It is a bit of an art to separate those who are discussing a point for sake of clarity or persuasion, from these bastards whose only goal is to get a rise out of you or consume your time with their own amusement.
Disengaging from those conversations is easier though. Don't answer, walk away, just stop playing their game. Although there is a part of me that wants to shout them down and ridicule them, that plays right into their bs as well.
You could (sometimes) view it as a benefit though. Somebody trying to poke holes into your position, even if they are not being fair, is still practice for defending your position. If you're not well-versed in defending it, then you might end up discovering better evidence or it could make you vary of problems with your position.
Obviously you can't do this every time. It's not at all wrong to blow off those that are simply trying to get a rise out of you. However, in the rare cases that you do engage them, you can rest knowing that you didn't entirely waste your time.
> Disengaging from those conversations is easier though.
Assuming you've accurately identified one.
> Don't answer, walk away, just stop playing their game. Although there is a part of me that wants to shout them down and ridicule them, that plays right into their bs as well.
Assuming that you have not misunderstood their intended message, or made a mistake in the formation of your belief on the matter.
My comment right here could easily be considered (evaluated as) an example of "BS". However, here it is useful to realize that there are many ways to evaluate many things, that can produce extremely different conclusions. Sometimes conclusions can even be completely contradictory, while simultaneously being objectively correct.
Disengaging from those conversations is easier though. Don't answer, walk away, just stop playing their game. Although there is a part of me that wants to shout them down and ridicule them, that plays right into their bs as well.
Sigh. Hell is other people.