General Discussion

it's not about reason. It's about listening, and repeating back to them what they say, word for word, to make sure both that you've heard them correctly and also that they feel heard.

You're right, engaging is often pointless at best, especially if the situation isn't one that affords the opportunity to continue to interact with the other person over an extended period.

But if repeated interaction is possible, and if you have the patience to just listen through the first several conversations, you may find that at some point down the road they actually become receptive to hearing what you might think and feel.

It also helps to avoid the wedge issues, of course, and look for common ground; and I usually find there's plenty of that – a lot of people at both ends of the political spectrum agree that labor's been exploited for too long and/or that we've allowed too much concentration of power and/or wealth into the hands of Wall St., big Pharma, big Media, big Tech, and/or the MIC.

So another advantage of listening to people for a while before trying to persuade them of anything is to suss out the areas of potential agreement.