Has anyone found a way to communicate with a tea bagging conservative?

[AnArmyVeteran]

HAS ANYONE DISCOVERED A WAY TO COMMUNICATE WITH A CONSERVATIVE EXTREMIST?
It seems as if trying to communicate with a tea bagger is like trying to communicate in an intellectual vacuum. The sounds from your mouth never reach a tea bagger's brain. They built a wall to prevent anything from getting through, like calling the media 'liberal'. So they only get their information from right wing radio and Fox News, believing it to be the gospel, even though not one talking head on Fox or right wing radio host is a journalist. Tea baggers don't realize they are watching or listening to entertainment shows, not the news. And they don't realize the people they listen to will say anything to increasing ratings, even if it means spewing hatred, racism, fear and lies.

If the media were 'liberal' as conservatives have whined about for the last 30 years, then why haven't conservatives done anything to change it? You would think in 30 year's time they could have made huge strides changing the media. But it seems they would rather just sit on the sidelines and whine. They seem to like being victims with a persecution complex, rather than being proactive people who try to change their perceived injustices. And why hasn't one democratic leader, or anyone for that matter, countered the 'media is liberal' claim by pointing their fingers at conservatives and saying how lazy, uneducated or stupid they must be to not be able to get educations and then jobs in the media? Why aren't conservatives attacked for whining about the phantom 'liberal media' when they are too lazy or stupid to do the hard work it takes to become journalists?

Every right wing radio host has said most Americans are conservative, or right of center. If that were true then wouldn't the media want to cater to such a huge market? After all, media companies are in business to make profits, so they would be fools not to follow the example set by Fox News and just cash in on the supposed lust for hatred, racism, fear and lies used by Fox News so well. If most Americans were conservative or right of center wouldn't every channel you turned to be like Fox News?

Have any of you been successful communicating with a right wing, conservative extremist? If so, how effective were you?



In the example in the picture above the vacuum of space prevents transmission of audio. It reminds me of the barrier within every right wing extremist, each of whom has their own interior barrier (or filters) to prevent sounds from being received.

If a tree falls in a forest it wouldn't be heard even if a right winger was standing right next to it, unless it was a right wing tree (like Fox News). :)

[LiberalLoner]

1. Brilliant illlustration of what it's like to try to communicate with a teabagger!

Nope, I've never been able to successfully have anything like a conversation with those people. Neither has my husband, and he's way smarter than I am. If he can't do it, I figure no one can.

They are extremely close-minded and shut out any information that does not reinforce their preconceptions.

[AnArmyVeteran]

16. When I try to talk with one I feel like a dart board with dart-shaped buzzwords being thrown at me!

Tea baggers are mini-buzzword factories. All they do is repeat the same right wing buzzwords over and over again. I've really tried to talk with right wingers, but they all have internal walls bigger than the Great Wall of China. Hell, I can't even talk about the weather to one of my rightwing friends because that's an opening for him to denounce global warming. I try to chip away at their (il)logic, but it's always futile.

Thanks for your kind words LiberalLoner!


yrsbtm

[pinboy3niner]

19. That's very true, for many of them

They parrot the latest talking points from (insert names of usual suspects here), but they usually lack any DEPTH of knowledge or understanding on the issues. So, yes, these types become very uncomfortable when their buzzwords are countered with actual argument.

[Warpy]

20. The only thing you can do is listen to the string of outrageous idiocy

look at them incredulously, and laugh, saying "You bought that?

Then walk away chuckling.

It's the only thing that's got a chance. Make it unacceptable on any level. Laugh at them.

[conscious evolution]

23. That is what I do

If there is a group of people around I will occasionally rebuke the talibaggers points or change the subject to one I know will cause conniptions by speaking as if the idiot wasn't there.That really drives them up the wall.

[AnArmyVeteran]

25. I try to treat a tea bagger encounter like I was a zoologist

I try to treat a tea bagger encounter as I would if I was a sociologist, anthropologist, psychiatrist or even zoologist. But I know of no other species on earth like theirs. It would be fascinating, but even animals with minimal-sized brains can still have some reasoning ability and can process information. But tea baggers seem incapable of those feats. I think a tea bagger more closely resembles a protozoa than any other living creature. But even one-celled organisms like protozoa respond to stimuli like light, heat and electrical impulses. I don't think tea baggers are even capable of that 'high' level of 'awareness' of their environment...

