People write articles like this and then wonder why we are so politically divided.

I do agree there’s a point past which someone is ideologically unable to be reasoned with. The classic example is neo-Nazis, of course. But also of course, there are redeemed neo-Nazis.

Coming from a conservative family and living in a deep blue state I’ve had my fair share of arguments on both sides. As other commenters have stated, it’s all about emotions. If you can make the other person feel like they are being heard and assuage their fears about X, Y, or Z, then you can make progress, even if it’s small progress.

It is an unfortunate side-effect of spending too much time online I think. Or online in the wrong spaces.

Everyone has a different tolerance for dealing with unreasonable people, but there is a breaking point for each of us. And if you hit that, you will be prone to throwing your hands in the air, exiting the space where you found these people, and decrying them all to be braindead. I have hit that point multiple times and it has resulted in my making callous generalizations of people after.

It's hard to imagine that people you interact with in an online community are the vocal minority of that community, when you cannot find the silent majority. But I suppose the silent majority doesn't tend to spend time on forums for their viewpoints.