{"id":570797,"date":"2021-06-22T16:07:29","date_gmt":"2021-06-22T20:07:29","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=570797"},"modified":"2021-06-22T16:07:31","modified_gmt":"2021-06-22T20:07:31","slug":"opinion-steven-crowder-showed-why-we-shouldnt-engage-with-debate-me-bros","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/opinion-steven-crowder-showed-why-we-shouldnt-engage-with-debate-me-bros\/","title":{"rendered":"OPINION: Steven Crowder Showed Why We Shouldn\u2019t Engage With \u2018Debate Me Bros\u2019"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"&quot;\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">24<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Fopinion-steven-crowder-showed-why-we-shouldnt-engage-with-debate-me-bros%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=570797&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><div><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/05\/Steven-Crowder-1.jpg?w=1200&#038;h=800&#038;ixlib=react-9.0.3\" class=\"ff-og-image-inserted\"  style=\"display:none\"><\/div>\n<p><span>There is a relatively new social phenomenon that has appeared in recent years, fueled in particular by social media and online video platforms: \u201cdebate me\u201d culture.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>Also known as \u201cdebate me bros,\u201d there are various online figures who \u2014 often with nefarious intentions \u2014 seek out \u201cdebate,\u201d both online and in the real-world.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>The strategy itself is ingenious. If the target of \u201cdebate\u201d accepts, then a low-risk opportunity for notoriety is provided with which the \u201cdebate me bro\u201d can promote their own ideologies, usually in front of an audience much larger than their own.<\/span><span> If the target of \u201cdebate\u201d declines, then the \u201cdebate me bro\u201d can claim hypothetical victory by repacking such refusal as ideological cowardice on the part of their opponent.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>Of course, this tactic ignores the obvious reality that every individual has the right to freedom of association, and there is no God-given right to social interaction \u2014 or the platform which someone else has built.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>However, its application is hugely effective for those who exist in the arena of attention-seeking stunts. For them, debate is not the goal. It is simply the artificial veil used to hide their hungry desire for notoriety at any cost.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>Such an attempt was on full display as H3H3\u2019s Ethan Klein labeled conservative commentator Steven Crowder a \u201ccoward\u201d after Sam Seder crashed Klein\u2019s \u201cdebate,\u201d with the host of \u201cLouder with Crowder\u201d understandably refusing to engage in a debate following the \u201cbait and switch.\u201d After all, would you be expected to continue a date if your partner was replaced half way through the evening?<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>This obvious \u2014 and arguably pathetic \u2014 desperation for attention is, unfortunately, an extreme example of what debates have become. Long gone are the days of substantive discussions on actual issues. Instead, a debate is now little more than an opportunity to gain attention for oneself by any means necessary. If this can be achieved without even discussing the supposed \u201cdebate issues,\u201d all the better.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>This isn\u2019t to say that true debates are now impossible. Long-form discussions between two honest parties acting in good-faith can still happen. However, such events don\u2019t achieve the necessary outcomes for many who exist in the short-term and reactionary world we now occupy.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>To understand this reality, we must ask how debates are now judged. For the vast majority of mainstream public debates in recent history, what were the metrics we used to determine the victor? Rather than being a measured assessment of which participant put forward the clearest and most convincing formulation of their ideological position, we view debate \u201cwinners\u201d as the person who achieved their \u201cviral\u201d moment, as the person who \u201cowned\u201d their opponent. In other words, the \u201cwinner\u201d is the person who was able to make their opponent look like the biggest jackass.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>While this may seem advantageous for those who seek to climb the ladder of fame through such actions, the inevitable losers are those who still look to the debate platform as a way of allowing \u201ccorrect\u201d viewpoints to rise above \u201cincorrect\u201d viewpoints.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>Until the metrics of our public debates encourage objective and good-faith conversation, as opposed to standing as opportunities for snide and insidious \u201cgotcha\u201d moments, I for one will not be participating.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><i><span>Ian Haworth is an Editor and Writer for The Daily Wire. Follow him on Twitter at <\/span><\/i><a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/ighaworth\"><i><span>@ighaworth<\/span><\/i><\/a><i><span>.<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n<p><i><span>The views expressed in this piece are the author\u2019s own and do not necessarily represent those of The Daily Wire.<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n<p><i><span>The Daily Wire is one of America\u2019s fastest-growing conservative media companies and counter-cultural outlets for news, opinion, and entertainment. Get inside access to The Daily Wire by becoming a <\/span><\/i><a href=\"https:\/\/www.dailywire.com\/subscribe\"><i><span>member<\/span><\/i><\/a><i><span>.<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>There is a relatively new social phenomenon that has appeared in recent years, fueled in particular by social media and online video platforms: \u201cdebate me\u201d culture.Also known as \u201cdebate me &#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":2281010,"comment_status":"close","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/05\/Steven-Crowder-1.jpg?w=1200&h=800&ixlib=react-9.0.3","fifu_image_alt":"OPINION: Steven Crowder Showed Why We Shouldn\u2019t Engage With \u2018Debate Me Bros\u2019","footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-570797","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/05\/Steven-Crowder-1.jpg?w=1200&h=800&ixlib=react-9.0.3","fifu_image_alt":"OPINION: Steven Crowder Showed Why We Shouldn\u2019t Engage With \u2018Debate Me Bros\u2019","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/570797","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=570797"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/570797\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2281010"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=570797"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=570797"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=570797"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}