Had a change of heart about Ben Shapiro's campus visit after talking to a TA

I used to think it was dumb to even let that guy speak at our school back in 2019. Seemed like he was just stirring up drama. But I worked on a group project with a grad TA in my IR class who went to his talk, and she explained how she debunked half his claims in real time using stats on her phone. Said it actually made her think harder about her own arguments. Changed my mind a bit. Anyone else have a similar shift about a controversial speaker?

2 comments

2 Comments

pat_park11h ago

And honestly this kind of stuff happens way more often than people want to admit. I've had plenty of friends tell me they changed their mind about something after actually talking to someone who disagreed with them instead of just reading a headline online. The whole cancel culture thing makes it sound like every speaker is either a hero or a villain, but most people are just people with some good points and some bad ones. It's like how I used to hate going to my uncle's house for Thanksgiving, then I actually sat down and talked to him and realized we both love the same dumb movies. Sometimes you just need to hear someone explain where they're coming from instead of assuming the worst.

wesley833h ago

Yeah, isn't it weird how easy it is to just decide someone's a total jerk based on one thing you heard? I've done it myself, and I'm not proud of it. It takes a lot less energy to write someone off than to actually sit down and listen to them for an hour. Your uncle story hits close to home, I had a similar thing with a coworker I couldn't stand until we got stuck on a project together. Turns out he was just awkward, not an idiot. People forget that almost everyone has a side you never see if you only interact through a screen or a headline.