What Are The Most Controversial Topics?

What the title says: what are the most controversial discussions you've witnessed?

• Every time the topic of tipping comes up, everyone vehemently defends or attacks the subject with the enthusiasm of a hungry manticore (or something). Also, at least one person posts a pic of Steve Buscemi.
• One time we were debating birth rates and the burden of overpopulation in class, and I casually suggested we institute a One Child Per Family law like China. Holy shit, did everyone explode on me like I was some kind of insane person. Granted, I'm an only child, but I figured it was reasonable - if you don't have siblings, you make friends and their act as your surrogate siblings, so I figured it would work out. One girl got especially pissed at me, asking stuff like whether or not her siblings shouldn't have been born.

That's all I can think of at the moment. Obviously there's subjects like politics which are inherently 'controversial', but I'm thinking along the lines of semi-inane topics.

EDIT: Holy fuck, this wasn't an open invitation to debate religion. I was specifically asking for "semi-inane topics". Quit bringing it up and perpetuating the religion flame war, and post about best vacuuming practices or something.

Abortion, religion, politics, etc. etc. Basically the things that no one wants to be reasonable about.

Anything to do with religion, abortion, or gun control are just waiting to be controversial.

Here is a Cracked list. Particularly amusing is a 1000+ reply Escapist thread asking if .9999... = 1 (because 1/3=.33333...), a thread which I saw a while back. It has since been deleted but there were some vehement arguments on there.

Actually, everything on the Escapist was a vehement argument. Glad I'm not there anymore.

Paper or plastic.

Meowth can get people pretty heated on these forums, i know this from personal experience.

@believer258 said:

Anything to do with religion, abortion, or gun control are just waiting to be controversial.

Here is a Cracked list. Particularly amusing is a 1000+ reply Escapist thread asking if .9999... = 1 (because 1/3=.33333...), a thread which I saw a while back. It has since been deleted but there were some vehement arguments on there.

Actually, everything on the Escapist was a vehement argument. Glad I'm not there anymore.

Whenever I accidentally stumble into an Escapist forum, all the posters are surprisingly coherent and articulate, almost to an alarming degree. I'm gonna have to check it out for real one of these days.

@CH3BURASHKA said:

@believer258 said:

Anything to do with religion, abortion, or gun control are just waiting to be controversial.

Here is a Cracked list. Particularly amusing is a 1000+ reply Escapist thread asking if .9999... = 1 (because 1/3=.33333...), a thread which I saw a while back. It has since been deleted but there were some vehement arguments on there.

Actually, everything on the Escapist was a vehement argument. Glad I'm not there anymore.

Whenever I accidentally stumble into an Escapist forum, all the posters are surprisingly coherent and articulate, almost to an alarming degree. I'm gonna have to check it out for real one of these days.

Well, it used to be that way, but the last few times I've poked my head in to see what's going on, I see a lot of the once-great quality going far down.

And the ads. Come on, damn it, the fucking ads. Even with AdBlock Plus it takes too long to load.

@Video_Game_King said:

Paper or plastic.

Ha!

Vinny VS Jeff

@CH3BURASHKA said:

• One time we were debating birth rates and the burden of overpopulation in class, and I casually suggested we institute a One Child Per Family law like China. Holy shit, did everyone explode on me like I was some kind of insane person. Granted, I'm an only child, but I figured it was reasonable - if you don't have siblings, you make friends and their act as your surrogate siblings, so I figured it would work out. One girl got especially pissed at me, asking stuff like whether or not her siblings shouldn't have been born.

I assume you are not from Asia or Africa, South America. In the west/north (rich countries) there is no problem of overpopulation. Just opposite with not enough power in generation change to sustain the lifestyle.

As for topic

religion, sexuality and moral stuff plus console wars

Religion. Although, I don't understand why it's still debated. It's 2012 and we've still got adult fairy tales.

@Video_Game_King said:

Paper or plastic.

BOTH!!!

Religion, politics, and sports (and all associated things like abortion or gun control). These are the three things I have always felt should NEVER be discussed with people online as it nearly always leads to anger and name calling.

