Comment by anigbrowl
9 days ago
Strongly disagree. Respectful discourse requires reciprocity and from Trump himself down to his supporters, that's deliberately absent in MAGA. The whole project is about dominating and putting down other people - and has been since day one - and only appealing to comity as a defensive or deflection tactic. With such a long track record of bad faith, it's foolish to engage with other postures than suspicion.
Thank you for your reply. I understand wanting to approach these conversations with suspicion. But I also think that MAGA is a heterogeneous movement whose participants have a range of motivations. Respectful speech doesn’t mean ignoring bad actors but refusing to label everyone that way. Some conversations with Trump voters can still be constructive. Respectful speech allows those conversations to happen. Conversely disrespectful speech contributes to polarization, effectively helping domination ideology to spread. That is why I believe it is counterproductive.