(November 21, 2017 at 2:46 am)Anomalocaris Wrote:(November 21, 2017 at 2:05 am)shadow Wrote: So you think Republicans, upon reading 'Republicunt', will reflect upon their views and decide to become Democrats instead?
No, insult by itself is unlikely to change the views of the insulted.
However, if the insulted is in any way salvageable, and has been triggered by other experiences to reflect upon his or her views, then if he or she actually has the mental curiosity to actually make the reflection an potentially profitable exercise, then the chances are he or she would also reflect upon who is it that insulted them, and why those others may so give up on him and her. In this case, insults themselves may convey little information, but the fact that insults are made may convey a great deal of information.
Understandable point, but in this case I can't imagine insults having that effect because the parties involved are too large. For example, as an atheistic heathen I expect that there are billions of people on this planet who would hate me for my views. Billions. That does nothing to make me think they are right.
Same goes for any religious group - all are minorities, so there are billions of people who would have reason to hate each and every person on the planet. With this kind of multicotomy, hate alone is not enough. You need something else.... persuasion. Be credible and respectable, back up your views with reason, present them in a way that makes people want to listen. That's effective.
For what it's worth... I don't know if I've ever changed my behavior because of being insulted. I would say I have plenty of mental curiosity but insults do nothing but put me more on the defensive.
