I’m not writing to the crackpot I’m responding to. I’m writing to the lurkers on the fence wondering if he has a valid point.

That might be why I’m so used to replies that look like long-form essays. It takes a lot more words to explain nuance and invite critical thought than it does to shitpost.

Everyone just wants an echo chamber and the internet is happy to oblige

You’re never going to change their minds. That’s not the point. The point is to push back against them. So people who see the interaction will see the rebuttal and the pushback against the insanity. That’s the important part.

You don’t change the view of the person you are arguing with on the internet, you are putting a red flag so that would-be readers don’t fall into the rabbit hole.

Well, the alternative is a bunch of crackpot comments with no pushback (except downvotes) and 3-10x less actually-decent-takes

The number of threads that I’ve just completely abandoned on .ml when I realize I’m trying to reason with morons is too damn high.

Its not about converting the crackpots, its about pushing back on insane bullshit so others are less likely to become crackpots.

That reminds me, I really must check my inbox

Online debate is fun. I don’t care if it falls short of solving the worlds problems.

No, I won’t.

Fuck your “reason”, people covet their own logical prowess but in reality they didn’t come to their views on their own nor their way of seeing things on their own. In fact, it’s a weakness borrowed from others, based on flawed methodology and is what got you into the situation you’re in now.

I ain’t teaching a class, believe me or don’t, I dgaf.

99% of people are mostly interested in confirming their own myopic view, to the degree that they will commit violence to ensure it. If someone reaches out a hand, I will grab it, but that’s exceedingly rare and it’s not my day job to fish randos out of their own ignorance un-asked.

no, it never does, i mean, these people somehow delude themselves into thinking it might, but… but it might work for us.

It lives in the internet it lives in the internet oh god help me it lives in the internet

I wonder if the crackpots ever ask themselves am I the crackpot?

Asking for a friend

Ahh yes the crackpot belief that it is wrong to support a genocide regardless of who is in power.