Discussing politics and other contentious sunjects online feels to me like it’s counterproductive these days and even though I try not to get suckered in, I often can’t help myself. Usually though I just end up feeling frustrated and sometimes angry at the other person either missing my points or refusing to accept them.
Thinking back to conversations I’ve had here and previously on Reddit, not only can I not remember an example of me “winning” the discussion and the other person changing their mind or conceding the point, I also cannot think of a time where my mind was changed either.
So have you ever begun a discussion online with someone with a different view point to yours and either you, or they, changed the others mind?
Yes. The Lindsey Clancy case.
My opinion on it changed wildly the more I learned about it, and as I learned about it from difference sources, some of which were online comments. I used those comments to investigate further, look up references, precedents, laws, etc. So i could start developing more of my own opinion and understand why the case was such a lightning rod for so many for so many different reasons.
And it made me distrust a podcast I listen to because the hosts initial take on the trial was so heavily biased in her favor, and they didn’t acknowledge several facts about the case that were acknowledge by people online and in other commentary about the case… and many media sources presented heavily biased reporting on the case.
And now all this argumentation has me questioning how our legal system can ever be fair in a media environment that is so toxic and wants to doxx and assault jurors for doing their job. The amount of truly awful journalism surrounding the case was alarming.