[mitchum]

32. They are buzzword warehouses, not buzzword factories

they can't even come up with their own inanities

[AnArmyVeteran]

36. Thanks Mitchum for the clarification! I won't use 'factories' any more...

You're right. They are just warehouses. Perfect! Thanks!!!!

[Name removed]

2. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[Dappleganger]

3. One would get a better response from a rotten cantaloupe.

[zipplewrath]

4. Not really

I'm surrounded by my share. This is a very right wing kinda place, but even the baggers stand out a bit around here. Although the rest of the sympathize with the baggers, even they are a bit embarrassed by them. They tend to be a bit on the dense side, and not just politically. They're the kind that know something about everything, and don't really listen to anyone. They "know what they know" and there's not much of a way to get through to them.

About the only thing that is interesting is that they are easily manipulated. You can "set them up" pretty easily to believe what you want them to believe if you'll just use the right language and circumstance. Primarily, the best thing to do is to make them believe it was their idea to begin with. "Weren't you telling me the other day...." Or, "Man what you said last week was dead on..." They obviously won't remember, but they want to be "right" so bad that they'll take credit for whatever you said.

[pinboy3niner]

5. I persuaded a birther that he was full of crap

About that, and about his claim that the President is a Muslim. Unless he was just agreeing in order to get rid of me.

I put a notch in my belt anyway, as I drove away in the limo, sipping my latte . . . :)

[AnArmyVeteran]

39. You elitist bastard! :) LMFAO!!!

I'm still laughing at your last line about sipping your latte! LOL You elitist bastard! :) And congrats on de-birthing a birther!!! Wow, I'm impressed. Can you also de-con a servative?

[pinboy3niner]

45. D-Con? Hmmmm...Well, it works on other vermin...

The mfr. offers both baits and traps. Guess I'll have to explore their FAQ's, beginning with: How much rodent bait do I need?

Don't pay attention to what everybody says, I think you DO come up with an original thought once in a while. :rofl:

:hi:

[AnArmyVeteran]

53. LOL... Good grief, what have I unleashed! Poor damned tea bagging rodents. They don't have a chance!

[Jakes Progress]

6. All kinds of jokes involving 2x4s come to mind.

But the answer is no. I haven't.

[jaksavage]

7. All of us risk

not hearing others point of view when we rely on our belief system too heavily.
I am a radical environmentalist and socialist. I do not comprehend the other points of view when I put that hat on. But if I open my mind and listen without judgement I can hear the other side and even occasionally agree with some of what I hear.
So it is upon the listener to hear all messeges and then make rational decisions.
Not merely on the broadcaster to find the best megafone.

[Morning Dew]

8. Sign language?

No, that won't work... we've seen their signs.

[one_voice]

12. Yes..sign language...

[AnArmyVeteran]

58. I can't tell the difference. Can you? Hint: The smarter one needs a shave...

[AnArmyVeteran]

60. Hey One-Voice, I hope you don't mind me making a side by side comparison...

NOTE: The smart one needs a shave

[havocmom]

9. Gave up trying. Too much like attempting to reason with a drunk

teapot

[Cheap_Trick]

10. First I'd need a lobotomy and an overwhelming sense of entitlement. nt

[AnArmyVeteran]

21. LOLOL! Can two brain stems communicate with each other :)

[chillspike]

11. My brother is actually a teabagger

I usually just smile and use news stories like the BP oil spill as a weapon to gently nudge him toward sanity. What you have to do is get them into a logical corner and then point out the results of their positions. I can debate very calmly but my brother gets very angry and is unable to talk about politics.. He will take pot shots at liberals but when I counter him I can see he gets very uncomfortable because he has been brainwashed not to listen to liberals...He avoids debate because there is no way to lose that way...But he and the Right can't avoid reality for too much longer...Their ideas are just not going to work.

