Since I'm evil, I keep thinking of evil things to do. Lately, I've taken to Googling things people say. Not just any things but things they say when debating politics and culture. It all started because I've found you can't respond to these arguments anymore. Someone will make a strong claim and then get upset with me if I disagree. Or, they will simply terminate the conversation but get some quick jab in as if I am the one causing the difficulty and they think it's a shame that I can't be more civil.
Anyway, given that dissent isn't appreciated, I just nod politely now and let people ramble on. While they do so, I make a mental note of any particularly striking phrases. Not necessarily striking to me, sometimes the only thing that makes the phrases stand out is that the person using it places particularly heavy emphasis on it. Later, I pull out my phone and Google the phrases. That may sound boring, but it's simply astounding how often I find out that the most passionate arguments that people make are actually just low-information parroting of something they read elsewhere. Google will find the phrase they put such emphasis on and it will be in the middle of a piece making exactly the argument later repeated as a heartfelt belief.
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