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Ask HN: Liberal seeking conservative pen pal for good faith debate

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Ask HN: Liberal seeking conservative pen pal for good faith debate

#1
Is there a venue for matching people with politically opposed views to meet, learn, share, and debate with each other in good faith? I have wanted to do this for awhile and I think now it is more important than ever. My views are for the most part what one would label as "liberal" as opposed to "conservative" in the common but highly reductive US political terms. My social media bubble is an echo chamber so I only ever see strawman arguments in opposition. I don't talk about politics with co-workers for the same reason I don't talk about sports or religion---it never ends well!

I want to meet smart people with politically different views who are also interested in healthy debate. By "healthy" I mean you should both expect and extend respect for each other's right to hold our opinions. I would not be trying to "convert" anyone to my point of view. I will be open-minded enough to admit to not having all the answers. I will commit to logical, well-reasoned discussion. Argumentation can be heated, but personal attacks are off limits. I genuinely want to understand how other people think, especially those who have come to different views about topics than I have.

I would prefer a 1:1 format, or perhaps a small group discussion board. Real time video would probably be best to promote honest discourse due to the human connection, but might be logistically difficult to arrange, and I also want both sides to have time to think before preparing responses.

Any interest?

Re: Ask HN: Liberal seeking conservative pen pal for good faith debate

#6
I see that nobody here (currently: czep, froasty, throwaway0b1, chaganated, core-questions) has any contact info in their Hacker News profile. Usually for political stuff that means a conservative working in the Bay Area, hiding in fear, though czep claims to be liberal.

Plain old phone numbers might be best for this.

It could be too scary with all the hostility. Given how the tech industry is, not many conservatives will be willing to reveal themselves. Performance reviews could suddenly turn sour for no apparent reason, and lots of conservatives have family to support.

Re: Ask HN: Liberal seeking conservative pen pal for good faith debate

#7
post #6

I see that nobody here (currently: czep, froasty, throwaway0b1, chaganated, core-questions) has any contact info in their Hacker News profile. Usually for political stuff that means a conservative working in the Bay Area, hiding in fear, though czep claims to be liberal. Plain old phone numbers might be best for this. It could be too scary with all the hostility. Given how the tech industry is, not many conservatives…

I'm my own boss in a red state, so more concerned about getting pounded by spammers and weirdos than professional repercussions. Just don't see much point to the pen pal project.

Lift regularly, free yourself from the HR fatties, start a business, spend half the day filling out forms for every nickel-and-dime tax/license under the sun, and you will also want to get a helicopter license (to celebrate Pinochet's birthday in style!)

I say this as a former Bernie supporter.

Re: Ask HN: Liberal seeking conservative pen pal for good faith debate

#8
"Is there a venue for matching people with politically opposed views to meet, learn, share, and debate with each other in good faith?"

That used to be at places like college, parties/bars, or other casual social events (dinner, lunch, coffee with extended friends groups).

I would guess you can get some offers on here or forums/websites.

Another thing that I do, is read others comments or articles and try to find weak points in my own arguments or new data/perspectives that change my views, or at least help me understand the views of others.

Re: Ask HN: Liberal seeking conservative pen pal for good faith debate

#9
My dad is the conservative I can do what you describe with.

(Hopefully the following doesn't go against any politics rules...)

However he despises Trump/Trumpism and so sat out the 2016 election and voted against Trump in 2020.

So along a similar vein to what you're looking for, I'd actually like to have a civilized, respectful, discussion with a Trump supporter (not merely just a conservative), since my dad doesn't fill that role.

Re: Ask HN: Liberal seeking conservative pen pal for good faith debate

#10

My dad is the conservative I can do what you describe with. (Hopefully the following doesn't go against any politics rules...) However he despises Trump/Trumpism and so sat out the 2016 election and voted against Trump in 2020. So along a similar vein to what you're looking for, I'd actually like to have a civilized, respectful, discussion with a Trump supporter (not merely just a conservative), since my dad doesn't…

I'm curious, what would the differentiating topics be between a conservative and trump supporter? It seems many non-trump supporting conservatives have similar policy stances but don't like his methods/insults/etc. Or would it just be to discuss why they tolerate those factors?
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