certain that if youve been arguing with someone from the opposite side of a political aisle, youve had this happen. You have facts, and they say that your facts are not true. Heres the thing: If you dont think the other person is going to have a good-faith argument and/or will simply refuse to hear what you have to say, Stop Talking. Find someone else, and talk with them. Because life is too short for arguments on internet forums. If you DO think the other person is willing to share ideas and may be willing to listen to you, you dont get to call bullshit on their story without citation. The citation needs to be either of a clear counterexample or a source that is More Primary than the source they used, and unless youre arguing philosophy Id really recommend attempting to use a metaphor as your counter-argument. I know its a pain. I know. I get it. But the only way through the tautological morass of Im right because I hold correct political views which are right because theyre the ones I espouse and into a place where people can actually, yknow, DISCUSS things? That way lies through verification. Through backing up and saying, Wait, is that true? Sometimes this gets you to a place where nobodys convinced of new beliefs, but you understand the other person a bit better. At the least, you get why they believe it (Ah, he listens to Chris Matthews when hes cooking!) and even if you end up calling their facts bullshit-by-proxy (because you think their source is a bullshit source) thats actually a little better. Because then, as I said, youve learned that extra layer of context about that person. Do keep in mind that thinking Everything coming out of the other persons mouth is going to be a rehash of someone you consider a bullshit source counts as not believing theyll have a good-faith argument or be swayed, though. And acting like it? That means YOU arent arguing in good faith. Honestly, its a better use of your time to research/investigate the issue yourself for an hour than to argue from a place of no info for an hour. Heck, Id value research/investigation as worth at least a hundred hours of pointless data-free bickering.
Posted on: Wed, 16 Oct 2013 20:57:47 +0000
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