TheRock posted... I've had two cousins killed by drunk drivers.
Anyone defending it under ANY circumstances is a piece of shit and can go straight to hell.
I direct this message towards most of the people in this topic who I don't consider to be garbage. Doesn't apply to everyone but yeah. To put it simply:
Rock's comment is what you need to say. Nothing else.
Don't argue with Corrik, red Sox, SephG etc. Don't treat them like reasonable actors or giving them the time of day. Dismiss them. Condemn them.
Look, I get it. Despite the charged feelings we all have right now, it's not easy to hate or dismiss people out of hand. It's important to understand where people are coming from. Otherwise you'd probably be a conservative! It's surprisingly difficult to hate. But these are people that have had YEARS to shape up. They have no hidden depths for you to discover. You know them well.
They will never change, and are not interested in doing so.
I'm not saying this because the topic being filled with unending arguments posts is silly (although it is). Its because arguing with them is actively detrimental. Even if you disagree with them or claim they're wrong and suck, it doesn't matter. You're giving them a platform and the time of your day, and by doing so, legitimizing them.
By arguing with them in good faith so often, you become part of the problem.
The time for treating them normally is long, long past. They don't deserve it and their worldview doesn't deserve to be given the limelight. Don't drag these things out. Stop.
Call them a piece of shit who deserves to go to hell, and be on your way. Better yet, say nothing at all and get some use out of the ignore list. Don't just disagree. Condemn and dismiss them.
And:
And to give more context to my post...
A big example of the 'becoming part of the problem' thing I'm trying to get across would be Roosterteeth, a company I've followed for a while. Roosterteeth has historically had issues with attracting right-win fans despite being an openly left-leaning company. Their black and female on-screen talent have received vitriol disguised as 'constructive criticism' for years now. The attitude from the top, and the attitude that permeated the rest of the left-leaning fanbase (who, for the record, were the majority) was to either wave it off or try to convince the assholes they were wrong. To engage them as if they were rational people arguing in good faith.
It didn't work.
The number of right-wing asshole in their fanbase has only grown over the years. Because they knew that they had found a platform where they would be heard, and by not being excommunicated, would have their opinions legitimized. It took the current protests and some employees and ex-employees opening up about how shitty they feel the company's response was for the higher-ups to change their tact. And for the record, I think the higher-ups at roosterteeth legitimately care. They just handled toxicity exactly the wrong way. The exact same way we're handling it now.
Now, we're not a major corporation who influences hundreds of thousands of people with our rhetoric, but this is still our little corner of the internet. This is a place where we can make a bit of a difference. And frankly speaking, we're not. Maybe arguing with them in good faith - even when they never argued in good faith back - at one point was the right decision (don't agree with this but whatever), but it no longer is. Stop giving them platforms. Respond to their shit with one post, AT THE MOST, condemning them, and leave it at that.
Our country is currently at war. Start acting like it, instead of coming here so you can get the thrill of dunking on wrong people when you're bored. Your voice matters.