Register a SA Forums Account here!
JOINING THE SA FORUMS WILL REMOVE THIS BIG AD, THE ANNOYING UNDERLINED ADS, AND STUPID INTERSTITIAL ADS!!!

You can: log in, read the tech support FAQ, or request your lost password. This dumb message (and those ads) will appear on every screen until you register! Get rid of this crap by registering your own SA Forums Account and joining roughly 150,000 Goons, for the one-time price of $9.95! We charge money because it costs us money per month for bills, and since we don't believe in showing ads to our users, we try to make the money back through forum registrations.
The Something Awful Forums > Discussion > Debate & Discussion > Right Wing Media: congratulations Rush Limbaugh on three full years of sobriety!
 
  • Post
  • Reply
Dr. Quigley
Jun 28, 2008

9/24/2012 never forget:qq:
So what are some good ways to approach people you know of who are sucked into this poo poo. There's a guy I work with that I'm just getting to know, who seems like a really decent guy. He doesn't think pharmaceutical companies should be allowed to advertise on television, thinks fair trade agreements are bad, believes that wages are too low, and sees Wall Street as too powerful and corrupt.

But he's a Fox News addict who thinks that Romney is God and that Obama is literally bad in every way and a liar. What the gently caress!

I try to pretend I'm independent, and nod along with some of this poo poo cause I don't want to be confrontational. He thinks the entire media is a conspiracy and that Fox News are the ones giving him the real deal. But it's mostly the sort of soap opera politics fluff and not major, substantive ideological issues.

I think the key is that he is a white, middle-age, mid-level manager. It's like he can hear some deeper truth at some alien frequency in Fox News broadcasts that I can't pick up on. It's like the bell in The Polar Express.

* # ¿ Oct 18, 2012 02:49
  • Quote
Adbot
ADBOT LOVES YOU

# ¿ May 5, 2024 12:43
  • Quote
Dr. Quigley
Jun 28, 2008

9/24/2012 never forget:qq:

agarjogger posted:

Debate & Discussion > Let's pool our knowledge: D&D helps D&D Debate and Discuss
http://forums.somethingawful.com/showthread.php?threadid=3443984

Generally, trap them by being nice, respectful, and sympathetic while you deliver your arguments. If they fall on deaf ears, be nice, respectful, and condescendingly pitying the next time. No one is lied to more than a right winger, so try to be nice. They've been forcibly removed to an alternate universe, and they can't understand why it's costing them friends.

Ah, I had totally forgot about that thread. Thanks! I don't want him to feel like I'm in this to convert him or anything. I don't know if I ever want to get to the point of being condescending since all that does is reinforce the insular mentality I would think.

Dilkington posted:

You have the right idea because I think the most significant barrier to this sort of dialogue is tonal rather than substantive.

Without being condescending, ask them to consider alternative viewpoints, and just have a chat. I think one of the most valuable things I've learned in life is how to criticize a person without attacking them. If you communicate to them that you respect them as a person, and recognize the complex and often contradictory relationship we all have to our beliefs, you're much more likely to have a constructive discussion.

Another way to think of it is the situation is not "you vs him," but rather you are working together to better understand something that is a problem for both of you. Also, be prepared to make compromises or change your preconceived notions. You aren't entering the conversation in good faith if you ask the other person to reconsider their ideas and you're not willing to do the same.

I think a fair number of people strike up these sorts of discussions because secretly they like getting into shouting matches. I was that person for a long time- my advice is avoid being that person.

In the past I've been "that person" but I'm not that kind of person anymore except when it's just me and the radio.

I totally agree with everything you are saying, but I guess what I would like is some more specific sources or issues that are good introductory methods for reintroducing someone to reality. Something inside of their comfort zone where they feel like it might be alright to disagree with their own side. I'm going to check that thread linked above to see if I can find some.

* # ¿ Oct 18, 2012 04:06
  • Quote
  • 1
  • 2
  • 3
  • 4
  • 5
  • Post
  • Reply
The Something Awful Forums > Discussion > Debate & Discussion > Right Wing Media: congratulations Rush Limbaugh on three full years of sobriety!