Ad Hominem Ad Nauseum
Good lord, have you tried having a political conversation with anyone recently? If you are unlucky enough to find someone who isn't on your side the convo goes south quicker than dropping a rock into a well. What was once a spirited discussion over immigration, the economy or foreign policy quickly becomes a litany of personal attacks. One of the lessons of the recent election has been that true debate is awfully hard to come by. Debates on thoughts, ideas and policies quickly devolve into harsh personal attacks which ends any constructive exchange of thoughts.
I'll remind everyone that the first rule of debating is he who goes personal first loses the debate. It's a sign you are OUT of ideas and can only go back to the same techniques that were effective in third grade. So, for all you folks calling fellow Americans Racist, Homophobe, Xenophobe, Anti-Semetic or just hateful I'd like you to remember a few things.
- Name calling should end about the same time you can ride the big boy rides at the Amusement park
- Thinking that name calling is somehow going to shame your opponents is less and less effective as you use that technique more and more. If half the country is hateful it kind of dilutes it's meaning.
- Free speech is sometimes painful. It's not just for speech that you happen to agree with. The true meaning of free speech is for that which you hate.
- Hate speech doesn't exist. Give up using the term. Hate speech is free speech and you should be happy to live someplace where people can speak their minds. Cause remember, if you can dictate what is or isn't hate speech based on your personal biases, given some time someone will do it to you as well.