Aha! Now I get it. Didn't mean to fry any circuits. It wasn't really but after a nudge a while ago I thought I would check it out and I like what I see. Nice sane conversations where people try to edify and can agree to disagree if it comes down to it.
There's usually a bit of disagreement in several topics here, but it's usually respectful disagreement. As one user "over there" worded it, we can disagree without being disagreeable.
Oh I disagree with quite a lot of people, or it's they that disagree with me. That's par for the course as far as My opinion goes. It's those that intentionally post with the intention to cause strife I have a problem with. I'm perfectly happy to read the words of those who disagree with me because I've learned things that's shown that I was wrong in a small or even big way and that's helped my growth and understanding far too many times for me to think I've got it all figured out. And isn't that the point of all of this? If I just wanted to argue with people for the fun of it I'd hang out at the barber shop.
Well, get comfy and start Yes indeed. Or you could hang out at a construction meeting. Those get pretty vicious as well.
No thanks. I'm wayyy too old and out of shape to engage in the fisticuffs anymore. I'll just gnaw on my cornbread and sip on my iced tea and leave that mess to the youngins.
Oh no, not physical. I meant verbally it's pretty vicious. Most of these guys only bark because they hold your checks.
Oh, right. I thought we were joking around. Sorry about that bro. Yes, those situations can be a very different type of vicious indeed.
No need to apologize. I know you were joking around. Sometimes it would probably be better if it got physical.
I'm quite like you, I find it more interesting to discuss things with people who have a different viewpoint simply because they can offer a different perspective on things. I may not accept their viewpoint as my own but at least I can maybe come to understand it. That is, of course, if they take the time to express a rational viewpoint. Sadly so many these days (thankfully not much on here) prefer to resort to slurs, insults and pigeonholing. It's easier to call someone a "libtard" than to understand a more liberal perspective, it's easier to call someone a "fascist" than understand why they voted for a candidate you (generic you, not you individually) may find abhorrent. Sadly with the rise of sites like faceache it seems everybody is ready to shout and few are ready to listen.
Not to get too deep here but I think that's a further sign of the break down of our societal structures. Some can't engage in a discussion or exercise of idea's and even actions without digging into the personal destruction bag. Some seem to think that if you don't agree with their opinion/ideology it's a reflection upon them personally and because of a certain opinion/ideology you may have you are the scum of the earth. And that goes far beyond just politics and it's even gotten a foothold in large segments of the church. The only way to fix it is to work on changing hearts and the only way we can do that is to get them centered on Christ first and themselves way, way down the list of "What's really important."
One thing that helped me a lot, about 25 years ago I stopped learning about other views through my pastor. Instead I bought books by those who adhered to different views or I at minimal bought a 2-5 views book on a subject. That made a drastic impact on me. I've changed many views over the years due to that method. But you also learn to respect the other views more. The other side isn't filled with idiots. They are intelligent, Spirit filled people too who love God, and probably more than me. It helps to converse and sympathize with where they're coming from.
When people have no idea of self-identify in Christ, they have no choice but to strike out at anything that threatens their self-construct of being God unto themselves, even subconsciously. Sadly, many Christians haven't learned that lesson, either.
I suspect a large part of it is down to nothing more than the concept of the mighty Internet warrior, hurling insults anonymously at generic groups of people from the safety of their computer. Throw in the way social media rapidly turns into little more than echo chamber, offering people ever-more evidence that everybody agrees with their perspective, and it's easy to see why people start to regard those with different viewpoints as being an insignificant minority who are more deserving of pity/scorn/correction than any attempt at understanding. Any argument that instantly writes off 35-40% of the voting population as being some kind of imbecile is itself worthy of some derision, simply because it does nothing more than create a huge pigeonhole and dump vast numbers of people into it, assuming they are all alike. Where politics are concerned it seems a very common worldview is that I voted for My Candidate because overall I agree with them (which is obvious, given I'm a right-thinking person) even if I disagree with them on some aspects, and yet anyone who voted for The Other Candidate obviously agrees and approves of everything they ever said or did and also agrees with everything said or done by anyone else who agrees with them. So you single out some utter lunatic on the extreme fringes of whatever side you didn't vote for, and write off everyone who voted for The Wrong Candidate as presumably agreeing with the lunatic fringe. For a time I thought it was a phenomenon isolated to the younger generations who may not have been taught the process of constructive reasoning and discussion the same way we older folks were. But more and more these days I'm seeing older folks, people who I know are intelligent, presenting little more than silly gripes and snipes as if they were coherent reasons for why people should vote a certain way. I think it's become far too easy to demonise entire groups of people for having The Wrong Opinion, which sends the irony meter off the scale given it seems (based on my observations at least) to be a phenomenon more (although by no means exclusively) associated with those on the left of the political spectrum and yet seems to take a page or two out of Adolf Hitler's playbook. When people (on either side of the political spectrum) start to get it into their heads that extreme violence is an acceptable means to rid the world of the problem of People With The Wrong Opinions we really have major problems. All that said the way social media breaks down social norms does nothing to help. It's truly depressing to see groups of people sitting around a table in a restaurant and notice that nobody is talking to each other - they're all staring at their phones. I guess it's easier to find someone with The Right Opinion online and ignore the distance than it is to deal with the fact the people around you hold The Wrong Opinion.