Has a political post on here ever changed anyone’s mind?

[bgates]

I haven’t dropped by the site in a couple of weeks. When I glanced at the home page, the top forum topic was the news flash, “German Magazine has Low Opinion of Texan.” I was not surprised to see who posted it. I was not surprised to see who responded, and how.

I’ve given up on these discussions, but I’m still curious – has anyone ever learned anything from the political posts? Or come to think differently about an opposing point of view?

[sdcellar]

I think I’ve learned a few things, but mostly I just find the threads frustrating and even moreso, when I post myself, I usually regret it (because what I really want is for the thread to just die).

[Anonymous]

No, but it can be a fun diversion because the housing market crash is becoming so dull and predictable. Now that the elections are over I predict these posts will lose their steam so don’t worry. Soon we’ll all be back to bashing NAR and real estate agents instead of Bush and Rummy.

[PD]

I do not think any minds have been changed. I have said before that I do not think political threads are good for Piggingtons (and was then accused of being a quitter). I think sdceller is a good example of readers/posters who find these threads frustrating. We may be driving people away and I don’t like that. The more posters we have, the more interesting the discussion.

[lindismith]

I wouldn’t say my mind has ever been changed, but I have learned a lot. Mostly because I never read any conservative viewpoints, so it’s helpful for me to see the other side of things.
That said, I’m never swayed. 🙂
In fact, I think it just reinforces my own viewpoint even further!
I’m sure all the conservatives on here would say the same thing though, so yeah, it’s probably all useless.

[PerryChase]

I’m with deadzone and lindismith.

I don’t take things personally, so politics don’t bother me. Piggingtons tend to be a smart bunch so the discussion is good. It’s good for people to share their politics. Politics brings out the real person.

I’m never swayed by the right but I learned that conservatives are much more passionate about their issues than progressives.

BTW, I used to be a Republican in college because I’m a supporter of Free Trade. I beleive that free commercial and cultural exchange is what makes a better world. However, the social and cultural intolerance of the GOP has turned me off.

[(former)FormerSanDiegan]

The most interesting thing I learned from those posts was the diversity of opinions of people on all things political, despite that same group sharing (for the most part) an outlook on the residential RE bubble.

It is amazing to read some of these folks very resonable comments, grounded in reality, analysis and facts in the housing topics; then move over to the political section and see all sense of analytical thought thrown to the wind.

At least it tends to focus the name-calling stuff into the non-housing related threads.

[renterclint]

Being about as “center” as they come. I can be swayed by factual, logical arguments, but most of the time, I see the comments in the political strings as mostly unfounded opinion (which ultimatley leads no-where… me thinks). I do recall a little Bush-bashing thread started from very-regular poster a while back. I’m not fond of W, and enjoyed the dialogue, but a really conservative person entered the debate with some serious facts that were well articulated, and I he made me view ol’ Jr in a different light… at least for a moment or two. I could be wrong, but I think the conservative voice was bgates. That guys seems to know his stuff…

[Anonymous]

constantly.

[gold_dredger_phd]

The only person to speak rationally about politics was Ayn Rand.

[Anonymous]

gold_dredger_phd
well not the only person, but I like the train of thought. I’m new here and am not up to speed with the differing personalities. Politics and religion are inclined to spark both rationally and irrationally passionate responses. Usually (I hope) coming down to a “we agree to disagree” ending. Throw philosophy into the mix, and we’ll see people get even more distracted from the sites purpose. Anyway I look forward to participating and hearing other peoples observations and opinions.

[Author]

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