Do you have, or have you considered creating, a list of topics that you refuse to discuss?

No, I will talk about anything and bullshit about anything I know nothing about. However, I can totally see where Bortz is coming from. I think he is correct. No one is ever going to change someone elses mind on that particular topic once they have made up their minds..

Unless I am drawn into the fray by a particularly fatuous remark, I won’t discuss gun control, capital punishment, atheism or Israel on here any more. I don’t think my mind or anyone else’s will be changed. I will discuss them elsewhere however.

Absolutely not. There are things that I am not interested in, such as flower arrangement. I’d have a difficult time engaging in a detailed discussion about the ideal arrangement of types of flowers for certain occasions. But there are not topics that I have decided are off the table.

In fact, I try to include conversation and discussion in my mindfulness practice. Where do I lose patience? Why is this? How do I feel when I am discussing a certain topic. If there is tension, anxiety, or anger around a certain topic, it’s a good sign that I have some work to do. Am I identifying too much with positions that I hold? Do I really have good reasons for holding that position? How did I come to this position? In what way does this affect me and those that I love? I then try to let go just a little to see if something changes (in me). If something does, this will likely offer another area to explore.

I can learn a ton about myself by engaging in a discussion with someone I disagree with. It’s easier. It’s far more challenging to get this insight through a discussion comprised of agreement.

And I do experience shifts in my positions. It’s becoming more rare as I get older, and this concerns me.

Yes. That will be a list of things I won’t discuss with “inappropriate” people.

I have learned that certain people can’t take certain topics, so I have to choose which topics to discuss with which kind of people. I can sometimes make me look like I have multiple personalities, but I’ve got used to it.

Yes. It’s not worth talking about religion to most people. It’s not worth talking about abortion, as you point out. It’[s not worth talking about Obama and Obamacare to my ex-wife, because she’s a nuthead Fox News addict.

It’s not worth talking about Israel and the Palestinians with an israeli. Trust me.

@elbanditoroso Actually, I find many American Jews more close-minded about talk about Israel than some of my Israeli relatives. But they are unusual ones…

No, even things that will more than not end in a stalemate, I will at least know what bogus ammo the other side has, so I know how weak the argument is, even if the adversary doesn’t; that is well worth learning.

~I would tell you but I don’t discuss it. Usually I get in trouble if I talk about witchcraft or Psychic time travel. Or if I go overboard with links to fantasy.