What started as a curse laden initial message unsurprisingly ended in a racist petty tirade with subtle threats and devoid of facts—BUT with a critical lesson learned
Wow .. I am exhausted by your trying to get Matthew to admit he was wrong. Google should not be used for fact checking. What people don’t understand is that programmers especially with AI now have their own bias embedded in these algorithms! If you are not scared ct of people getting their info from these sites you should be now. Tech companies have been doing this for years. It will be our down fall. I miss the days of looking things up in real books !❤️🇺🇸✊🏼
That was painful, and I almost pity him because he’s really just ignorant, and he thinks he can hold his own in an argument against an educated man. The audacity.
Now, Matthew does not come across as a genius. But I also think he is doing himself no favours by arguing using the MAGA playbook. In his world, his ideas are so axiomatic as to need no explanation or proof. So when challenged he responds with insults and an attempt to Gish Gallop on to the next topic.
This tactic of patiently sticking to one topic is enviable. I'm gong to try it out ... and (not expecting to change a MAGA mind) I think the idea of posting the whole exchange for others is brilliant. It may just give a 3rd person the opportunity to see how their arguments come across without risking their own ego.
I couldn't agree more Todd. I have two adult children who are off the charts intelligent. But we know this because of testing after we spent quite some time determining why our elder child struggled in school. He is dyslexic. Judged on spelling and grammar no one would recognize the great capability they were dealing with.
The same can be said for people with English as a second language. Though their spelling and grammar may be poor, I think multi linguistic capability actually shows a type of intelligence I wish I had.
Now, Matthew does not come across as a genius. But I also think he is doing himself no favours by arguing using the MAGA playbook. In his world, his ideas are so axiomatic as to need no explanation or proof. So when challenged he responds with insults and an attempt to Gish Gallop on to the next topic. This tactic of patiently sticking to one topic is enviable. I'm gong to try it out ... and (not expecting to change a MAGA mind) I think the idea of posting the whole exchange for others is brilliant. It may just give a 3rd person the opportunity to see how their arguments come across without risking their own ego.
I must say, Matthew actually engaged a lot more than some MAGAs do. I've had very brief engagements with a few people who respond to everything with a jpg meme quote of some sort and a comment like "Aha so there!!". As if immortalising a lie in an image made it truthier somehow!
party loyalty now works more like team identity than a set of policy views. People defend the team first and work out the reasons afterward. A fact that threatens the team feels like an attack on the self, so it gets rejected. Did you ever try to convince a Steeler fan to follow the Cowboys :-)
Sure it’s good to debate and document it while you can because if the democrats don’t breakthrough November 3rd & get seated January 3 we won’t be able to do I for much longer..
It really indicates the grip of the cult. Many MAGAs around d the country in try would have answered more or less like Matthew. They have their pseudo law and pseudo science, their liberal “horror stories”, their whataboutism; derived mostly from the sewer spew of Fox entertainment and their “independent” sources line Rogan and Musk.
Thanks for writing this. I've undertaken too many similar exercises and experienced the same result. Your conclusion that Trump has made ignorance, racism, and propagandism acceptable is spot on. I fear that it will take more than a change in leadership to effect the societal change the U.S. requires now. Decades of eroding education standards and societal mores has brought the American people to a precipice. We can but hope that the stain of Trumpism and the collapse of the Republican Party are obstacles that America can overcome sooner than later. The alternative won't be pretty.
1000% It has taken time to find the narrow scope of what language and tone to take, but it's been worth it to engage. And when I feel my heart racing and my blood pressure going up, I take a deep breath, speak more slowly, and invite another question. Interestingly, if there's been more than one person in the room when I press the issue, one of the individuals nods their head and makes at least one comment challenging the maga mind, indicating that just because the loudest voice is a racist/anti-constitutionalist/misogynist, there are others in their circle who are anti racist...
never pointless to speak out. Change has only come from the courage and self-regulation required by one who challenges a bully. Never. Is. It. Pointless. To challenge bullies. It is our moral imperative.
You're a gem Qasim, and that was a delicious debate. Well done, you're incredibly good at speaking with trumpies. They really are stupid, and you just kindly kept showing us their true colors. Thank you for all you do❤️
I really appreciate that you introduced “collateral education,” which I learned as “lateral” or “radiant education.”
This is one of the most effective uses of persuasion in social media if done correctly and this is a master’s course. I always imagine a different—much less hardened—audience than just the one indoctrinated commenter with whom I engage; it is all the other readers who might happen by.
What I would hope they witness is an inflappable debater who doesn’t follow all the dodges and distractions that the other floods you with, and even if you never get them to recant of admit their lies, anybody reading with even a shred of open mindedness can draw a conclusion.
You aren’t debating Matthew—you’re teaching everyone else.
