Is the description "narrow minded" just another cheap shot. Just one more item in the bag of political cheap tricks?

It is intended as an insult. However, I always thought narrow minded meant that you only looked at something from a narrow view as in you only saw one side of an argument and either did not or would not look at it from another point of view. The problem with this insult though is that someone can analyze a situation from multiple points of view and still feel their original perspective/solution was correct. Unfortunately, if they are not good at articulating why they arrived at the conclusion, they are easily labeled as narrow minded.

I would venture to say that anyone using the term “narrow minded” is familiar with the definition of the term, so it’s quite likely that the person being called “narrow minded”

probably is.

After all, it’s not a term one simply grabs out of thin air.

Don’t forget “mean-spirited”.

Now that I think about it, I don’t know too many people who are not narrow-minded. Most of us have very specific views of things that nothing will convince us to see any other way.

“Narrow minded-ness” is the norm, though we’re loathe to apply the term to ourselves.

I get the feeling that people use it to convince themselves that they’re correct, and everybody who disagrees is wrong. Personally, I prefer its counterpart, open-minded, when dealing with anything that pertains to it. Whenever I want to introduce someone who’s generally more conservative in their interests something bizarre, I request the “keep an open mind” about them or they’ll just dislike it. Otherwise, it is just a cheap shot as @josie said initially.

Yeah, it’s a cheap shot.

“You won’t give me the courtesy to accept _____ is a reasonable point of view.”

While conveniently ignoring the fact that denying someone their perspective is narrow minded as well.

The truly open-minded person would not be bothered with this discussion at all. “Open-mindedness” has no allegiance”. It has no investment one way or another. Seems to me that anyone calling themselves “open-minded” is a person using subtlety to influence a particular way.

It just might be an overdue wake up call.

It’s always better, when and if you have an issue with or an argument or disagreement with someone’s position or politics or beliefs or values if you can express your opposing argument in more than one or two words, and if you can’t, if you simply rely on name calling with no further elaboration then there’s really no point in saying anything. Simply saying someone is narrow minded or racist doesn’t really accomplish anything if you can’t back it up, I don’t think.

It’s so much worse when the narrow mind resides in a fat head, I think. But I’m willing to be open-minded on this issue, providing nobody disagrees with me.

Cheap shot.

I suppose the come back would be “I’m not narrow minded – I’m focused”.

Bit from column A, bit from column B, with plenty of overlap between the two. I think some people who like to fancy themselves intellectuals will throw it around without properly analyzing someone else’s arguments. Sometimes it’s completely accurate. Personally, I just don’t find it that useful of as either an insult or an arguing point.