How your views become twisted and distorted and are used against you?

How some people can twist and distort things that you say to mean something different from what you actually meant? This results in effectively putting words into someone else’s mouth.

This is a very common thing that happens. Whenever there is a debate on many current important issues, such as climate change, immigration, diversity, wars or conflicts, and anything political or important.

Let’s use the climate change issue as an example. If we take a climate change activist with a very alarmist and extremist view that believes that the world will end in a few years if we don’t take radical action now. If that person has a debate with someone who doesn’t share the same extremist views. Perhaps they believe that climate change is real, and that human activity is contributing to it. However, they don’t believe that the doomsday end of the world predictions are true, and that they are just around the corner.

The extremist activist may start to accuse their opposition of being a climate denier because they don’t hold the same extremist views. A climate alarmist, and a climate denier are at either end of the scale. In this case, it would not be a true accusation, either intentionally or unintentionally. The activist is misrepresenting what the other person is saying. They are not acknowledging nuances, again intentionally or intentionally.

If it’s unintentional, it could be a matter of indoctrination. This indoctrination makes them much more susceptible to thinking biases and distortions. There is also a possibility that they are just not too bright, so, they struggle with nuances.

If it’s intentional, then it’s a malicious misinterpretation of what someone is saying with the goal of shutting down alternative views. They will label someone with more balanced and reasonable views as a climate denier, basically as an unreasonable extremist. When someone is labelled as an extremist, it’s easy to dismiss anything that they say.

You can’t make progress and have a rational debate with those who hold extreme, emotionally driven, and generally irrational views. Some of these extreme views are the result of indoctrination, usually due to someone only being subjected to one-sided information.

Some people just want to feel important. Some want to have power and influence over others. Some people are just playing a political game, trying to demonize opposing views, and they will intentionally do and say anything to distort and discredit their opposition.