I find myself far less interested in "debate" than I was in, say, 2015 (or even 2019). I feel we've been "debating" for decades and it's done jack shit, it's just provided an excuse to keep very terrible, dehumanizing ideas in circulation because *we* accept them as "debatable".
A few years ago I'd engage and "try to explain". Now I really don't have the patience and don't see the point. I simply do not trust that they're making a good-faith, honest argument, and I do not think that, deep down, they see me & my people as full human beings.
You can argue what this means for democracy, you can regret what this means for the public sphere. But to me this isn't about debate or the public sphere; it's about how every single institutions out there is broken, and how a large section of us feel dehumanized and assaulted.
What we've had is endless "debate" for years & decades without anything getting easier, anything changing, any "reform" taking place. Instead, the "system" got even more vicious in its dehumanization of us. It only got better at ignoring our voices and our humanity.
Note, I do not say any of this with any sort of satisfaction, only regret. I know how dangerous it is when people give up on debate. But I also don't think we can get anywhere when we don't share the same shared reality in terms of facts and basic foundational values.
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