I think ridicule is perfectly appropriate once the beliefs you are talking about get batshit insane. Ridicule is a powerful tool, not so much to convince those

I think ridicule is perfectly appropriate once the beliefs you are talking about get batshit insane. Ridicule is a powerful tool, not so much to convince those who already believe, rather to convince those thinking about believing or on the fence about whether to no longer believe. It’s also a powerful tool to remind everyone that batshit insane beliefs are still around and that it’s apparently easy for humans to believe in them. More specifically, I think it’s great to have both: People who painstakingly taken even the most batshit insane ideas serious and engage them on the same level and people who ridicule. That’s not a contradiction for me.