[armchairhacker]

> 'NO BAILOUTS' is an unsubtle slogan, but we're talking about a headline. Headlines are not meant to be nuanced case-switch statements, they serve the same role as function identifiers and need to be maximally concise to get attention.

Just want to say, I've had bugs caused by misleading function identifiers which do something very similar to what they say, but not quite. Developers take the name literally and won't even bother to read their documentation.

And it's the same thing with slogans like "no bailouts" or "defund the police". These slogans do get more attention, but your actual nuanced argument doesn't. That's a problem, because many people who would agree with the actual argument are immediately turned off by the slogan, including the people who need to hear your message the most: those who are unsure and who you're trying to convince to join your side. These unsure people will hear the most adversarial version of your words, like how a customer will read the critical reviews on a sponsored product (not the positive ones), or a jury will pick apart the testimony of the accused.

This is what people (read: Democrats and Republicans) do in today's society: they preach to those who are already on their side and will already vote for them and their proposals. They don't preach to the other side, and presumably think everyone there is a lost cause, because they themselves are hearing the other side's most radical voices. But despite what mass media would make you believe, most people are actually very rational and understanding: and I still believe that when you present your argument more nuanced and reasonable, even though less people hear it, more end up joining your cause.

[anigbrowl]

I agree with all of that. But the reality is that if you are the low-key, thoughtful nuanced person all the time, you will get ignored and/or steamrollered a lot, because humans are at least as emotional/instinctual as they are rational.

Intergroup conflict is a fact of social life, and resources coalesce around symbols, rallying cries, and so on as well as around negotiated policy, scientific methodology, and so on. If you are very patient or diligent, then you can help good ideas to succeed on their merits - but it's a slow and painstaking process. Strategic opportunism is how a lot of things 'go viral', and it's a skill that can be learned - and must be, if you wish to act as well to be acted upon. Distasteful in some ways, but such is life.