The Impossible Online Argument

The year is 2016. You are a decently well-educated, well-adjusted person, living in a country we shall call... **Bryton**. The discussion surrounding the **Bryxit** referendum has politically torn your people apart, and is little more than a week away from happening. You are scrolling somewhat mindlessly through your Twitter feed one evening to cool down after work, occasionally 'liking' pictures of people's pets, replying to this and that, etc. One tweet in particular catches your attention. It shows a picture of a red bus from a fairly prominent politician, the side of which has text on it in large letters. The text talks about a large sum of money that is supposedly sent to the economic group which your country is a member of every single week, never to be seen again. This figure amounts to 350 million pounds, a colossal figure. You know for a fact that this figure is incorrect, and you suspect it was put there to be purposefully misleading and inflammatory. You decide to say as much in your reply to the tweet. [[reply]]

Initially, your reply is met with agreements from others, mainly in the form of said others 'liking' your tweet. However, as it gains more traction, it becomes more and more easily visible to others who are viewing the same tweet. You eventually receive a somewhat odd reply, from a person with the username @Brytonlover67. They say; "No, it's totally true! We send *loads* of money to those continental leeches! They should learn to leave our island alone. I for one am glad we're going to be leaving **ASAP**!!" [[ask why they think it is true]] [[ignore their reply]] [[delete your reply]]

You politely ask @Brytonlover67 why they believe that the statement about the 350 million pounds is true. Perhaps they have some insight that you don't, or perhaps they are simply viewing things from a perspective that you hadn't considered. After all, everyone is fallible, so why not *you*? Perhaps your information is incorrect. After only a few moments, you receive the answer. It reads: "Because **John Borisson** is one of the only politicians in this country who isn't afraid to speak the truth! Most of them are lapdogs to the **EG**! That's not what's really important about **Bryxit** though!" -You know that **John Borisson** is the politician who made the statement you have been discussing. -You also know that the **EG** is the 'Economic Group' that **Bryton** is considering to leave. [[...what is really important about Bryxit?]] [[you're out of your mind]] [[block them]]

You ignore their reply, because although you know that statement to be incorrect, you are *really* not in the mood for this kind of thing tonight. And then, a notification. A quick glance reveals that it is from the same person! They are now replying to themselves, with continued vague yelling about the same topic. [[they do it again]]

You decide you're not in the mood for a likely fruitless political discussion tonight, so you delete your reply. After all, you logged on to social media to relax for a bit. You suddenly notice that you got a notification! [[check it out]] [[log off for tonight]]

You decide to check out the notification, and are a little dismayed to find out that it is a direct message from @Brytonlover67! You deleted your reply, and yet here they are. The message reads: "You remoaners are all the same LOL. Deleting your tweet because you couldn't handle the truth! The 350 million is real, and the sooner we stop sending it to those thieves and stop listening to liars like you, the better!" [[ask why they think it is true]] [[block them]]

You decide to log off of Twitter for tonight. You're tired and you need to get up early for work the next morning, so you get up from the couch and get ready to go to bed. That night, you sleep somewhat uneasily, with a vague worry about the future at the back of your mind. -END-

You block @Brytonlover67. They can no longer interact with you on Twitter, but you know that they are exactly the sort of person who revels in being blocked, and wields it like a badge of honor. They were not the first person like that that you have encountered online. They will not be the last. [[log off for tonight]]

You decide to take the plunge, and ask their opinion on what the REAL issue with **Bryxit** is. @Brytonlover67 takes a little while to respond, and when they do, it reads: "The **EG** is already bad enough for being greedy thieves, leeching off of our country's hard work, but the REAL issue with them is the way they stop us from deciding what we do with our borders!! The refugees keep pouring in by the hundreds of thousands every year!" After a brief moment, an additional reply by them reads: "We **NEED** our sovereignty, to stop our country from being overrun by those letterbox-faced freaks!! Just look at what's happening on mainland Yurope! Fronce used to be a beautiful country, and now the streets of Perris look like Pokistan!! We *can't* let that happen here." -This blatant xenophobia is unacceptable. After reporting them, you [[block them]] -While the xenophobia disturbs you, you temporarily ignore it and point out the significant benefits of [[immigration]]

