How I Handle Birthers and Climate Change Deniers

[SafetyBlitz]

Originally Posted by Winstonbiggs

While I personally agree that Birthers and climate change deniers are nuts, that doesn't mean I don't also believe that those who seek certainty on these subjects aren't above imposing solutions that are counter productive, outright stupid and deny the reality of the world we actually live in.

+1

[Bonhomme Richard]

Originally Posted by Warfish

You didn't write this.

Next time cite your source if you're going to repost.

By the way, a constant cry of "you're stupid" isn't a valid debate position, and just because you may think X, Y or Z is stupid or equivalent to "flat earthers" doesnot, in fact, make it so.

The best argument against ignorance is the facts.

+ 1

This is a terrible, unoriginal, boring thread. It's the opposite of clever; it's the antithesis of thought-provoking. Everything about it and the OP is worse than what he is espousing against. We are all now slightly dumber for having clicked on this monstrosity. To move this thread to the Dump would be an insult to the Phail Stippers who deservedly take residence there.

[quantum]

Originally Posted by Bonhomme Richard

To move this thread to the Dump would be an insult to the Phail Stippers who deservedly take residence there.

ouch

[acepepe]

Originally Posted by YellowSubmarine

The real problem is that they are taken seriously instead of being quickly dismissed for the moronic jokes they are. Imagine someone telling you the earth is flat or that there are 57 known communists in the US Congress? We all know how wrong they are and that the scientific theory of the earth being round proved to be true and that the communist allegation was made up to feed the anti-red hysteria by a self-serving political opportunist.

One, refuse to take them seriously. Do not become angry or engage in debate. The idea that there are two equal sides to every issue is horse hockey. With the climate change deniers there is one side, soundly based on science and proposed after much study and peer review. The other is a theology and oil industry fueled propaganda campaign and has little merit. Imagine a discussion based on black magic being responsible for climate change? Would you chuckle and tell them to STFU? Or imagine a nutrition argument read from a Hostess manual on the health benefits of twinkies? Any nitwit who dared to repeat it would be laughed as a moron/tool.

Here is how I handled a climate denier recently. I was an invited guest at a special dinner that followed a tour of some of the most majestic and quickly melting glaciers in the world. The person holding the dinner organized and manged tours and was a very high ranking tour company official. The fact that they were melting came up and much to my shock he brought up the 'nonsense of the theory of climate change' being responsible for the acceleration of glacier melting. My first reaction was shock but I quickly regained my composure and aimed my verbal gun and responded with 'the scientific theory of climate change is not like grandma's theory that the cake at Aunt Bessie's is especially tasty because of a special, secret ingredient.' Adding a scientific theory is concluded after careful investigation and using the scientific method of the evidence and peer review. I got a big laugh from everyone at the table but our host fumed like Bill O'Reily does when his nonsense is pointed out to his face. I knew I had the upper hand but had to be careful to be respectful to my host and avoid totally humiliating him at the dinner table. He responded with a ridiculous charge that theories are not proven, which is true, and have no merit until they are called laws. I am not sure how he came to this inane conclusion but challenging it wasn't worth the effort and it all smelled like a big smoke screen. So I let others speak and debate and then when my opportunity came added that there were other scientific theories that have been challenged, much like climate change, include the scientific theory of the earth being round and the scientific theory that the earth revolves around the sun. This was very potent and our host clearly no longer wanted to debate the subject, knowing he was outgunned and that his argument exploiting the confusion over the word theory wasn't going to fly.