I think where we will win this is on the sub conscious level. Reality has a way of breaking down someone who is in the grips of a wrong premise or philosophy. And there is also what right wing philosophy does to a person on the social level...It makes them a total dick to people...And I mean everyone, even those who share that twisted and competitive world view...That's because it is social darwinism...People are just going to shrink from them and pretty soon they start asking themselves what have I become?

There is also an hypocrisy inherent in being a conservative... When my brother asks me to help him at his house, I usually comply...But when I asked him for help he told me
no way..So when he asked for my help a little later in the month I told him no.....And, true to the conservative habit of being unconscious of others, would you believe he didn't even realize why I said no...He had no recollection of denying me help after I've always been there for him. Conservatism makes people completely selfish and unconscious of others.

The best way I think to defeat a conservative is to get away from them and don't give them anything to feed off of because politics to them is a competitive ego boost like a football game...They target liberals because at the core they are really very lonely people.

[Taverner]

13. I tried, honestly I tried

And I kept getting "Well you're a MARXIST!!!!"

I would politely say no, I'm not, and start to explain why. All of a sudden, our teabagger says "You're a MARXIST!!!"

So you are absolutely right.

[pinboy3niner]

15. Next time, calmly put on your Groucho glasses and agree with him

:)

[mitchum]

14. Point and laugh

[libodem]

17. Smith

and Wesson!

[stanwyck]

18. The teabaggers I know don't accept facts. Seriously.

Global warming isn't real because the science isn't conclusive and some rightwing think tank paid a political scientist to debunk global warming. Their one political scientist who appeared on Fox is equal to the thousands of reknown scientists who warn of climate change. Plus, it's snowing outside! Obama's birth certificate isn't real because they haven't seen the original first hand. They stubbornly refuse to believe anything that doesn't directly support their iron-clad beliefs, research and facts be damned. So, talk to a table instead. The table will be more open to discussion.

[AnArmyVeteran]

22. Hannity saw an ice cube in his refrigerator, so that was proof to him global warming is a hoax!

[cliffordu]

24. My brother in law and I were discussing poltitcs over lunch the other day

and an obvious bagger thought he would spray a few talking points....

We ridiculed the shit out of him, I laughed like a jackal when he said that it was Clinton who drove the economy into the ground...etc, etc etc....

We had a great old time...this idiot REALLY tried to piss us off....but we just kept quoting the facts...Bro in law has a remarkable command of the numbers, I'm good at snark and ridicule....

That poor bagger left, dejected and humiliated after almost a half hour of bile and retort....

I had a great time.

[AnArmyVeteran]

26. I would rather of seen your encounter than a trip to Disneyworld!

I laughed at what you wrote and thought of how hilarious that scene must have been! Thanks!

[cliffordu]

30. Anytime....

Last summer I went to two health care town halls looking for gun toters to ridicule, but, alas, there were none.

I love ignorant cowards and bullies..They are sooooo easy to shove around.

[Hepburn]

27. Yes....

...silence is golden.

[spryszak]

28. one to one

It's impossible in a group - which is exactly the goal. It's easier one on one out from under the sturm und drang because most people are usually more reasonable when you get them alone. Seriously. It's kind of ridiculous to hope you can define and give examples of "logical fallacy" to help the convo but sometimes you have to try.

I actually started once by listening to the guy for a long time. Just let him go and get it off his chest, and then just talk. Since the discussion is so toxic in our poor, distracted country, sometimes you just have to talk quieter. I'd really recommend not coming off as an elitist because that's exactly what they're expecting.

Also beer.

[BoWanZi]

29. Don't argue issues, relay ideas... (long post in)

what I mean is if you think that raising taxes to provide a well needed program in your local public school, don't try to ram the emotional idea of "its good for the kids so it has to be done" down the throat of a conservative. That will just make them hostile and totally resistant to the idea.

What you need to do is not argue but mention the idea of the program.

"Hey, Betty, I was thinking about the Hogan school yesterdeay, you know it?"

"Sure do, my son went there a few years ago."

"Do you remember how outdated the books seemed to be back then for your son? I remember when my daughter went there, the books seemed like the stuff we used to use when WE went there 20 years ago!"

