I come to Free Republic because I want to be exposed to issues and discuss issues. You saw my response. Did you think it was insulting, demeaning, or belittled the views of the person who took issue?
I didn’t think it was, and my point was to ensure I understood the views of the person who took issue, which I could understand at face value.
But instead of clarity and civil discourse, I got belligerence and insults.
I am tired of it. And on a lot of these issues, these people should be my allies with differences, not my enemies.
And I see more of it on more issues each and every day. I scarcely bother to go into any Ukraine-Russia threads anymore. You get characterized as a Putin-Bot or a Ukrainian Propaganda Eating Sheep. Very little middle ground, which means there can’t be any useful rational civil discourse on that important issue.
I am often a black and white issue person (because in the end, when we make decisions, we DO boil things down to this or that...a very manichean process...otherwise, we could never choose a side in anything) but to discount the thought process in boiling it down and declaring that you have to have a fully formed opinion at the birth of an issue, well...it is just unrealistic and counterproductive.
If people don’t want to discuss an issue, they shouldn’t engage.
Agreed. I seldom come to FR now. People simply want to argue and beat on posters they disagree with.....or dislike to begin with. My daughter stopped posting during Terri Schiavo. I backed off in 2016 at the insults. Sometimes, there’s not much difference between the right and the left when it comes to debating, agree with me or else.
I hope your day is blessed.