Debating the godfreaks — or not

Pamela Troy offers a few thoughts on debating the far right, especially its religious fanatics:

Back in my Bible Belt days, I occasionally met evangelical Christians who approached argument in much the same way these folks do. Usually it was some sheltered soul who had heard about unbelievers in Sunday school, but rarely actually interacted with them. The person would initiate a conversation, usually beginning with the question “are you saved?” and then, as the discussion went on, evince baffled dismay that the “unsaved” person did not stop arguing, fall to his or her knees, and convert like they do Jack Chick tracts.

The concept of defending a point they had made was alien to them. They had marched eagerly forward with what they considered unassailable arguments, and were outraged at the rudeness of people who refused to treat those arguments as unassailable. Sure, they expected a little resistance. But oh, the gross unfairness of someone listening, arguing and worse, asking them to expand on their points and clarify them! That was just intolerable! It was insulting! It was harassment, that’s what it was! By the end of the conversation, the evangelical had usually forgotten who had begun the discussion and was hurrying off to the comfort of fellow Born Agains with a tale of being the victim of an unprovoked verbal attack by an unbeliever.

I’m interested in ideas. If someone initiates a discussion on a subject that interests me, I will continue that conversation so long as I find it interesting.

There seem, however, to be quite a few people online who don’t like debate. They like the idea of debate, but they don’t really understand what intelligent debate entails – which is, listening, citing facts, and most important, asking questions, and answering questions.

Pamela describes precisely the sort of behavior that the godfreaks of the far right indulge in all too often — I have in mind Cao (more than once), Renee, and Kat, in particular. Reason and inquiry is anathema to that sort; only narrow, dogmatic belief is allowed in their cramped little worlds.