Do you engage in name-calling during political debates?

[Anonymous]

Also known as ad hominem attacks, these attacks ignore the argument itself and instead use a negative word to describe the person who makes the argument. Examples include communist, moron, fascist, racist, libtard, dumbass, idiot and atheist. There are of course many more.

Yes, I sometimes do.

No, I avoid that.

A total of 9 votes were cast: 2 girls and 7 guys. See detailed results

[jshm2]

LOL, You're wrong.

Ad hominem attacks, are about laying into the character and alleged motives of the person - not "name calling". But these attacks CAN be valid if they have relevance to the argument or position.

For example a war mongering politician trying to claim "peace" and "negotiation" when they clearly have not demonstrated such tendencies, would get lambasted.

[Asker]

Just impugning someone character isn't valid however because bad people can still do good political things, including fighting wars. Just calling someone a "war mongerer" isn't sufficient. You need to explain why the war they propose is bad.

[strateguy632]

calling them a racist is different. (but i don't).

[Calyptomaniac]

If for no other reason, I've never let anyone else bait me into a political debate, but I still wouldn't

[RareBreedOfMan]

No, I avoid that type of behavior.

[exitseven]

yes, there should be some wet towel snapping too.