While I agree that these discussions can be toxic, I do think you're being a bit too pessimistic. Many people, myself included, stay on the sideline with many

While I agree that these discussions can be toxic, I do think you're being a bit too pessimistic. Many people, myself included, stay on the sideline with many discussions because we either don't feel strongly about them, or because we don't have opinions we're wed to. While there are probably more effective ways to effect changes in thinking, even the 'toxic' discussions have often caused me to either change my mind on an issue, or at the very least develop a better understanding about it (or why I should care in the first place).