"Oh yeah!! You are right, i forgot about that!!"

"What do you think should be done? You know that the district is out of money for new books, right?"

"Yeah, I heard something about that. I'm not sure though. "

"Well there is small push for a vote on a levy for the new books. I really think that the kids sure could use the new books instead of using outdated crap from the 70's."

"Yeah, you know, you have a very good point", your reluctant conservative friend Betty begrudgingly admits.

...
With all that banter, you have kind of planted a seed that a tax levy would be good for the sake of the kids which is the kind of thing that conservatives HATE. You don't PUSH your agenda, you bring it up very slowly and lightly in ways that ANYONE can see is a good idea such as kids needing new books for school. That is something everyone wants. Then you mention that a small tax levy might be the best way to get the money.

No arguing, its ideas.

And conservatives HATE emotional idea. DON'T use emotions or worst of all the word "feelings" to argue liberal ideas, you will just totally alienate the conservative. They like hard cold facts and concrete ideas. Touchy feely does not fly with conservatives.

Take these ideas and you will have much better luck getting though them.

[ThomThom]

43. The problem is tomorrow that person will talk to a right winger

and think teachers and principles get paid too much and we should cut them back to get the new books

[Mojeoux]

49. Joseph Cambell talked about the "back door" to the closed mind.

He said humor and beauty and sex will get you in.

So keep laughing and and mention beautiful celebrities that agree with you and would never have sex

with a teabagger.

Seriously, sharing a laugh can be a bonding moment. Maybe just to laugh at the way you disagree.

IMO some modern American teabaggers are physically threatening,

but I don't think they will have the voting power they think they have.

[EFerrari]

31. Did they finally get language?

[T Wolf]

33. It is impossible to discuss anything with one of them because they do not "do logic and reason."

It is a waste of time and energy.

That time and energy is better put toward figuring out how to eliminate them from having any influence on our lives. By any means necessary.

[uponit7771]

34. TRAP them in their ideals by AGREEING with them on these few point and making them look hypocrital..

on the subjects of SPENDING, GOVERNMENT OVER REACH, DEBT

My run in with a bagger went something like this....

ANYTIME they brought up Spending I agreed but then deflected to DEFENSE spending not social spending, then watch them walk out of that ideal

ANYTIME they brought up Government over reach I agreed and said they should leave women's bodies alone...watch em walk back their words

ANYTIME they brought up debt I agreed that the Bush admin should NOT have gotten us into so much debt for so little return and jobs are GROWING under Obama according to the BLS.

ANYTIME they brought up government health care or social spending I agreed and said we should get rid of Medicare and medicade...same result

They wont know what hit them but they'll CONTINUALLY walk back their ideals until you ask them...

What DO you believe in totally without exception?!



Now if you HAVE to be entertained let them do most of the talking...they usually get more friendly because for the most part they're stupidness makes them lonely...they'll be more open to hearing you after than.

Jus my experience.

[blm]

35. I think your post is a total DISCONNECT. Broadcast media is VERY proGOP. Has been for 2 decades

Where've you been?


Your reach to claim that conservatives are too stupid to get journalism jobs is ABSURD, since the Fascists controlling most broadcast and print media have groomed many of the so-called 'journalists' who get a lion's share of the attention and airtime.

Your post reads like a game. You set it up with all sorts of claims to establish there IS a liberal media, then you pose a question about teabaggers.

[AnArmyVeteran]

38. Hi Bim, re-read my post in a different light. I think you'll come to a different conclusion...

Fact: Conservatives whine about the media being all liberal.

If someone tells you the media is liberal I was suggesting you tell them if they believed that they why haven't they done the work, earned the degrees and got jobs as journalists. My OP was also a suggestion to any reader to confront a conservative who tells you the media is liberal that conservative must be either lazy or stupid if they haven't done anything to change THEIR perception (which is also in my OP). It is a way to debunk their fantasy that the media is liberal, which I never claimed it was. The media is corporate. And I even mentioned that in my OP. My OP didn't make one claim about the media being liberal. Just the opposite is true.

