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Originally Posted by ianch99
Remember we now in an era of Post-truth politics in which:
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in which debate is framed largely by appeals to emotion disconnected from the details of policy, and by the repeated assertion of talking points to which factual rebuttals are ignored
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Look at the way people respond to different opinions? They just treat the whole thing as a big joke, behaving like toddlers in the playground. |
I've experienced this debating with people on both sides of both Brexit and the US election. I've actually brought facts into the debate. I've properly researched them, and cited my sources, yet, because the person I am debating with doesn't agree with them, they have dismissed them.
I've seen it here, and on facebook. An old school friend of mine (who was a liberal over here, but seems to be heading toward the Alt-right in the US) has continually ignored (or missed) the point of most of my posts on facebook about Brexit, the NHS and the US Election. One of his replies made me laugh. I'd asked him to cite sources for his assertions that Hillary Clinton is evil and racist. He helpfully provided a link to an article on Snopes.com that confirmed she was friends with a known white supremacist. What made me laugh was that had he read the article rather than just the headline, he'd have found that the senator in question was actually a reformed white supremacist and was actively working against the movement in general, and the KKK in particular.
That people ignore facts doesn't concern me in itself. What concerns me is those who have a problem with others thinking differently. I've experienced a fair bit of that since Brexit (on facebook).
I've been told I am wrong, and should **** off out of the country if I am not happy here. On the contrary, I am quite happy here. That doesn't mean I have to think the country is following the right path and I don't think it is). I have also been dismissed, and one person actually said I am likely to be amongst the first killed *when* the Muslims take over. In that case, I replied that would be good, as I don't want to live in a world where fascist attitudes like his are tolerated.
Then there are the people who say that predictions of doom after Brexit haven't happened, so are wrong. In response, I'd like to paraphrase Private Eye, who said something along the lines of (I can't type the original phrase as it would trip the swear filter) "The only reason the brown stuff hasn't hit the fan yet is no one has switched the fan on". Put simply, Brexit hasn't happened yet. It may be bad for the country, or it may be good. We won't know until it has started happening. Even then, the effects may not be felt for years.