Sometimes discussions can be like a tennis match. The ball passes from one side of the court to the other until you finally run towards the net and smash the ball into the farthest corner out of reach for the other player. Game, set and match. You played brilliantly and are so pleased with yourself. You had showed off your skill and your opponent is defeated.
For me this slogan addresses the "showing off" part because that is the part we can control best. The heat of the moment thing is harder to control even though it too needs attention. But it doesn't come with the cold satisfaction of showing off skills. And that's what makes it dangerous. If you insult somebody in the heat of the moment you probably regret it afterwards, but if your goal is to defeat somebody then you enjoy that the other side is embarrassed. Or at least you don't care because it is all about being in the right which the other person should accept.
So, yes. Don't humiliate people just because they're wrong. I have a couple of friends and acquaintances who tell me all kinds of nonsense about Covid and Trump. It is pointless to try and convince them of the facts because they live in conspiracy bubbles. My solution is: I will no longer engage in discussions about these subjects with them. I told them that. Who knows, maybe they come back to their senses eventually but for the time being certain subjects are off limits. That's my way of protecting myself, and it is a way that doesn't hurt them.
Sometimes discussions can be like a tennis match. The ball passes from one side of the court to the other until you finally run towards the net and smash the ball into the farthest corner out of reach for the other player. Game, set and match. You played brilliantly and are so pleased with yourself. You had showed off your skill and your opponent is defeated.
For me this slogan addresses the "showing off" part because that is the part we can control best. The heat of the moment thing is harder to control even though it too needs attention. But it doesn't come with the cold satisfaction of showing off skills. And that's what makes it dangerous. If you insult somebody in the heat of the moment you probably regret it afterwards, but if your goal is to defeat somebody then you enjoy that the other side is embarrassed. Or at least you don't care because it is all about being in the right which the other person should accept.
So, yes. Don't humiliate people just because they're wrong. I have a couple of friends and acquaintances who tell me all kinds of nonsense about Covid and Trump. It is pointless to try and convince them of the facts because they live in conspiracy bubbles. My solution is: I will no longer engage in discussions about these subjects with them. I told them that. Who knows, maybe they come back to their senses eventually but for the time being certain subjects are off limits. That's my way of protecting myself, and it is a way that doesn't hurt them.