Since Reagan's days investigative journalists have dwindled drastically. In the 80s, media corporations began merging, firing people and instead of reporting on real news, they began using sensational stories as their main diet. It's much easier and cheaper to cover a tabloid-type story than it is to hire a team of investigative reporters and journalists to dig into the real news and stories that truly affect us.

Frankly, I am wondering about your true allegiance. It seems as if I touched a nerve, but is it the nerve of a conservative or a liberal? And I wonder if you even read my entire post. From your reaction it doesn't seem like you did, or you would not be making the accusations you did. My OP was very obvious to everyone else in the thread but you, so I'm sorry you didn't understand it's intent. Do you believe tea baggers have open minds and are flexible in their opinions and will talk WITH you instead of AT you? Do you believe tea baggers think the media is conservative or liberal?

My post has nothing to do with a 'game' as you suggest. Everyone else in the thread seemed to have 'gotten' the intent of it. I suggest you re-read what I wrote and perhaps you might come to a different conclusion.

Lastly, which members of the media do you believe to be fascists? Like names and links, etc...

I hear the word 'fascist' from those on the right routinely.. Right wing cowardly radio liars use fascist, communist, Marxist, Stalinist, Maoist and all the other words with 'ists' out there without even knowing what they mean. But they know anything they say that ends with an 'ist' will inflame their mindless listeners who don't have a clue about what their meanings are. I was driving home yesterday and while channel surfing on the radio the conservative extremist Michael Savage was on ranting and raving calling everyone in the Obama Administration communists and Maoists. Savage is insane, but his dimwitted listeners lap up every word of his without a thought in their heads. And of course, like every other tea bagging right wing extremist, they NEVER perform fact checks on what they are told, NEVER. If they did (do fact checks) they wouldn't be right wing extremists...

All the best to you...

[blm]

41. Every one that pushed Bush into the WH and worked like hell to keep him propped up.

That is the lion's share of the media. The CORPORATIST pals of the GOP bought control of most broadcast and print media in the 80s and 90s and they didn't do it so Democratic ideals would be given proper airtime or reportage.

Using fascist to describe the CORPORATISTS controlling most of the media is appropriate. You equating my usage to that of the RW is absurd.

[pinboy3niner]

52. What's absurd is the claim that "Broadcast media is VERY proGOP"

Consolidation of news media under a shrinking number of large corporations is a bad thing for several reasons, but they are businesses, and their primary motive is profit. Rupert Murdoch would never have gone partisan with his media empire if he hadn't calculated that it could be profitable to do so. It was a rational business decision that coincided with his politics.

That the news media were asleep on the job during the Bush Administration, that they were guilty of negligence, that they were both cowed by the Right and induced into a post-9/11 nationalistic mindset does not mean that that they set out to serve the GOP.

There are plenty of liberal journalists around, though most, being professionals, put their personal opinions and biases aside. The notion that the "corporate media" set out to serve the GOP is just as ludicrous as the RW meme of a liberal media conspiracy. If the media are so dominated and controlled by the GOP, how do you explain their coverage that can only be seen as favorable or advantageous to the Left?

I think it's true that RW attacks and profit pressures have caused some news providers, like CNN and NPR, to shift toward the right. But it's not because they've committed themselves to to serving conservative ideology.

You have some good ideas and good points, but it doesn't serve your cause well to exaggerate reality. The notion of some monolithic conspiracy that has captured all the news media and made them servants of the GOP is wrong--but you could be right in the future, if we don't guard against that and take steps to preserve the independence of the news media. The real question is how we do that.

[blm]

67. Well, I agree with Dan Rather that media owners NEEDED Bush propped up for the positive

rulings they expected from his second term.

And I do believe that Kingdom Holdings has long worked in tandem with BushInc to accomplish their global fascist agenda. Read the BCCI report...take note of ALL the characters involved. Fascism. Global fascism.

[AnArmyVeteran]

56. The media acted like cheerleaders rather than journalists and let the Iraq War start...

If they did their job there wouldn't have been an Iraq War. Almost the entire White House Press Corp let Bush tell one lie after another. Not one confronted Bush or tried to expose his blatant lies. Even when the Bush regime was telling us that Iraq could attack us within 45 minutes in the form of a mushroom cloud NOT ONE person in the media asked him HOW???

