View Full Version : Dealing with 'people of vastly different opinions' online.
Any tips?
Full out warfare? Ignore them? Insult the shit out of them until they leave?
Embrace them for their differences and have a beer in their honor?
Discuss.
LoL, I forsee this thread coming to a close quite quickly. But my suggestion is: you can't deal with em.
I think it's more an issue of closed minded-ness. You can't deal with an ignorant person.
DMBand0026
2004-08-10, 16:01
You're the last person that I'd expect to need help with this. First thought that comes to mind is your "please die" picture. :lol:
I guess it depends on who you're dealing with, what level of stupidity, and what really gets to them.
Like you, if I wanted to deal with you I'd say beer was evil, Canada sucked, and <gasp> hockey blows.*
But since your not stupid, it wouldn't send you off the deep end (I hope), you'd just shrug it off and make some reference to the fact that I'm a "stupid American pig-dog."
Point is, you've gotta develop a style for each one. And I can think of no one better to do that than you.
*Just an example, please don't kill me :D
Yes, I believe it is really important to embrace the differences of our internet brothers. Nothing ruins a nice day more than a pointless flamewar, or stale beer.
I think I love DMedium even more now than I did 15 minutes ago.
I'm serious! Look inside yourself and maybe you too will find inner peace.
alcimedes
2004-08-10, 16:04
become admin/mod. kill those that bother you.
And it has a lot to do with reputation. Murbot can't just walk into some other discussion board where he's a noob and post his "Please Die" picture. But his reputation here allows him to do stuff like that.
Well, maybe Murbot actually can just go into any forum he wants and trash people. But I can't ;).
Messiahtosh
2004-08-10, 16:04
I dont think i'm stupid, far from it. This topic was created in the wake of the one (that I started) that just closed. I just like to ask questions I guess. If nothing else, it helps me to see why something I was thinking was wrong and why the way someone else is thinking is correct. Seeing many different views on the same information is a healthy thing to do.
And it has a lot to do with reputation. Murbot can't just walk into some other discussion board where he's a noob and post his "Please Die" picture. But his reputation here allows him to do stuff like that.
Well, maybe Murbot actually can just go into any forum he wants and trash people. But I can't ;).
What do you mean I can't? Trying to start something, bitch?
Who has the key to that lock?
DMBand0026
2004-08-10, 16:07
Try the guy who started the thread ;)
Apparently I'm just the cheerleader.
:D
Shit, thinking of Murbot in a cheerleader skirt, waving pom-poms just made me snort my Dr. Pepper.
Thats just plain wrong.
Gargoyle
2004-08-10, 16:21
:lol:
pscates2.0
2004-08-10, 18:59
You thinking of someone in particular, 'bot? Or just people in general? :p
Seeing many different views on the same information is a healthy thing to do.I totally agree. It's a real shame that you think you 'do' while it's so obvious to most everyone else that you 'don't'.
Full out warfare? Ignore them? Insult the shit out of them until they leave?
In general, I try ignore "people of vastly different opinions." Any response usually validates whatever neurosis they have. So I stay quiet so as not to worsen their condition. ;)
But sometimes, I can't prevent my blood from boiling. Like this kid:
I dont think i'm stupid, far from it.
He's so full of himself I can't even believe it. ;) And not just occasionally. All the friggin' time! In a situation like this, I'm glad we're online. Otherwise I'd get physically violent. :lol:
Escher
In a situation like this, I'm glad we're online. Otherwise I'd get physically violent. :lol: Beware. He's decided to become a Cowboy. That means he's decided to be cool. Yup. Y'all Respect meh....Parnder.
Hilarity.
windowsblowsass
2004-08-10, 20:06
there is no point fighting with someone who you wildly disagree with, your not going to change their mind and their not going to change yours. Either ignore them just say ok or stay off toppic completerly. For example i didnt want to get involved in the thonk secret fight so I just cracked jokes about a fight between luca and messiahtosh.
there is no point fighting with someone who you wildly disagree with, your not going to change their mind and their not going to change yours. Either ignore them just say ok or stay off toppic completerly. For example i didnt want to get involved in the thonk secret fight so I just cracked jokes about a fight between luca and messiahtosh.Thonk before you post on a toppic. You might be completerly off base.
Funny bot-man should post a thread like this one. I was about to ask a similar question. I was just playing some COD deathmatch and this dumbass pipes up about ni--er this and ni--er that... and I thought for sure he was just some troll. So I doled out the usual smackdown that shuts such people up... but then...
...this kid goes into this social-psycho rant about how these people are the cause of most crime and all this shit... and THEN when I call him down on the education thing, he says he and his buddy are students at OSU (Oklahoma or Ohio State I'm guessing). I was floored because most ignoramous a-holes never try to convince you they're educated, but this guy was gettin all academic on me.
Some truly scary shit to think there are kids in mainstream higher educational institutions who are trying to build hatred on academics / "logic". Some of the shit this guy started spouting was so bad I was truly dumbfounded. He made Scott look like a philosophy major.
I finally just gave in and left because I realized there was no way I was going to humiliate this guy in the usual ways because he was in academia and obviously reading (just reading all the wrong stuff). It was... baffling.