Wow .. I am exhausted by your trying to get Matthew to admit he was wrong. Google should not be used for fact checking. What people don’t understand is that programmers especially with AI now have their own bias embedded in these algorithms! If you are not scared ct of people getting their info from these sites you should be now. Tech companies have been doing this for years. It will be our down fall. I miss the days of looking things up in real books !❤️🇺🇸✊🏼
That was painful, and I almost pity him because he’s really just ignorant, and he thinks he can hold his own in an argument against an educated man. The audacity.
Now, Matthew does not come across as a genius. But I also think he is doing himself no favours by arguing using the MAGA playbook. In his world, his ideas are so axiomatic as to need no explanation or proof. So when challenged he responds with insults and an attempt to Gish Gallop on to the next topic.
This tactic of patiently sticking to one topic is enviable. I'm gong to try it out ... and (not expecting to change a MAGA mind) I think the idea of posting the whole exchange for others is brilliant. It may just give a 3rd person the opportunity to see how their arguments come across without risking their own ego.
I couldn't agree more Todd. I have two adult children who are off the charts intelligent. But we know this because of testing after we spent quite some time determining why our elder child struggled in school. He is dyslexic. Judged on spelling and grammar no one would recognize the great capability they were dealing with.
The same can be said for people with English as a second language. Though their spelling and grammar may be poor, I think multi linguistic capability actually shows a type of intelligence I wish I had.
Now, Matthew does not come across as a genius. But I also think he is doing himself no favours by arguing using the MAGA playbook. In his world, his ideas are so axiomatic as to need no explanation or proof. So when challenged he responds with insults and an attempt to Gish Gallop on to the next topic. This tactic of patiently sticking to one topic is enviable. I'm gong to try it out ... and (not expecting to change a MAGA mind) I think the idea of posting the whole exchange for others is brilliant. It may just give a 3rd person the opportunity to see how their arguments come across without risking their own ego.
I must say, Matthew actually engaged a lot more than some MAGAs do. I've had very brief engagements with a few people who respond to everything with a jpg meme quote of some sort and a comment like "Aha so there!!". As if immortalising a lie in an image made it truthier somehow!
It shows why it is futile to argue with MAGA. It is better to just sit in front of a brick wall and contemplate the echoing of your voice.
party loyalty now works more like team identity than a set of policy views. People defend the team first and work out the reasons afterward. A fact that threatens the team feels like an attack on the self, so it gets rejected. Did you ever try to convince a Steeler fan to follow the Cowboys :-)
Sure it’s good to debate and document it while you can because if the democrats don’t breakthrough November 3rd & get seated January 3 we won’t be able to do I for much longer..
Also, if "you don't have no data" then you have data.
It really indicates the grip of the cult. Many MAGAs around d the country in try would have answered more or less like Matthew. They have their pseudo law and pseudo science, their liberal “horror stories”, their whataboutism; derived mostly from the sewer spew of Fox entertainment and their “independent” sources line Rogan and Musk.
I’m not sure I agree on debating them.
People are spreading what "Trump has taught them."
Thanks for writing this. I've undertaken too many similar exercises and experienced the same result. Your conclusion that Trump has made ignorance, racism, and propagandism acceptable is spot on. I fear that it will take more than a change in leadership to effect the societal change the U.S. requires now. Decades of eroding education standards and societal mores has brought the American people to a precipice. We can but hope that the stain of Trumpism and the collapse of the Republican Party are obstacles that America can overcome sooner than later. The alternative won't be pretty.
1000% It has taken time to find the narrow scope of what language and tone to take, but it's been worth it to engage. And when I feel my heart racing and my blood pressure going up, I take a deep breath, speak more slowly, and invite another question. Interestingly, if there's been more than one person in the room when I press the issue, one of the individuals nods their head and makes at least one comment challenging the maga mind, indicating that just because the loudest voice is a racist/anti-constitutionalist/misogynist, there are others in their circle who are anti racist...
This guy is an uneducated idiot. Your argument, while truthful, was pointless. He doesn’t possess the capacity to reason.
never pointless to speak out. Change has only come from the courage and self-regulation required by one who challenges a bully. Never. Is. It. Pointless. To challenge bullies. It is our moral imperative.
You're a gem Qasim, and that was a delicious debate. Well done, you're incredibly good at speaking with trumpies. They really are stupid, and you just kindly kept showing us their true colors. Thank you for all you do❤️
I really appreciate that you introduced “collateral education,” which I learned as “lateral” or “radiant education.”
This is one of the most effective uses of persuasion in social media if done correctly and this is a master’s course. I always imagine a different—much less hardened—audience than just the one indoctrinated commenter with whom I engage; it is all the other readers who might happen by.
What I would hope they witness is an inflappable debater who doesn’t follow all the dodges and distractions that the other floods you with, and even if you never get them to recant of admit their lies, anybody reading with even a shred of open mindedness can draw a conclusion.
You aren’t debating Matthew—you’re teaching everyone else.
I debated a park bench.
Same energy.