Corporations don't give a damn who wins an election. All they care about is building drama so people will buy newspapers and watch their shows. They make money off of conflict and division. And if none exists, they create it. They elevated the tea party movement more than it deserved, because they loved the conflict, and conflict sells, and big time conflict like war sells even more. Corporations go where the money is. They couldn't care less if millions were killed. The only way to stop corporate corruption is to severely restrict them. A hundred years ago in Texas it took 2/3rs of the house and senate to allow the existence of a corporation. The government so feared the corrupting power of corporations they put severe limits whether they could exist or not. Look what happened since then. Corporations won because they now own government. They have all the power. And corporations are even more powerful than governments because they don't have borders. And they have absolutely zero loyalty to any country or their people. But try telling that to a dimwitted conservative. They are like a herd of prostitutes laying in the missionary position waiting to get screwed by the corporations, but they think it's a good thing.

Face it, wars sell newspapers and stories. The media only cares about profits, so they couldn't care less if 5,000 American soldiers were killed and hundreds of thousands of Iraqis were murdered. All they cared about were their bottom lines. That is capitalism, and capitalism is evil. Almost every system is corrupt, or corruptible, but the capitalist system is a breeding ground for greed and evil people. It has almost nothing to do with working hard to get ahead. It is one big con game. Sociopaths thrive in a system based on corrupt businesses buying government officials to allow them to do anything they want to the population. Look at BP. They were given an exemption to installing the acoustic valves on oil rigs because of their cost. In capitalism all that matters is a quick buck and to hell with human beings or the environment.

I agree with you about media corporations that couldn't give a damn about anything but their bottom lines. I remember the consolidations that occurred under Reagan. I remember the massive layoffs. I remember the savings and loan scandals that cost the American people hundreds of billions due to deregulation. And unfortunately, the dimwitted conservatives still worship Reagan as a god. They are too stupid to realize they are being played for fools. The tea baggers are so damned dumb they don't even realize their tea parties are funded or sponsored by corporations who are working against them. Now, THAT'S stupid!

I didn't call you a right winger. I just said they use fascist all the time. 99.999999999% of conservatives have no clue what a fascist even is, but they know it's bad.

[blm]

68. Beyond laziness and profits...my husband worked a number of years for KnightRidder. I know

what was censored and how MUCH has been censored over the years. Profit margin was not always the reason. And KnightRidder was traditionally one of the best news organizations. Then they crossed Bush-Cheney. Shortly after they were forced into a sell-off.

[KonaKane]

37. Use small words, short sentences....and pictures, if you can.

I've also found little nursery rhyme tunes to be helpful.

[slampoet]

40. Shortwave and Pony Express punctuated with frequent "Git 'Er Done" call signs

[B Calm]

42. I talked to one today. He gave me this bullshit how the republicans

were going to the polls in November and retaking the government.

I asked him how many branches of government there are? He couldn't answer a simple little question. I told him that I was sorry, but I couldn't carry on a conversation with someone who was so damn ignorant!

[pinboy3niner]

47. Watch out--

He'll go back to the usual media suspects for info and, armed with the FACTS, he'll name the three branches for you: the Legislative, the NRA, and the Focus on the Family. He'll figure THAT will render you speechless, and I suspect he'll be right. Once again, you will be speechless . . .

[AlinPA]

44. You can't do it. It's like talking to barking dogs. nt

[Lesleymo]

46. My husband manages to do it

Here's his method:

1. He doesn't let on that he disagrees with them.
2. He listens for a while.
3. He gently suggests the inconsistencies or the long-term consequences of their viewpoints, without attacking them personally.

Did I mention that he's a salesman? And a darned good one, at that.

[LeftishBrit]

48. No. I'm afraid I don't speak Neanderthal.

[William Z. Foster]

50. yes

I have some success there.

Limbaugh and Hannity et al are dangerous socially, because they are inciting a small minority of people to violence and that could lead to a cycle of violence and social chaos. They are dangerous politically, mostly because of the effect they have on liberals and Democrats - suckering them into foolish battles and distracting them.