Thonk before you post on a toppic. You might be completerly off base.
That reminds me of this time I completerly thonked this chick at the rink... uh, wait. Nevermind. :D
Funny, I read this thread by going to the end of it, and paging up. I read your post before the other one. I was thinking "what in the hell is up with 709? into the coke tonight?"
:lol:
Moogs, scary about that dude. I've run into that a couple of times where someone makes an off-handed comment, and I'll laugh at the "joke", only to have them give me a weird look because they were being 100% serious.
...this kid goes into this social-psycho rant about how these people are the cause of most crime and all this shit... and THEN when I call him down on the education thing, he says he and his buddy are students at OSU (Oklahoma or Ohio State I'm guessing). I was floored because most ignoramous a-holes never try to convince you they're educated, but this guy was gettin all academic on me.That's hilarious, because I just went out a bit ago to grab a beer or two down the street and the *exact* same thing happened to me.
00:00 A simple seat at the end of the bar.
00:10 A polite introduction since we both ordered the same micro.
00:17 Chatting turns toward 'What do you do?'
00:25 Chatting turns to State politics and jobless.
00:29 Voices are raised.
00:35 Conversation spirals uncontrollably to 'Left vs. Right' (of course...Right Wing Fucking Idiot can't respond to my smooth verbal volley...so he has to go with something he's been trained to 'know'. :mad: )
00:36-00:Whatever - Fucking Idiot can't seem to understand simple English. I ask him if he's OK and if he'd like me to call an ambulance or his tight-assed never-get-pussy-anymore wife to drive him home. He seems to be popping something important in his forehead veins...so I ask him again. Slowly.
Whatever-Now: I'm still laughing just writing this. Who knew Right-Wingers could be so much fun? :D
Messiahtosh
2004-08-10, 21:46
Guess who is getting more hits right now? An affiliate of the terrible and corrupt Nick DePlume! :lol:
All because of "stupid Messiahtosh."
You're a real hero.
Hey 709: this was the most screwed up part of my conversation with this kid. At one point it turns to politics (as you say, it inevitably does) and when I inform him that I'm not a Democrat, he suddenly switches tack and says "screw Democrats and Republicans... they're letting minorities ruin this country... blah blah".
It was bizarre. It was like every time I clobbered him with a logical thought (but very obvious to anyone with an evolved cranial region), he would then attack the question. "All the unsafe places in this world are because of [minorities]? Have you ever been to the bad part of town in [insert wealthy European country here]... predominantly white."
"Well... WE DON'T LIVE THERE so it doesn't matter. It only matters in the cities I name!"
:lol:
pscates2.0
2004-08-11, 08:50
709, don't lump all us good conservative types in with that bar butthole. He doesn't speak for me, and I'm not going to pop a vein, sharing a beer with a stranger.
He's probably a bit tightly wound to start with, it seems.
:)
I wouldn't do that. In fact, I wouldn't want to ruin a good beer talking "politics". Movies, music, Macs, funny goings-on in the world, Michael Jackson's woes? Sure! Wonderful topics all.
:D
Good point. It's practically sacriledge to introduce talk of partisan politics while enjoying a good beer. I tremble to think what Murbot might've done had he overheard this conversation as he enjoyed the nectar of the Gods.
Still I can relate to 709's plight. It's sort of a maddening experience. Having someone who is completely illogical, trying to employ logical trains of thought to prop up truly absurd arguments (poor human behavior being dictated by race, in the case of the moron I dealt with)... it's hard to ignore a person like that. But ultimately it's probably best to do just that and go check out some stars as you noted in another post.
And for sure there are people on either side of the fence who are making absurd statements... it just seems like Republicans do it more often. And hey, I'm an affiliate of neither party so I must be right!
:p :D
Besides, we all know you're a well-rounded, logical type guy, Paul. It's no fun at all to judge the group based on someone like you. What if you're one of the only respectable members?
;)
pscates2.0
2004-08-11, 09:29
Hey, the same thing happens to me. Let me tell you something: the only people who get on my nerves more than ultra-left Michael Moore-worshipping nimrods are ultra-conservative dipshits who go out of their way to be "hardcore" and out-Liddy Liddy.
They make ME uncomfortable because I'm not that hardcore and ultra-ultra right, or "angry" like a lot of these people are.
I've been at bars before and something will come on the TV and it'll spark a little discussion between me and the guy or woman sitting beside me. Come to find out, we're both leaning to the right. Fine. But they'll go on as if they're auditioning to replace Rush or Hannity, throwing out the silly cliches (so much so that I told a guy "hi, first time caller, long time lister...I love your show!"...he wasn't amused).
:D
But they just get MEAN, talking about "Mexicans this" and "faggot that" and on and on. That's not me. I'm comfortable in what I believe, who and what I like and who and what I don't...and why. I'm not gonna bend some dipwad's ear at a bar about it all, just because I think we're "on the same team", and try to impress him/her with how hardcore I am. Happens to me all the time. Anytime someone finds out I'm a Republican or tilt mostly to the right on things, they feel like "ooh, he's safe...hey, how many queers does it take to patrol the border..."
