What discussions bring out the worst in you?

I wonder that, myself, why some people have to call other people “hateful” and “ignorant” merely for expressing opinions that differ from theirs. That just gets a flame war going, and both sides end up saying things in anger that are out of character and lack tact.

Ones about racism or bigotry where someone defends the prejudice and seems content to believe it applies to all people of a given color, gender or national origin.

”I’ve noticed politics and religion seem to bring out the worst in some of us here at Fluther. Why is that?”

Because those seem to be the topics where people talk like experts about things they clearly have researched very little or not at all. That’s what gets me going: people stating incorrect bullshit as fact.

I don’t like conflict, so I try not to involve myself in those kinds of discussions much. The worst to date was involving obviously inane logic as some kind of absolute truth.

That’s what gets me going: people stating incorrect bullshit as fact.

Same.

The simple fact is: people are more passionate about politics and religion. Religion and politics are more than just a series of opinions, they’re ways of life. Any time a large part of a person’s life comes into question, there is possibility of intense arguing that can lead to personal attacks.

For me, discussions that bring out the worst in me are those about homosexuality when the words “choice” and “Leviticus” are thrown around. When people start acting like they know me better than I know myself. Homosexuality is a topic I am extremely passionate about. So it has the potential to bring out the worst in me.

@DominicX Yeah, LGBT stuff is my major hot-button, too. <fistbump>

Politics and religion bring out the worst in everybody. That’s why those topics are banned at some dinner tables and in various social settings and discussion groups.

Politics and religion are
(a) subjects that people feel strongly about emotionally,
(b) subjects that pertain to matters in which there is typically only one winner—one truth, one candidate, etc., and therefore
(c ) areas in which people typically feel threatened by holders of opposing views—not just cordial disagreement but threat;
moreover, they are
(d) areas in which people feel driven to proselytize and seek recruits in order to increase their numbers and thus their chances of defeating the opposition, and
(e) subjects in which people use their rational powers not to arrive at their conclusions but to defend the positions they have already adopted without benefit of reason.

The one discussion that brings out the worst in me is when people want to discriminate against homosexuals.

well, that’s the way it is folks, always will be, that is the nature of the subject matter, i mean how can one be totally calm when discussing a subject that frequently involves, murder, genocide, oppression, victimisation, torture and war. i mean what do you expect? Homosexuality is one of the worst hot topics. You know, for me, Homosexuality is not open to debate, end of story, i am not going to debate with someone that it’s wrong or unnatural, or Un-Christian, or irreligious or decadent, or perverse, or a hop, skip and a jump away from paedophilia. Among the adult, literate, population there are no excuses left.

Poetry.

Whatever the subject, here or in real life, aggressive rigidity gets me.

When things get too personal I get edgy!

Definitely religion. So many people are so rigid and certain they have the right answer about things none of us can possibly know about .. like heaven and hell.

Unfortunately, there are people who actually do hate minorities and people who are different (as opposed to simply disagreeing on definitions of terms and/or disagreeing on how to deal with certain interpersonal issues); it is best to simply ignore such people rather than engage them.

For me the topic is welfare. It’s not about welfare, but the people who want to abuse the system. The women and men who rather have the government support them then actually try to get a job or go back to school. The reason this gets me going is because of my mom. My mother has seven children and for most of my childhood she was a single mom. My mother always held down a job. That still wasn’t enough so she applied for state aid and was denied. The stated that she made too much money. My mother was a cashier for a grocery store and made, if lucky, $17,000 a year. How are you supposed to support 8 people on that?

Other thing is when girls who decided to start a family before they were ready (ie got married young and had no financial support. Then decided it would be a great idea to have a baby) start talking about how they can go to school for free. (In my state this is possible). I feel that I am being punished for wanted to to wait to have a family.

I feel that the ones who should get the most state aid should be those who actually work and actually try to support themselves and family. Not those people who are fine with amounting to nothing in life.

One more thing before I step off my soapbox, I hate when people try to tell me all Muslims are the same. I hate when people want to blame all Muslims for 9/11. I don’t want my nephew and niece to grow up in a hateful world that automatically hates them because they are Muslim.

When people say the Nazis did a great job. When people say homosexuals are scum. When people say Barack Obama is a fraud or when people pray for his death. I can get carried away because this isn’t about political debate anymore. It’s about destroying our democracies.

I don’t like to get into religious questions. Somehow you are always wrong in someone’s eyes. They will debate you down. Almost try to convert you into their ways. So I do avoid them. I have only answered one here. It was not as unpleasant as some of the other sites I have been to. You would be surprised what some of these very religious people will say. Heaven help them.

Questioning if religion can reform rapists and pedophiles.

Pedophilia.

If you are looking for a reason as to why shit like this becomes so heated, it’s because these are topics upon which there is no winning argument. If you don’t believe in God or abortion or capital punishment, you are probably never going to be swayed by someone here, there, or anywhere.

The important question to ask is, Who benefits the most when we argue this way?

”Who benefits the most when we argue this way?”

The people who aren’t in the argument. Grab some popcorn and watch the dumb animals claw at each other!

I will answer some philosophical questions on the universe or intelligent design itself but for the most part I try to stay away from political or religious questions in general. I will answer one every now and then. I’m a spiritual, not a religious person so religion for the most part does not appeal to me. I prefer to keep my political beliefs to myself. I do find some fun with some of the philosophical questions or I wouldn’t be on Fluther to begin with. I’m not on here for social networking, making friends or to talk about less serious issues all the time.

Questions pertaining to cancer/cancer treatments is the one issue that makes me lose my steam however if I had to pick one issue for me personally. I did notice in an earlier thread someone mentioned that atheist to theist discussions are like crack to jellies. Yes, this is true on any Q & A website, not just Fluther. I have seen some very hot debates between many Christians amongst themselves trying to interpret biblical scripture (I am yet to see this on Fluther however).

The first and so far only time that I have ever wanted to actually strangle someone on the other side of the monitor to within an inch of his life was in a thread on abortion.
In defense of my sanity, the guy started by likening the unborn to cancer.