But intellectually they are light weights and no threat at all, which makes it relatively easy to reach most of their listeners. Unfortunately few are trying, and most Democrats have internalized the premises of the Reagan era and so have no form political footing or foundation, and also fall into the trap of reading the liberal lines from the script the right wing think tanks have written for all of us.

If you keep those two things in mind, and avoid the traps, people can most definitely be reached. I have found though, among party workers and volunteers, that there is little serious interest in doing this. It is almost as though people need the tea baggers, need someone as a scapegoat, someone to hate, and use the extreme right wingers as a way to define themselves.

[Iggo]

51. Yes. But only in sign language.

[Rabrrrrrr]

54. The austronaut on the space walk CAN hear it, because the suit is filled with air.

And even if not filled with air, the sound can travel through the suit itself. Read a science book.


As to your other question, no, it's impossible to communicate with a teabagger because their worldview is utterly disengaged from reality.

[AnArmyVeteran]

59. Sorry, but sound doesn't travel through the vacuum of space, it requires a medium...

Sound needs air because sound is the traveling of vibrations from one atom to another atom. In the vacuum of space, there are no gas particles or atoms for vibrations to travel through, which means there is no sound. Air has atoms in it (oxygen, hydrogen, and nitrogen atoms for the most part) that vibrations can travel through so we can hear sound so we do not have to press our ears to every object to hear its sound.

Think of electromagnetic waves as two fields of force, one magnetic and at right angles to this an electric force field. These two fields are created and moving away from their source. They are complete in themselves and do not need to reach a target by influencing anything inbetween the source and target.

The ear responds to pressure waves in the the air. When the air changes from a force the ear detects it as sound. When you clap you affect the air molecules between your hands. These bump into the air molecules all around them and the enrgy is transferred down the line, molecule to molecule to your ear.

By nature sound is force transmitted through a medium to a detector that picks up the change in the medium. EM waves are fields that do not affect the medium but travel through and indpendent of it. Sound can be transmitted electronically either digitally, analog and other enhanced methods, but if you want to try to disprove me go out into space and yell at the top of your lungs. You won't last long and no one will hear you either. Be prepared, if you go, it will be a one-way trip.

I won't be rude to you as you were to me, but before a person puts their foot in their mouth they should at least research what they are talking about. BTW, I worked for 30 years at NASA. I'm an aerospace engineer who designed parts of the Space Shuttle and Space Station. I've worked in vacuum chambers and a lot of other test sites. I flew on the KC-135, the vomit commit, where much of the movie Apollo 13 was filmed. I also flew the shuttle simulator. Care to go toe-to-toe with someone who knows what they are talking about? Warning: Get yourself some titanium tipped work shoes or you will have some very bruised toes. :)

All the best...

[Rabrrrrrr]

62. Yes, of course. Anyone with a brain knows how sound travels.

I misread the original proposition - I thought it was about impact with shuttle and astronaut, not impact with shuttle and something else with astronaut out floating in space.

[AnArmyVeteran]

64. Oh ok, innocent mistake... How about a few space stories?

But if the shuttle was traveling at 18,500 miles per hour and struck an astronaut in a suit, he wouldn't hear anything because he would be splattered all over the shuttle in a microsecond.

Side story: What is cool to see are the returns from space and seeing dings and cracks in the outer layer of window on the flight deck. Because the shuttle is traveling so fast to maintain orbit it can cause the protective window to be cracked from a piece of dust. The when you figure in the mass of a speck of dust and the speeds that the objects are traveling it causes considerable damage. But the shuttle windows have to panes, for redundancy to protect the astronauts. When astronauts are doing spacewalks (EVAs) they are at great risk to micro particles hitting them. They are also exposed to a lot more radiation while in their EVA suits, or extra vehicular activity suits. Also, every astronaut who does a space walk always tethers his tool to his suit. Losing a tool in space can be deadly. It can cause a lot more damage than a speck of dust. One more thing. If you're watching an EVA with two astronauts working, you can tell them apart by red bands around their legs. The one with red bands around his legs is EV1 and other unmarked suit (white) is EV2. BTW, astronaut Jerry Ross performed a six hour EVA, but less than ten minutes into his EVA his UCD, or urine collection device, malfunctioned so he performed the entire EVA with his urine floating all through his suit and up by his face. But Jerry was such a trooper. He was like a space McGyver who could do anything. UCDs were shaped like a rubber to catch urine. There was also one for females that were the mirror image of a female's genitalia. But fortunately, both sexes now use 'Depends'. It's cheaper and they don't have to worry about their suits getting full of urine.