You have heard enough nonsense from @Brytonlover67, and you tell them that they are out of their mind. You point out that it is easily verifiable that the 350 million figure is incorrect, and that they should do more research before shouting empty and purposefully inflammatory statements. Within seconds you receive a heated reply: "ANOTHER EXAMPLE OF A PHONY LIAR! YOU ARE WHAT'S WRONG WITH THIS COUNTRY! YOUR LIES WILL BE EXPOSED SOON ENOUGH! YOU WON'T STOP US FROM DEALING WITH THE REALLY IMPORTANT THING ABOUT **BRYXIT**!" [[...what is really important about Bryxit?]] [[block them]]

You are not immediately very knowledgeable about the effects of immigration in **Bryton**, but some quick searching on the web reveals several studies indicating that immigration into **Bryton** has actually been rather beneficial. You point this out, along with the sentiment that it is a little odd that they are so averse to immigration, seeing as large sums of old Brytons emigrate to **Speyn** every year, and those 'expatriates' are seen as a *very* normal group of people. @Brytonlover67's response? "I'm not going to waste my time arguing with a mindless **EG** drone! Do some **ACTUAL** research and then come back, lazy socialist!" [[you're the one who started the argument...]] [[do more research]] [[block them]]

You have somehow convinced yourself that you have nothing better to do this evening than spend an hour or two reading articles *just* so you can get back at a stranger online who you suspect has some serious anger issues. You dig into some articles that are decidedly *not fun* to read, but are ultimately important and informative. You draft a measured response, provide links to your sources, and keep things polite. You are entirely convinced that you have won this particular argument, and feel a small yet weird sense of pride over having put in some actual effort on social media (of all places...). Then, the response appears. "LOL yeah, as if I would be stupid enough to believe mainstream media and 'experts'! They're all in the pockets of the **EG** and write whatever they're told to write! You're an idiot, and I have no time for those." [[you are impossible to argue with]] [[block them]]

You point out that they started the argument by engaging with your tweet. A reply appears immediately. "More drivel from **Remoan**! Enjoy being blocked, kid. Go cry to your mum about the mean patriots taking back control of their own country!!" (you are an adult.) [[They block you.]]

@Brytonlover67 has blocked you, preventing you from interacting with them any further. You feel a weird mix of relief and frustration, and decide that that was probably enough politics for today. [[log off for tonight]]

You express your concern at their distrust of not just generally accepted and trusted sources, but seemingly every source you present them with. You make it clear that if there can be no agreed upon basis for discussion, then there can be no discussion at all. A moment passes. Sure enough, there it is. Another response from @Brytonlover67. "You're just mad that I'm refusing to become a mindless drone who laps up whatever the establishment gives them! Typical remoaners, you people can't think for yourselves. Maybe if you left your mother's basement for once you would find out what the **REAL** world is like! **BLOCKED**!" [[They block you.]]

You do a small sigh, you roll your eyes, and keep on ignoring them. They keep going. They're now yelling about immigration. From the quick glances at your notifications tab, you can tell that it is not positive. In fact, it appears highly inflammatory and xenophobic. They're commenting something about 'a really important part of **Bryxit**'. [[keep ignoring them]] [[...what is really important about Bryxit?]] [[block them]]

At this point another person has started to argue with them. The discussion appears to be devolving more and more, and is clearly getting nowhere. Your notifications tab now shows reply after reply in said discussion. It is very annoying, and has made you want to stop using social media for tonight and do something else instead. [[block them]] [[log off for tonight]]

They keep going. Another reply. And another. You are getting very annoyed at them clogging up your notifications tab. [[ignore them again]] [[ask why they think it is true]] [[block them]]