Nobody wins a Facebook Rumble

I have been reading some comments posted on our Facebook page where opposing views were expressed….some quite opinionated. And here I am…the guy who spouts his opinion each and every weekday. And I have to tell you----I would never use Facebook to argue with anyone. It’s a losing proposition.

Here I have this nice big microphone…the biggest in town….and I give you what I think. You have avenues to disagree with me, one of which on Facebook. You read my commentary and respond. It happens every day.  It’s not an argument. Rather, an exchange of ideas. I don’t counter.

But some Facebook posts and counter-posts can go on forever. And nobody changes anyone’s mind. No amount of persuasion can change a mind, it seems, on Facebook.

It reminds me of my years of teaching college debate. Students would prepare their arguments and take stands on things like euthanasia, abortion, guns, capital punishment….even corporal punishment when it was in our local schools...and never once did I ever see a debate change the mind of either participant. 

We are set in our ways.

So when I see a debate, like the one that erupted over the weekend here in town, I usually read the posts just to get a pulse on things. Minds won’t be changed. The only thing that is sure to occur is that someone will stop arguing the facts and start name-calling. And that is exactly what happened.

Problems are usually solved through face-to-face dialogue and compromise…..not on social media….and certainly not here. My job is to make you think and develop your own opinion. If I have done that….I count this commentary a success.

You are welcome to state the reasons I’m wrong on Facebook knowing I won’t argue back.

That’s because no one wins an argument on Facebook…..ever.