Oppositional Defiance

If you check out the history of the blog, you’ll notice two tendencies. First, I employ Socratic method to induce you to share thoughts about controversial topics. Second, when that doesn’t work, I express opinions in a forceful manner hoping that you’ll disagree strongly enough to respond. The topics and opinions go all over the place. That’s by design. I don’t care to teach you what to think or whether you should join one party or another. I want to teach you how to share your thoughts about difficult things in a civil manner. Productive disagreement might result in consensus. It should result in mutual respect.

However, it appears that my ideas about what’s controversial (or even politically interesting) don’t consistently align with yours. Use the response space to help me find topics that will encourage productive disagreement. Whether they involve art, education, or politics is up to you. Alternatively, if you simply prefer to avoid controversy, let me know that, too.

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13 Responses to Oppositional Defiance

  1. Arika Gardner says:

    I love controversial topics. Though I do love a good argument, controversial topics are some of the topics that need to be discussed. Some people are concerned about being wrong or looked at in a different light because of what they think. Your opinion is your opinion. No one is required to agree with your way of thinking or beliefs. Now there is a clear difference between an unpopular opinion and a truly inhumane or distasteful ideology. Your opinion should not defy human morals or logic. I like most of the blogs that have been given so far except for the literary analysis ones. I’m interested in history, politics, and advances in science, so any blogs about that would definitely catch my attention.

  2. Bill Arnoldus says:

    If a topic is too uninteresting or vague, it won’t provoke a lot of productive disagreement. If a topic is too aggravating and controversial, people tend to be less civil and more emotional in their response. Some even tend to judge others based upon what they post on the blog if they care about the topic that much. Controversial topics do promote productive disagreement but also a lot of closed mindedness and sour opinions on people based on their opinion. This should not stop people from saying their opinion though. “The worse type of censorship is self-censorship.” -Alan Meng. Keeping your thoughts silent because of fear of castigation provides no progress toward anyone. Saying your opinion and it being wrong does result in embarrassment but also growth. Particularly controversial topics: BLM, Cancel Culture, Transgender Rights, Religion (God being in the Pledge of Allegiance), Gun Control

  3. Abigail Parker says:

    I like to talk about controversial topics. Firstly, I am an emotional person (which I believe can be inferred about me) which helps me talk more about things that I am passionate about. Secondly, I like to educate people as well as educate myself. Some topics that are of particular interest to me are: Abortion, LGBTQ+ Rights, BLM, Gun Control, Religion and school, and more.

  4. Lexi Holdiness says:

    I don’t think it’s wrong to discuss controversial topics, in fact, I think it’s needed. I enjoy having debate and discussing topics with someone who may have the same or different opinion than I hold. For productive disagreement, I would look more to a field that impacts the writers of the blog most: mental and physical health, sexual activity, or buzzfeed quizzes. I think it’s important to talk about heavy topics while also discussing lighter topics to where a difference in opinion doesn’t actually matter. Sure, we could debate politics all day, but why not hold a heated debate on left and right twix too? I find the blog to be way more interesting when there are a difference in opinions, and it may be easier to find those varying opinions when you chose topics that aren’t so polar. Not that I don’t enjoy the polar ones, I just think people learn to defend their stances better when it’s a less-serious concept. For example, sine of the most heated debates I ever got into was hardcover vs. paper back books and Nickelodeon vs. Disney Channel.

  5. Eddie Lai says:

    I personally dislike participating in discourse among people and try my best to avoid it. However, that does not mean I am fully opposed to having a productive debate on a controversial topic that may stir emotions. Debating controversial topics and resolving them is how society as a whole progresses. The issues of, to list a few, abortion, immigration, prisons, racism, and religion should be debated. Many good points can be brought up, and almost everyone can learn from them. Although I may not like controversy, a good topic to debate is would be cryptocurrency. The prevalence of cryptocurrency is not large in my life and is relatively new. It would be interesting to see how peoples’ opinions have formed so far.

  6. Jon Kiesel says:

    In general, if you’re going to have something controversial, that controversy must be over something very important. There’s no point in arguing and screaming at the top of your lungs about dispute on where a down was if all you’ll gain in 1 extra yard closer to the endzone of a football field. This is especially the case for disagreements over only opinions.

    Now I’m usually more conflict avoidant since the outcome becomes very unpredictable at times, and I’m not usually prepared to have them and direct things in the way that I want, and even I prepared for a potential conflict, that conflict probably would end up never happening. However, any good argument that I have, or even other’s that I’m the judge of, will end up being a compromise of some sort.

  7. Jeremiah McClain says:

    Personally, I find it hilarious. But what isn’t okay is to spread chaos. I support discussions, but if you were just looking for a reason to spread controversy, knowing that it will make an argument, then that’s not acceptable. I feel as though there aren’t many topics to talk about without knowing how one may feel about it. What I am trying to say is that you can speak about how you feel, but usually conversations about general topics such as abortion or BLM will result in both parties agreeing on the same general idea but disagreeing on the sub-details.

  8. Hong Zheng says:

    While I’m not too fond of participating in controversial topics, I am not against them. Arguments such as these led in a more civil manner help us use words to convey our thoughts without violence. It allows for communication and gives more flexibility in thinking. As long as people can take into heart that others have different opinions and accept their different responses, arguments are great. Not only can you find people with similar interests but you can grow as a person. I think topics such as education, healthcare, and the world outside the United States are topics to explore.

  9. Dyllon Martin says:

    Controversial topics have always been my thing. One topic that has always seemed to bring up disagreements is whether abortions should take place or not. This one topic has so much information and different perspectives. With prior experience with this topic brought up in a classroom environment, it was nice to hear everyone’s point and side to the case and come to our consciences. Many other topics can also bring upon similar results such as the Presidential Election. Two major sides, both having pros and cons, can be pointed out to develop formidable arguments that can be spoken about.

  10. Keynijah Queen says:

    Honestly, I love a good argument. The problem comes when people start using emotions and drowning the other person’s statements out instead of listening and disagreeing; its more of an “I’m right, you’re wrong” instead of a “I disagree because…” and that’s when it’s chaotic. I love a nice controversial topic, especially ones I’m passionate about such as LGBTQ+ rights, Abortion, Healthcare, Education, and Women’s Rights. There is no problem in talking about controversial topics until it comes to morals, and that’s when it gets interesting.

  11. Christina Zhang says:

    I enjoy participating in discussions that are thought-provoking and can expose me to new topics and perspectives. Topics that hold such value to me include legalization of drugs, prison reform, and gender inequality.

  12. Carolena Graham says:

    Controversial topics encourage your brain to think and allow you to express your opinion. I believe that it takes a certain type of person to be able to peacefully debate controversial topics. I believe people who are insecure with themselves and have a closed mind tend to be the people who get absurdly mad when in disagreements. Some topics do have harsher and are more likely to have disagreements. For example, in the case of this school, I believe it is ok to talk about politics. On the other hand, speaking about racism and what we define racism as is one of those topics that will cause bad tension. We undeniably have racist kids here who have been reared this behavior. They often don’t even see their actions as racist.

  13. Controversial topics are generally thought of as a trigger for arguments that seem to get out of hand. I believe this is not the case for all of course, but I do tend to be wary of whom I might provoke with such sensitive topics. I do enjoy light-hearted, logical disagreements. Some topics that interest me are LGBTQ+ rights, racism & BLM, healthcare, education, the justice system, gender inequality, cancel culture, celebrity gossip, global affairs, immigration, social media, politics, advances in science, and environmentalism.

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