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Have you managed to convince anyone of your point of view by entering into a flame war with them?

• throwaway290 4y ago
  It's hard to know for sure, but I hope over time it helps. The trickiest part is that many of them seem to have given up on their governments and doubt democracy, so I have to remind them that even imperfect democracy is still better than an unchecked kleptocratic dictatorship. They also argue about US being a much more prolific warmonger historically, but that's more or less besides the point.
  • the_biot 4y ago
    Indeed it is, and it's a commonly used conversation-stopper: whataboutism never solves anything. But my question was rhetorical: you can't convince anyone by flaming them. Personally I believe in calmly stating facts, with thorough analysis and logic, and lots of empathy for the other person's point of view.
    • darthrupert 4y ago
      Psychological and sociological results seem to disagree wildly with what you said there.
    • throwaway290 4y ago
      Maybe flamewar wasn't the right term. The mediums where those conversations take place are meme-rich and generally flamey, but I don't think it prevents me from stating facts.