Another side story: When the astronauts returned from the moon all the moon rocks were heavily guarded. They were stored behind four levels of security. But one thing NASA didn't figure on. When the suits the astronauts wore on the moon were returned, they were sent to the suit lab in building 7 at JSC in Houston. And the suit technicians vacuumed off all the moon dust. They got pounds of it because it stuck to the suits like glue. So a lot of suit techs got to keep the dust from the moon, while the rocks were heavily guarded. I got to see some friends who had vials of the dust. Only a handful of earthlings own pieces of the moon, and NASA didn't think to secure the dust that came off of astronaut's suits. Even though what they have is priceless, I doubt if they could ever sell it on Ebay, because NASA just might come looking after them. True story...

All the best...

[Warren Stupidity]

55. I give my teagbagnut neighbor the finger every time I drive

his yardfull of bullshit teabaggery hate crap. I think we communicate with each other quite well.

[pinboy3niner]

57. LOL--curmudgeonly, but LOL! nt

[Lagomorph]

61. Talk finance...

...and have some facts on hand when you do.

When they bitch about immigration, complain about how stupid it is that guest workers can't get visas in time to enter the country, work the harvest and return home, if they so desire.

[AnArmyVeteran]

65. But won't numbers confuse them too? Should I bring a calculator? A bright, shiny red one?

I'm kind of leaning toward a previous poster's solution to use a 2x4, but I'm not a violent person, and I wouldn't want to damage a good 2x4.

I think I do have an old scrap piece with nails in it in my backyard though...

[Lagomorph]

70. They tend to think in absolutes.

Just one right wing talking point:

"A UN report said the global drug trade generated an estimated $321.6 billion in 2003."

They think that if anybody is serious about reform, responsible government and that sort of thing, they'd give up their drug habits to start with.

It hard to feel good about supporting a massive worldwide drug culture with foreign aid and entitlements.

We need to get past the downside and sell the upside.

That is just one example. The list goes on and on. If you actually try to engage them, you'll hear them all.

[RagAss]

63. No...their skulls are filled with Methane.

:smoke:

[rucky]

66. Use the term "corporate welfare" a lot...

that's been the only time I've been able to connect with a teabagger.

Also read George Lakoff. Use the terms they use, but in your own context. (freedom of/to__________)

[tilsammans]

69. Say something like . . .

. . . "So what part of the Constitution concerns you the most?" Since they don't know facts, just talking points, they're stumped.

The subject gets changed. Real fast. :rofl:

[AnArmyVeteran]

74. Asking them about the Constitution is like asking them about the Bible... CLUELESS!

Ask any right wing christian to list the Ten Commandments. I bet not one could remember more than a handful. If you ask a right wing christian who is online they will just google it and cheat.

[ismnotwasm]

71. Sure, at least with stupid emails.

I hit 'send all' and told one to quit sending me emails that I considered not only wrong, but violated every principle I personally stood for, equality, freedom from oppression, justice, peace etc--you know, all those things we pinko commie liberals stand for. I was more or less polite, but firm, yeah, that's the word, firm. I left out cuss words mostly.


I topped it off by telling him that I am an active feminist. No more emails. This is a guy I actually still like, but he twisted right through religious conversion some time ago and we speak a different language. He told my husband he appreciated my honesty, but he sure doesn't try shove bullshit my way anymore. He's quite courteous.

[Tierra_y_Libertad]

72. Rush and the KKK have.

[LaydeeBug]

73. The Edith Bunker Techinique... make them think it's THEIR idea...

Like this:

"I know there are a lot of people out there saying they want Big Government out of their Medicare. Thank God *YOU'RE* not that stupid"