Why do people resort to name calling when their opinion or question is challenged? I keep reading comment threads where people are calling each other "idiot," "moron," and worse!
by 
gtravels loves her life penguin
ANSWERS: 24
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Just people who take things a little too seriously.
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I am sure you can report such things as offensive to the AB admin. Proper moderation might reduce such incidents, hopefully.
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We revert back to the schoolyard so quickly don't we? I guess that is the down side of human nature. My take is not to personally attack anyone but try to logically present my point. Thankfully, I have realized there is more to life than being right.
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They are thin skinned
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When people feel they are losing or have nothing of substance or in their defense to say, they can result to name calling. It is childish, as are they, and it says more about them than the person on the receiving end usually.
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I wish I knew, gtravels. All I can suggest is that Answerbag is a microcosm of all that goes on in the world. There are people who try to belittle and bully others in order to support their own egos, and there are people who genuinely listen to what others have to say.
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Sometimes when a person is just SO stuck in their own ways that they won't even listen to you, you just get so exasperated you end up being like "OKAY NOW YOU'RE JUST BEING A DOUCHEBAG!!!!" I think it's great how often that'll win you a fight. Usually it works better than actually proving your point!
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Because we're online. You are not as rational when you are talking to an online name as you are when you are sitting down with a real person and you can be face to face to read off the other persons tone. It's easy to forget that we're real people.
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It is a sign of frustration. They may as well be saying, "I just ran out of ideas/knowledge of the topic.......YOU WIN!"
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This is not a debate site, this is a Q&A site. The debate is just a wonderful addition.
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Everyone's entitled to an opinion. As misguided as I may find it to be.
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Usually when name calling, insults,DR's or yelling sets in, means they are loosing the debate or they have no idea what thier position is or why and no facts to back it up.
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A lot of people resort to name calling because they do not have the intellect to explain themselves properly. They think that yelling will get their point across. That plus the fact that there are some just plain rude people on here (as everywhere in life).
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Its because some people have no idea of how to defend themselves with WIT and CLASS. So they resort to the first grade version of defense and start personally attacking someone. I guess the rest of us just have to put up with stupid people. ~+~
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Name calling is easy and potentially fun.
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They have very little control of their primitive tendencies.
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I believe it is because they don't have the knowledge or power to defend themselves with righteous reasons and good arguments so they use the mentioned words.
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In my experience, most people who resort to name calling have a very limited ability to epress themselves. When they feel threatened by an answer they don't agree with, they fall back on the only thing they understand, which is to lash out. Some people on AB have stated on their answers and such that they are here to be disagreeable. It's apparently some sort of bragging to be the "bad" guy.
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It's the mark of a weak vocabulary. : )
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Point taken but it is understandable how people might get frustrated with individuals who are not expressing their opinion but displaying their abundant ignorance. e.g... http://www.answerbag.com/a_view/3944451
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Why? I say - insecurity. Plain and simple - anyone unwilling to have their ideas challenged is not solid enough in his/ her beliefs. Sharing opinions does not necessarily mean having to convince others that you are RIGHT. The truth should be more satisfying than the egoic need to be correct. Downrating questions and answers that are HELPFUL because someone simply does not agree with the point of view is excessive and weak. Name calling, character defamation, and overall disrespect do not win arguments... they create unnecessary negativity and conflict and only water down any validity.
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Maybe it could be that some of those people are idiots and morons.
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It's a last resort and takes no intelligence or thinking, just silly childish retaliation. It never makes a situation better for either of them.
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More than likely it is because they don't have a very good vocabulary.
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