Wow, that really isn't as much fun as I thought it was going to be. But it's great advice.
I have another thought: Someone please point me to an article called "Rules for Progressives from a Progressive on How to Argue with a Conservative." Something preferably on DailyKOS or DemocraticUnderground...one that contains advice similar to this.
Don't hold your breath while you go lookin' for it, and I won't hold my breath waiting for you to find it.
Yeah, mine was meant to be real actual advice and not entertainment.
It works. It works mainly because they either want you to 1) agree with them, or 2) lose control
You doing neither confuses the hell out of them. Plus with my advice, you really are taking the moral high ground.
Incidentally, on "Rules for Progressives from a Progressive on How to Argue with a Conservative" - it's called "Rules for Radicals" by Saul Alinsky. Read it. Once you see what they're up to, my 10 commandments make even more sense.
http://www.geocities.com/WallStr...925/
alinsky.htm
The famous Rules for Radicals - this is the Progressive strategy. It differs from mine. (note, there are parenthetical notes from a non-radical at the end of each one with additional observations from our side of the fence)
RULE 1: "Power is not only what you have, but what the enemy thinks you have." Power is derived from 2 main sources - money and people. "Have-Nots" must build power from flesh and blood. (These are two things of which there is a plentiful supply. Government and corporations always have a difficult time appealing to people, and usually do so almost exclusively with economic arguments.)
RULE 2: "Never go outside the expertise of your people." It results in confusion, fear and retreat. Feeling secure adds to the backbone of anyone. (Organizations under attack wonder why radicals don't address the "real" issues. This is why. They avoid things with which they have no knowledge.)
RULE 3: "Whenever possible, go outside the expertise of the enemy." Look for ways to increase insecurity, anxiety and uncertainty. (This happens all the time. Watch how many organizations under attack are blind-sided by seemingly irrelevant arguments that they are then forced to address.)
RULE 4: "Make the enemy live up to its own book of rules." If the rule is that every letter gets a reply, send 30,000 letters. You can kill them with this because no one can possibly obey all of their own rules. (This is a serious rule. The besieged entity's very credibility and reputation is at stake, because if activists catch it lying or not living up to its commitments, they can continue to chip away at the damage.)
RULE 5: "Ridicule is man's most potent weapon." There is no defense. It's irrational. It's infuriating. It also works as a key pressure point to force the enemy into concessions. (Pretty crude, rude and mean, huh? They want to create anger and fear.)
RULE 6: "A good tactic is one your people enjoy." They'll keep doing it without urging and come back to do more. They're doing their thing, and will even suggest better ones. (Radical activists, in this sense, are no different that any other human being. We all avoid "un-fun" activities, and but we revel at and enjoy the ones that work and bring results.)
RULE 7: "A tactic that drags on too long becomes a drag." Don't become old news. (Even radical activists get bored. So to keep them excited and involved, organizers are constantly coming up with new tactics.)
RULE 8: "Keep the pressure on. Never let up." Keep trying new things to keep the opposition off balance. As the opposition masters one approach, hit them from the flank with something new. (Attack, attack, attack from all sides, never giving the reeling organization a chance to rest, regroup, recover and re-strategize.)
RULE 9: "The threat is usually more terrifying than the thing itself." Imagination and ego can dream up many more consequences than any activist. (Perception is reality. Large organizations always prepare a worst-case scenario, something that may be furthest from the activists' minds. The upshot is that the organization will expend enormous time and energy, creating in its own collective mind the direst of conclusions. The possibilities can easily poison the mind and result in demoralization.)
RULE 10: "If you push a negative hard enough, it will push through and become a positive." Violence from the other side can win the public to your side because the public sympathizes with the underdog. (Unions used this tactic. Peaceful [albeit loud] demonstrations during the heyday of unions in the early to mid-20th Century incurred management's wrath, often in the form of violence that eventually brought public sympathy to their side.)
RULE 11: "The price of a successful attack is a constructive alternative." Never let the enemy score points because you're caught without a solution to the problem. (Old saw: If you're not part of the solution, you're part of the problem. Activist organizations have an agenda, and their strategy is to hold a place at the table, to be given a forum to wield their power. So, they have to have a compromise solution.)
RULE 12: Pick the target, freeze it, personalize it, and polarize it." Cut off the support network and isolate the target from sympathy. Go after people and not institutions; people hurt faster than institutions. (This is cruel, but very effective. Direct, personalized criticism and ridicule works.)
Rule #1 applies to us as well, I will admit.
Facts are the counter to Rule #2. They assume you don't have any. They don't have any, either, but they're relying on the standard Rule #1 "Bluff"
Rule #3 is just as easily turned on your run-of-the-mill progressive sheep. The Rule #1 Bluff has worked for them so often, they're thrown off guard by someone who goes outside of their experience -- which is usually a set of Progressive "talking points"
Rule #4 is the "well we may do the same things they do, but THEY'RE hypocrites because THEY have a moral code and don't follow it to the letter" rule. "We don't have a moral code so we can do whatever we want without violating it." But ... they DO have a moral code. They just call it anything BUT that, normally.
Rule #5 is what they do time and again. It's fun, really, and yes, we do it, too. But when in a real face to face argument, avoid it. You have facts, they have ridicule. Eventually, they'll look small. And it won't take that long.
Rule #6 basically says to have fun attempting to torment your enemy. My rule is do not allow yourself to be tormented. This drives them crazy. This is what being polite and calm is all about.
Rule #7 says "bounce all over the place between these rules, or make shit up." But it's always the same stuff. Point it out if you can. Or ignore it.
Rule #8 is what we've seen happen to Bush, Cheney, and Palin ... and to some extent McCain. And lots of others. But if they were wrong yesterday, they're still wrong today, so your same facts continue to apply no matter how much they keep ranting. Unfortunately, it's free for them to file lawsuits as Palin found out.
Rule #9 ... This is why we keep hearing about "Global Warming". Rule #7 is why it's also called "Climate Change"
Rule #10 is why we are on the cusp of Socialism
They rarely follow rule #11
Rule #12 is why Bush is Hitler™, Cheney is Satan™, and Palin is an Idiot™.
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