>>>>Background : My wife and I participate in a food group with 6 other people. We get together once a month and rotate hosts. It's well known that the political spectrum amongst the group runs from libertarian (me) to socialist with a couple Republicans, Democrats and the disinterested. Politics almost never comes up and the few times it has is usually a minor jab in jest.
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>>>>Between courses of our last dinner, I'm sitting outside with the socialist. I knew she's a looney, but I had no idea just how far off the left end of the spectrum she resided. I know she volunteered for Obama's campaign, has her radio permanently set to NPR and believes MSNBC is too right wing. Even that knowledge didn't prepare me for the gem she offered this night. We were discussing organic farming, free range animals and what's marketing vs. real and she caught me off guard with "I think that mass production, not just of food, but of everything is a big problem with the world today." 8O
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>>>>Just when I think I've heard it all...wow, just wow.
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>>>Yes I saw this. and thankyou.I agree yours was a looney message.
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>>>You could have chosen to engage with her and discuss the pros and cons of mass production (And its not as black and white as you paint it) but you chose scorn. I wonder if there's parallel post from her in another forum about how she sat next to a real know it all at a dinner recently.
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>>The degree to which you are incorrect is hilarious. Not, surprising, just amusing.
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>>I do not discuss facts with people this outrageously ill informed as there is no point. They react and think from a purely emotional standpoint. Logic not only escapes them but is actively attacked as a foreign contaminant by their immune system. I prefer to engage and flush out their thoughts. I'll offer minor bits of information here and there but never in an argumentative fashion. Again, this is a dinner party, not a town hall, message board or other forum more appropriate for divisive discussion.
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>>Our discussion lasted the better part of 45 minutes until we returned to the table for our next course. During that time she made her beliefs quite clear and they were succinct and based in an emotional, illogical and historically inaccurate picture of the pre-industrial revolution. For the most part I let her guide the conversation, and I gently nudged her into a corner. My only jab was when I mentioned the loss of mass production means massive worldwide starvation. There was an audible beeping sound as she began to back away from her point, but she never fully reversed. ;)
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>Pre industrial revolution wan't all mud and misery you know.

and it wasn't easier to live simply on a farm raising your own and selling the excess. Remember, we're sitting in my back yard as she's explaining this. ;)