Unreasonable people can't be reasoned with. There is no rational conversation with people who's decision making is based upon racism/jingoism/national exceptionalism. The UK is still a monarchy, so I'm not convinced they can be taken any more seriously than a religious state anyway.
this post was submitted on 27 Jun 2026
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I have a friend who consistently pushes back on the rabid beliefs much of his family (and therefore friend group). I don’t know how he manages to not get aggressive but he patiently leads them to the inevitable dead end of their ignorance.
I don’t know that it’s helping, but he believes - and is probably not wrong - that we need to talk more. The lack of third spaces and the stream of rage-bait we are constantly fed helps people forget we have more in common than we think.
Guiding them to the dead end of their ignorance doesn't necessarily mean it teaches them anything or changes their behaviour. A lot of absolutist thinkers can't cope with nuance or shades of grey, they can only function with simple platitudes. Challenging that way of thinking is one of the things they believe they're voting against.
Kudos to your friend for trying, but I think it's more for his benefit and world view that he tries.
It’s not like the “gotcha” debates we see online. It’s more of trying to help them see in greyscale again after Facebook convinced them the world is black and white.
But you are correct; absolutists are difficult to convince otherwise.
I was recently trying to explain to my Dad that he was about to vote for actual, uniform-wearing Neo Nazis. In spite of his parents and uncles having fought against Nazis in WWII, he couldn't change his opinion due to the 'common sense' message he believed he was voting for. His brain is no longer plastic enough to work with new information, but his cognitive dissonance can stretch to infinity. At some point, he decided thinking was too hard and chose to stop trying.
Seems to be a global phenomenon. Personally I think it's the end result of online algorithms favoring or even directly employing rage bait to increase engagement. Nearly everywhere is becoming more polar and aggressive. CGP Grey had a good Video about this from over a decade ago.
I agree that engagement algorithms carry much of the blame. It’s why I tend to avoid spaces that use them
I've been watching this happen in the US for over a decade, it's cost me friends and family.
Connect with the people you care about and build genuine friendships and relationships. A lot of this thrives on everyone being isolated in their media and online spaces.
The only real way I've found to counter this polarization is education and community. A grifter can be spotted a mile away when you're all looking out for each other's well being with compassion and honesty and understand everyone's limitations and needs.
At the end of it all, people are what matter most. You probably wouldn't have any of the nice things in your life without them.
As an Englishman, they absolutely did not agree to disagree before Brexit.
Many would get furious if you contradicted their belief that people of Indian or Muslim extraction ate dog food every day.
Brexiteers are cowards. Who would‘ve guessed?