To think we should be able to have conversations over controversial topics...

[MonstrousMerryHenry]

...without them descending into slanging matches?

I have seen this on MN time and time again - where a convo about an important, highly emotive topic starts off well, with intelligent, thoughtful contributions, and then ends up with posters (both male and female, I should add) at each other's throats, hurling childish insults left, right and centre.

What does this say about us as people? We are responsible for bringing up whole human beings and yet can't get our own arses out of the playground when we're talking to adults. Occasionally I have given verbal slaps on such threads and then walked away - people's tempers are usually so high that all they can see is red.

Surely I can't be the only one who finds this annoying?

Okay, okay, you win! You have custardy Josh (sexy but a bit sleazy, tbh - though that's not always a bad thing ) and I'll have lovely lovely Naveen and make beautiful babies with him .

It is tiring when you get verbally pelted - often no-one bothers to read beyond your first post, so you end up making the same defence on the same point over and over again.

It's like a family argument - everyone shouting, no-one listening.

challenge the opinion not the person

god i learnt that in primary school debate class. you;d think adults could get it fairly easily

donkey - "It's like a family argument - everyone shouting, no-one listening." - quite.

Mamazon - I agree. I saw a lot of that on the bnp thread, earlier in the day. I'm all for bolshy arguing, but not when you start saying 'well your husband's a wanker and you smell and...'