Electile Dysfunction (Current students plz look!)

[CaptainHenreh]

Hyperbole, sarcasm, and outright dismissal weakens your position significantly,  Gerald.

You're better than that.

Isn't that all Rex does or am i interpreting wrong?

There is a big difference between advocating your beliefs... and I think Rex honestly believes what he's saying... and purposefully misconstruing someone else's beliefs into a theoretical dystopia to make it easier to attack.

Terms like "absurd position" and "la la land" are dismissive, at best. It shows you aren't actually open to considering the position and is a common tactic used (mostly by extremes on left AND right) to shout down ideas different than theirs.

It's why I tried to make it about morality, but nobody really wants to listen. WHICH IS FINE.

Like for example, I'm totally against killing people. I think it's completely immoral to end someone's life. And yet, if that happens in the course of defending one's self from harm, I can accept that the alternative to this immoral act was an even larger one. That is NOT the same as saying "If someone wants to kill you, you should let them because killing is immoral". Taxes are the same. I can accept that I am stolen from, and that stolen property could have a net benefit...BUT THAT THEFT IS STILL IMMORAL, and we should work through our government with that in mind. If I am stolen from and that money is used to hurt innocent people, that isn't a fucking policy issue, it's an additional affront to my sovereignty. I'm not saying "no taxes ever for any reason" but rather "Taxes should be absolutely as small as possible, as voluntary as possible, and we should make sure that the damage done is outweighed by the good." 

But you're right, I must secretly want to play fuckin' Lord of The Wasteland, Brought To You by Coca Cola.