Debating the Left

Debating True Believers is too predictable. One might expect that in a give-and-take discussion of ideas that each party would engage honestly and attempt to present their cases logically and forthrightly.

However, if you were debating a typical leftist, you would be wrong.

Because the Left is so sure they are not only correct, they are actually the only virtuous, caring, compassionate, tolerant, and fair party in the discussion. Thus, it automatically means their interlocutors are dishonest, bigoted, brainwashed, or hateful. That moral certainty, combined with two dimensional thinking, means you will not be a party to a debate based on the merits of the arguments.

The debate may begin in a legitimate exchange of ideas, but will soon descend into misdirection, obfuscation, and accusation. These elements will begin to creep into the exchange, barely noticeable at first. 

Invariably they will

1) Assume their interlocutor is ignorant
2) Engage in escalating personal attacks
3) Change the subject
4) Engage in logical fallacies
5) Escalate their profanity
6) Mock
7) Accuse their interlocutors of shilling for corporate interests
8) Blame their interlocutor's thinking on Fox (Faux) News or the Koch brothers
9) Move the goalposts in order to make you prove a new point not originally under discussion
10) Never admit they might be wrong.
11) Exit a debate when confronted, frequently with a parting insult.

You will not find every one of these techniques in every debate with a True Believer, but you will find at least one of them. The intent is to take you off your argument and make it personal. The intent is to change the debate so that you cannot make your arguments. The intent is to marginalize and personally negate you so that your ideas are made irrelevant.

I am always on the look out for these techniques when I debate people, and I challenge them to debate honestly. I do not continue until they are willing to be respectful. Nor do I follow their rabbit trails. 

If you insist on staying on the subject and reject their passive-aggressive tendencies, you may actually find yourself in an honest debate. 

But I don't have high hopes.