re: #6 SpaceJesus

Heh, I’ve had to bite my tongue until it bleeds on more than one occasion, but I’d rather do that than give those whose attitudes I find distasteful ammunition to use against me.

Incendiary rhetoric is by its very definition designed to provoke knee-jerk reactions. The moment someone takes the bait and goes blindly partisan, regardless of which “side” they’re on, they defeat and discredit themselves.

This is especially true here, where you have not only a diverse group of people, but also people who are both knowledgeable AND skilled at debate. Add to that that not everyone employs honest debate tactics, and you’ll quickly find yourself drowning in quicksand.

I don’t know if you studied debate in school (I didn’t), but there’s an interesting article on (pro-life) debate tactics here—you might want to print that out and pin it to the wall by your computer next time you find yourself twitching. ;o)