How To Deal With Controversial Opinions

[beastinview]

Very easy to do this online, real life, not so much. Dental bills may skyrocket. :wink:

True! And that's why I respect such people for their bravery if not their message.

 

[deathmetal]

Very easy to do this online, real life, not so much.

Not really, but you need a congenial gathering of mature people who are committed to discussion, not just posturing. While rare it does happen.

 

[davet]

say controversial things with the intent to provoke

Maybe I interpreted this wrong, I thought of shit disturbers and the resulting smack in the mouth. 8O

 

[deathmetal]

There's many ways to do it. Jonathan Swift comes to mind as a satirist, or William S. Burroughs. In my experience, anything that is said politely and with some logic behind it can stimulate discussion, but the people who try to provoke animal response (emotions, self-defense, etc.) ruin any discussion. Many of those hide behind a mantle of politeness.

 

[iamn8]

I'm a strong believer in the importance of intent, especially when it comes to muddying the waters. Dissent for dissents sake is without meaning. It's what trolls do. True dissent is what democracy is about.

 

[davet]

+1 Nate :clap:

 

[beastinview]

I'm a strong believer in the importance of intent, especially when it comes to muddying the waters. Dissent for dissents sake is without meaning. It's what trolls do. True dissent is what democracy is about

I think I agree, but with a big qualification:
I'm extremely leery of attempts to rule whether speech is legitimate based on "intent." That's not because it's not important, but because ultimately the intent can't be determined--we really can't know someone's true motivation. Some of the most seemingly genuine people may turn out to be fakes, and some we think are too provocative may actually be sincere.
Some say, "Oh I welcome all dissent... except that with wrong intent, which should obviously be silenced and banned from public discourse." Much of the time they are themselves being disingenuous and actually just using this criterion to disqualify anyone who disagrees with them.
I welcome all speech. In the words of John Milton, “Let [Truth] and Falsehood grapple; who ever knew Truth put to the worse in a free and open encounter?”

― John Milton, Areopagitica