Glad you have spotted that discussions are better than debates

Reason ? If you are willing

@Mcflewster I used to work with mentally retarded adults.

@davknight You will know better than I but are you saying that the majority of the population are mentally retarded?

@Mcflewster I used to wonder that myself. Especially while driving home from work, and observing "normal" humans having fits of road rage with one another!

Does brainwash mean beyond saving for Humanity?

@Mcflewster You can argue with them if you wish..it will only make them hate you, and frustrate you. Since religious "faith" doesn't require proof, no proof you present will make any difference. They are racist, the president is racist, so that's good enough for them. Religion is just their excuse.

@birdingnut I do not think it is an excuse. It is just that they do not know any better. We must persist in a different way when they get annoyed.

@Mcflewster Not I. If you pressure people to see your own point of view, you are behaving like religious people who try to force their views down everyone's throats. The famous Stanford studies show that once people make up their minds, facts don't matter to them. [newyorker.com]

@birdingnut who is talking about using pressure? .I am sure you have the ability to talk in a reasonable way and the more reasonable talk they hear the more they are likely to eventually accept it.

@Mcflewster I leave people alone. They can believe whatever they wish, as long as they aren't passing laws to restrict my own freedom.

@birdingnut There is no need ever to pass laws which restrict people [except psychopaths etc] . People left alone fester and hide unfathomable secrets. No human should be left alone but encouraged to come into the caring world with kindness.

That is a good attitude but it doesn't have to be short . You can get a long way just asking questions , one of them might "hit home".