A new co-worker recently told the entire office at a company dinner that the he was of the opinion that Obama was not a United States Citizen. He let that bomb drop and we all sat in stunned silence for a moment. I have heard these people on TV and on boards like this but had never actually met one. My first reaction was to go to town and cut his crap down unmercifully and point out that the entire birther movement is little more than a hardcore racist reaction to a black man holding the highest office in the United States and bringing up politics, especially KKK politics, at a company event, was a poor decision. But I knew I couldn't and did not want to create a scene or make everyone uncomfortable. I got it together and quickly responded, with a full throat chuckle included, that I thought he was hilarious and what was next, was he going to tell us about Mitt Romney being a unicorn? Or, in less than subtle dig at the inherent racism, Aunt Jemimiah was in back and had made the fried chicken that has just been served and was going to come out and do a jig for us? Everyone laughed and I knew the conversation was over. He and I get along well at work and the subject has never come up again. (Although I do plan to let him know that my free time between now and November will be working to make sure Obama gets re-elected.)

Two silly questions; What happened after the ice age? and what did Exxon-Mobil have to do with what happened after the ice age?

[YellowSubmarine]

Originally Posted by sameoldjets

you are certainly entitled to your opinion just as people who espouse extreme views are entitled to theirs. however, you are also not doing much by calling these folks out only espousing your opinion.

as for obummer's birth right, only a completely dyed in the wool democrat would say his birth in hawaii is a slam dunk. there are just too much circumstantial evidence that says he was not born in the us. and even if he was, he continued until 2007 to have kenya listed as his birth home by one of his publishers and then did use an indonesian passport to enter this country way back when. not exactly the standard mode of operating as a us citizen.
.

No, let's be clear, Obama was not born in Kenya and there is nothing that supports that he was. Nada, zilch, zero. He is as American as anyone else. The entire insidious lie is a rooted in the racism if him being an 'other' or in more direct, racist language not a white, or 'real American.' This feeds a narrative of anyone who isn't white not being really American and is a common assertions of white supremacists and other racists.

[Trades]

Originally Posted by YellowSubmarine

No, let's be clear, Obama was not born in Kenya and there is nothing that supports that he was. Nada, zilch, zero. He is as American as anyone else. The entire insidious lie is a rooted in the racism if him being an 'other' or in more direct, racist language not a white, or 'real American.' This feeds a narrative of anyone who isn't white not being really American and is a common assertions of white supremacists and other racists.

and has nothing to do with his own claims of not being American in his mini-bio to his publisher, refusal to produce a birth certificate for 2 years and vague background that he has used to his advantage whenever possible. It is just like the rest of his problems. No ownership of any mistakes or bad events. Everything is everyone else's fault when bad and solely his when good.

[Warfish]

Originally Posted by Trades

and has nothing to do with his own claims of not being American in his mini-bio to his publisher, refusal to produce a birth certificate for 2 years and vague background that he has used to his advantage whenever possible. It is just like the rest of his problems. No ownership of any mistakes or bad events. Everything is everyone else's fault when bad and solely his when good.

This.

[chiefst2000]

Originally Posted by YellowSubmarine

No, let's be clear, Obama was not born in Kenya and there is nothing that supports that he was. Nada, zilch, zero. He is as American as anyone else. The entire insidious lie is a rooted in the racism if him being an 'other' or in more direct, racist language not a white, or 'real American.' This feeds a narrative of anyone who isn't white not being really American and is a common assertions of white supremacists and other racists.

So you are saying that Obama never represented himself as a Kenyan? His early book publishers simply listed him as born in Kenya because they were racists too? Are you saying that racists would also question the birthplace of Condaleeza Rice and Colin Powell because their black? Have you also heard right wingers questioning the birthplace of Al Sharpton and Jesse Jackson?

I thought Obama went to school in a Madrassa in Indonesa. Is that just a lie made up by racists that try to paint Barry Sortero, er um I mean Barack Obama as a Muslim as opposed to the all American Boy he actually is?

The reality is that part of the reason Barry Sortero changed his name to Barack Obama was his embrace of this image of a darling to the left international man. He thought that was a cool image for himself. It's why he never corrected the publishers that listed him as born in Kenya. He chose to make that part of his image even though it appears not to have been true.

[Frequent Flyer]

I love this thread.

[AlwaysGreenAlwaysWhite]

I love how you 'Supe'd' you all...

Starts thread for reaction. Gets said reaction. Doesn't respond to said reaction...

loltastic...