"Republicunt": why use terms like this?

[shadow]

That is quite possible - I've observed that this is one of the instrumental uses of insults.

If that's the case I'm disappointed with AF, because I want to talk to conservatives if they are willing. If we're going to be anything better than an echo chamber, we have to. From my experience it is so powerful to understand the people who you disagree with - to know how they think, to understand their paradigm and see what it's missing. Especially when you are disagreeing with a very powerful force, you can't pretend that they aren't there, or you will continually lose and not know why.

And I think we're rationally right by so much as atheists that there's no reason to try to keep conservatives out. Chasing away dissenters is something you have reason to do when you're a bully trying to look tough, not when you can so easily defend your view rationally and objectively.

It's so nice to hear this as a reply.  I've said the same thing for a while here, and normally am subjected to a bunch of denial or ironically, insults.

Glad to have this discussion then