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  • Empathy is not endorsement. It can feel very jarring to empathize with someone whose world view you intensely disagree with, but it does not mean you are agreeing to them. It just means you are acknowledging their basic humanity.

    If you seek to change a person's mind rather than to win a debate, begin with radical empathy.
  • Common Debating Pitfalls

    Red Herring Fallacy:
    Diverting away from the actual argument by bringing up a different issue.

    Example: Bringing up "black on black crime" as a reason to do nothing about systemic racism.

    Ad Hominem Fallacy:
    Attacking the person making the argument, instead of the argument itself.

    Example: Stating that someone is uneduated, therefore their opinion is invalid. Calling someone a name instead of responding to what they said.

    Anecdotal Evidence Fallacy:
    Using a personal example to determine the entire argument.

    Example: Dismissing racism because you personally haven't seen anyone behave in a bigoted manner, or that you cannot be racist because you have black friends.

    Straw Man Fallacy:
    Arguing against an oversimplified or distorted version of your opponent's argument.

    Example:
    Person A: The children's winter concert at the school should include non-Christmas songs too.
    Person B: You won't be happy until Christmas songs are banned from being played on the radio!