A Deplorable Debating Debacle

by LisaMay

When I was in high school, one of the activities we had to undertake in our English class was debating. It was structured with 3 speakers on each team, taking it in turns to speak for and against a specific topic. I went to great lengths to avoid these sessions, spending most of them in the school sickbay with panic attacks, either real or imagined. Back then I was shy, stumbled over my words, hated being the focus of attention, blushed easily, and avoided confrontation. Debating was my worst nightmare.

I don’t like watching debates either, even when civilised rules of engagement are adhered to. I can feel tension rising within me. However, I felt it was important for me to view the first Trump vs. Biden presidential debate, hoping to learn something from their exchange of ideas. I was horrified by what I saw. It was deplorable. It certainly wasn’t ‘presidential’. The cheap point-scoring, personal insults, evasions, and just plain rudeness of interruptions and ignoring the moderator’s requests made for a particularly uncomfortable experience. I learned nothing new, but the debate reinforced something I already knew – that Trump is a bully with warped values and a modus operandi of trying to deflect attention from his own gaping inadequacies with snide comments, and personal and irrelevant attacks.

That debate was in marked contrast with the leaders’ debate that featured on New Zealand TV screens. We also are about to begin voting in an election. Our current Prime Minister, 40-year-old Jacinda Ardern, and the leader of the opposition party, 61-year-old Judith Collins, faced each other in a spirited debate, but they debated topics rationally, coherently, and fairly, with good humour. It did not turn into a catfight. They are rivals, but they know how to behave respectfully, and were never nasty or spiteful.

* * *

I’m going to quote verbatim from a news item I read in The New Zealand Herald following the American leaders’ debate:

Americans look to escape

“It appears Americans are desperate to leave the United States and set up in New Zealand following the first presidential debate.

Donald Trump and Joe Biden went head-to-head in a debate yesterday that has been described as “chaotic” and a “shitshow”. The 90-minute circus featured Mr Trump continuously interrupting Mr Biden, while the pair hurled insults each other’s way which left viewers frustrated.

Just 20 minutes into the debate, Americans had had enough. Google Trends showed a substantial rise in the search “how to move to New Zealand”. Google Trends searches are ranked between 0 and 100, with 0 meaning not enough data and 100 indicating peak popularity. Less than an hour into debate, the search “how to move to New Zealand” was sitting at 75 out of 100. By the end of the debate, it had hit 100. Other popular searches included “Can I move to New Zealand”, “moving to New Zealand”, and “move to New Zealand from US”.

The most searches came from the Democrat state of Oregon, on the US west coast.”

* * *

Are any of you FanStory writers wanting to emigrate as Trump refugees? You will enjoy it in New Zealand. There is no rioting here and the general populace don’t carry guns to murder others or for self-protection. Even the police don’t carry guns all the time, so you are not likely to get riddled with bullets. We breathe easy here.

I’ll help you settle in if you are accepted to move here. I know we’ll have something in common to start with – our political opinions.

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Sinking to the depths with the height of bad manners.

A Deplorable Debating Debacle

by LisaMay

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