:rolleyes:
"Hey, a-hole...I came INTO this bar to get away from this kind of crap, have a beer, watch some Sportscenter highlights, chit-chat a bit to some vixen, etc. Take the 'Hannity & Colmes' roadshow somewhere else...".
Messiahtosh
2004-08-11, 12:00
Tremendous post, Paul.
thuh Freak
2004-08-11, 12:19
irl, i tend to ignore heated discussions among strangers. and hot discussions around friends can always be quelled by changing the topic, or a bong rip (which has the same effect with added auxiliary benefits).
on the intarweb, i tend to stay away from strong debate, except on certain topics or special occassions. and when i do state my piece, i try to avoid ad hominem attacks, and go just for the matter at hand. but my attention doesn't tend to stick to a topic long enough to even realize if people respond to/at me. so, if someone is being all stupid, i'll usually only notice it when they are going at someone else. then its fun/funny to watch.
I wouldn't do that. In fact, I wouldn't want to ruin a good beer talking "politics". Movies, music, Macs, funny goings-on in the world, Michael Jackson's woes? Sure! Wonderful topics all.
Personally, I prefer to talk about things that have meaning, like politics and philosophy, and that you can learn from, or learn somebody elses opinion. I think everyone lose's when people are saying the same old facts and opinions they've repeated for years over and over again, or the weather, or objects. I never could get into talking about objects. I seems like people waste their whole lives talking about their house's and what a great deal they got ect. . . . In short, if somebody has a vastly different opinion, you shouldn't try to avoid it by talking about stupid stuff.
But onto the topic of this thread. How to deal with people you disagree with. I'd say just keep talking to them. I don't get to go to bars yet, but in similar situations when i'm talking politics with people of vastly different opinions. I love to just listen to them. I don't agree with what they say, but I like to hear why they believe what they do. You can't believe in one thing, without understanding why you don't believe in the others.
So if somebody's being a real douchbag, just keep making them talk, my favorite line to deal with dumbass's is 'so why do you believe that' and then their kinda like 'ummm uhhh go away' and then you can laugh. laughing reduces tension and refreshes you.
But if they are of a vastly different opinion and smart, they you get to learn something from them. Which sometimes leaves you feeling like 'how could somebody so smart be so mislead'
As for the use of word like 'nigger' 'faggot' and any other similar, personally I use them often, takes the stigma out of them. I have no tension or scardness of meaness when talking to gay people or minorities. Although I get alot of shit from people (who do have actual issues dealing with people in the flesh, although not in their dogma). for using 'bad words'
Not a vastly different opinion, but a vastly different way of approaching a situation.
Anytime someone finds out I'm a Republican or tilt mostly to the right on things, they feel like "ooh, he's safe...hey, how many queers does it take to patrol the border..."
It's just a feeling of kinship :) joking, i'm joking, not all republicans are the same, they can be very nice. meow meow.
pscates2.0
2004-08-11, 13:21
:err: smile when you say that...
Don't you have a meteor shower to go to or something...
Brat.
;)
A time and place for everything, x. Don't associate me not wanting to talk to a stranger in a bar about politics and culture as somehow shallow or unadventurous on my part, especially when I spend the OTHER parts of my day/week discussing it with true friends, family, etc.
That's often why I'm at the $#@% bar to begin with...I need a break. :D
Besides, "politics" doesn't have sole ownership of "stuff with meaning". I can talk about anything (and usually will). And I didn't say I minded light smalltalk either.
But to sit and get into some "trumpetman vs. ShawnPatrick" pissing contest AT A BAR WITH SOMEONE YOU DON'T KNOW just has no appeal to me whatsoever.
No one is exactly "on their game" anyway, you know? It's best, in that situation I've found, to keep it light. People get a few in them, get torqued up, get obnoxious and mean, etc. Ugh...
:rolleyes:
Like in 709's situation above...that's no fun, and negates the whole thing of going to a bar to relax with a beer or two to begin with!
So if somebody's being a real douchbag, just keep making them talk, my favorite line to deal with dumbass's is 'so why do you believe that' and then their kinda like 'ummm uhhh go away' and then you can laugh. laughing reduces tension and refreshes you.
But if they are of a vastly different opinion and smart, they you get to learn something from them. Which sometimes leaves you feeling like 'how could somebody so smart be so mislead'
xionja: Those are the wisest words in this whole thread! Laughter, learning, and puzzlement. Thank you for making us old fogies look like immature kiddos. ;)
Living in DC with the current administration, I run into my fair share of smart people with misguided beliefs. It always cracks me up to ask them to explain the rationale for their beliefs. Sometimes I learn something from them, sometimes I don't. Either way, it's quite entertaining if I manage to keep my cool. :)
Like in 709's situation above...that's no fun, and negates the whole thing of going to a bar to relax with a beer or two to begin with!
That's why I prefer to have a beer in my backyard. :D That way I can stock whatever microbrew or vintage pleases my pallate at the moment. My wife and I usually lean the same way, and my dog doesn't drag me into political conversations at all. ;)
Escher
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