Modern debate is so much easier than debate in the past. For one there is very little debate prep that many need to do. Instead of having to spend time crafting substantive arguments you now only need to learn some stock phrases. Now anybody can become a master debater for most subjects.
| Immigration | Call the other person a nativist. | ||
| Homosexuality and Same Sex Marriage | Call the other person a homophobe. | ||
| Affirmative action | Call the other person a racist. | ||
| Abortion | Call the other person a sexist and then say if men could get pregnant abortion would be a sacrament. | ||
| Any issue of which the Catholic Church opposes. | Remind the other person of the priestly abuse scandal. Make sure you say pedophile priests at least once. (Jay Anderson Law) |
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| Minimum Wage | Tell them they are racist and targeting the poor and being in bed with the top one percent. | ||
| Islam. | Call the other person a racist. Even if you realize that Islam is a religion and not a race, you can still use this. In fact when in doubt on any subject just call the other person a racist – you will rarely go wrong. | ||
24 comments
This reminds me of many arguments I had in kindergarten.
“Your mean!!!” Waaaah
“That doesn’t mean you can take my lunch”
“Your mean!!!” Waaaaah
This chart makes debating sooo much easier for those of below 40 IQ–maybe that is why these “arguments” are so very frequently used by those on the religious-political Left.
Good list. If I may, I’d like to suggest a subsection to the Abortion category. In debates within Catholic quarters: Call the other person a shill for the Republican Party and less than fully Catholic; and say that there are other, more important issues like instituting a Zillion dollar federal program to put catalytic converters on lawn mowers to force people to minimize their carbon footprint.
if men could get pregnant abortion would be a sacrament.
That’s actually a pretty good argument against women’s ordination. It’s corollary is: if women were in charge of the Church, abortion would be a sacrament. Which observation actually supports, at least if “feminists” is substituted for women (which is okay since priestesses tend to be feminists).
You forgot one:
Modern Feminism: Call the men sexist traditionalists. BONUS: If they’re Christian, tell them that they’re brainwashed by the Bible. ULTRA-BONUS: If they’re Christian feminists (a la Feminists for Life), tell them they’re self-hating traitors who’ve been brainwashed by the Bible (or the Pope).
For all these issues, tell every person who believes in God that he/she can and should go and pray in their respective house of worship. This is called “religious freedom” and is an end to every debate in which faith is attacked.
Also, if you’re in Rhode Island, invoke the name and memory of Roger Williams as if it were his intention to erase God from the lives of the people and instate the “spirit of liberty” in His place.
A natavist? Never heard that one.
I always was fond of the insult “rigid”…as in, “you are just so ‘rigid’, you won’t see it my way…” etc.. My mom says that about me all of the time. I think I’m going to reclaim that particular insult and say to some hippie, “You are NOT rigid enough, you dang hippie!” Heehee, I wouldn’t actually do that. Just trying to illustrate my point. Sorry if I’ve offended any actual hippies out there.
Might I add two more that happen to be from the other side of the political aisle:
Oppose Iraq war: You are weak on national defense / you support the terrorists / have you forgotten about 9/11? / you don’t support our troops.
Oppose the death penalty: What if your wife / son / daughter was raped / beaten / murdered / insert heinous crime here?
Also, for abortion: Just bring up anything that has nothing at all to do with abortion. What’s your stance on the Iraq war? Death Penalty? Pedophile priests? (Assist to Chris Matthews on this one.)
My favorite? Puritan!
Anonymous made an excellent point about feminists making abortion a sacrament if ordained. That is not a fantasy–that is what is going on in most of the liberal mainstream Protestant churches. They are even promoting people like Bishop Robinson of N.H. (who is supported wholeheartedly by the same feminists and Episcopalians who pushed through women’s ordination) who ditched his wife and kids and now shacks up with his Gay lover (Alleleuia–say the Episcopal feminists). In fact a study covering the past 500 years shows that those Christian groups which ordain women soon totally disintegrate into moral anarchy. If you doubt it look at today’s Episcopalians, Methodists, Lutherans, and Presbyterians and the road they are rushing down.
How about “Neanderthal” and “prude” if you disagree with the prevailing opinion on abortion and chastity?
Thanks for the Wikipedia definition, Jeff!
Your blog is very educational 🙂
“…the term ‘nativism’ distinguishes between Americans who were born in the United States, and individuals who have immigrated – ‘first generation’ immigrants…”
And, of course, for all purposes, say your
opponent is “judgemental”, and hope nobody
notices you are making a judgement about him.
Fight back. Call people who love evil and hate good “euphobes”.
“…the term ‘nativism’ distinguishes between Americans who were born in the United States, and individuals who have immigrated – ‘first generation’ immigrants…”
That’s a weird definition – it seems like it’s confusing ‘nativism’ (i.e. xenophobia) with ‘native’.
It’s more like
Homosexuality/ Same-Sex Marriage: Call the other person a closet homosexual.
***
Deacon Bresnahan, you might be forgetting that there are a LOT of pro-life feminists. Like me. Oh, and the Holy Father. Oh, and the last Holy Father.
Another Feminist for Life!
I agree, R. Here’s a quote from Wikipedia”
“Information in this article or section has not been verified against sources and may not be reliable.
Please check for inaccuracies and modify as needed, citing the sources against which it was checked. The neutrality of this article or section is disputed.
Please see the discussion on the talk page.”
They are all logical fallacies (mainly ad hominems with some red herrings thrown in for good measure.)
Then there’s the “you spend too much time on the computer, you must be neglecting your (children, housework/ job, employer – fill in the blank). I have a good mind to report you to (children’s services, your boss, your internet service provider, – fill in the blank).
The translation of course is “I’m losing this argument so I need something REALLY big to threaten you with!”
This just in from Providence:
The Catholic Church has no right to believe that marriage must be between one man and one woman because of “all those priests who…” and because of all the annulments we hand out “freely”. Yup, it’s all making sense to me now.
Jeff, the “free” annulment answer is the NEW thing. You may have to add it on. It’s a more subtle attack, like allowing a gay divorce so that we can approve the marriage by the divorce. We will now try to devalue marriage because a small percent of divorced people receive annulments from the church.
Check out the letter to the editor on Projo.com if you think i’m foolin’.
So true.
�I always cheer up immensely if an attack is particularly wounding because I think, well, if they attack one personally, it means they have not a single�argument left.� Margaret Thatcher
This is one of my favorite quotes!
HAPPY FEAST OF THE HOLY TRINITY!
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