@Jace said:

Religion. Although, I don't understand why it's still debated. It's 2012 and we've still got adult fairy tales.

Except people don't spend all their time trying to convince other people that fairy tales don't exist. If I believed in Santa Clause I bet you wouldn't give two shits.

@Dexter_Morgan_ said:

@Jace said:

Religion. Although, I don't understand why it's still debated. It's 2012 and we've still got adult fairy tales.

Except people don't spend all their time trying to convince other people that fairy tales don't exist. If I believed in Santa Clause I bet you wouldn't give two shits.

heh. Did this conversation on controversial topics already start an argument? That was quick!

right-winged views

Anything involving Obama.

Entertainment. Are you entertained by something? Burn the heretic! Are you not entertained by something? Again with the burning!

@TruthTellah said:

@Dexter_Morgan_ said:

@Jace said:

Religion. Although, I don't understand why it's still debated. It's 2012 and we've still got adult fairy tales.

Except people don't spend all their time trying to convince other people that fairy tales don't exist. If I believed in Santa Clause I bet you wouldn't give two shits.

heh. Did this conversation on controversial topics already start an argument? That was quick!

And hopefully it ends here.

@TruthTellah said:

@Dexter_Morgan_ said:

@Jace said:

Religion. Although, I don't understand why it's still debated. It's 2012 and we've still got adult fairy tales.

Except people don't spend all their time trying to convince other people that fairy tales don't exist. If I believed in Santa Clause I bet you wouldn't give two shits.

heh. Did this conversation on controversial topics already start an argument? That was quick!

I'm not arguing, i'm curb stomping with my words.

tits or ass

Religion and politics basically, I swear 8/10 times those topics come up, all parties just go full retard and don't let go. It's pretty stupid if you ask me, I know common decency doesn't really exist but come on

@PeasantAbuse: Face

@Jace said:

Religion. Although, I don't understand why it's still debated. It's 2012 and we've still got adult fairy tales.

If it were that simple, people smarter than you or I wouldn't still be debating it.

Anything can be a very controversial topic; it just depends on the context of the discussion.

For example, amongst non-gamers or even casual gamers, mentioning that you think DLC is okay in gaming is usually rather uncontroversial, but bring it up in a place like Giant Bomb and you'll unleash a storm of vitriol. Saying to someone, "I love console games." isn't controversial. Saying "I love console games." on Giant Bomb will get ten people posting PC memes and explaining how to upgrade your desktop to better maximize framerate.

There are few specific, universally controversial topics, as cultures and individuals vary on what they think and care about, but there are a range of topics which may have a higher instance than others. In general, topics relating to the unexplained or esoteric are more controversial, as there is a higher likelihood of disagreement tied into people's personal experience. Vision defines how controversial something is, and considering the wide expanse of individual vision in the world, some things can be controversial to many and some may be controversial to few depending on location, age, sex, and an endless number of personal variables.

Thus, to define a list of most controversial topics in more specific terms than "the unexplained" or "the intimately personal" would generally be rather inaccurate or subjective for anything beyond a very small cultural subset.

So, the best answer would simply be "the unexplained and/or personal".

Picking a controversial topic.

@wewantsthering said:

@Jace said:

Religion. Although, I don't understand why it's still debated. It's 2012 and we've still got adult fairy tales.

If it were that simple, people smarter than you or I wouldn't still be debating it.

Astute

M/KB vs Controllers. Everyone knows controllers are for babies.

cancer aids

Relationship advice threads. It tears whole communities apart.

@evanbower:

Anything... And everything.

You know what, fuck it! The Internet -fucking- sucks D:

Hey everyone, should women be paid the same as men in every job? I've seen this particular topic cause more than a few tears.

@CH3BURASHKA said:

One time we were debating birth rates and the burden of overpopulation in class, and I casually suggested we institute a One Child Per Family law like China. Holy shit, did everyone explode on me like I was some kind of insane person. Granted, I'm an only child, but I figured it was reasonable - if you don't have siblings, you make friends and their act as your surrogate siblings, so I figured it would work out. One girl got especially pissed at me, asking stuff like whether or not her siblings shouldn't have been born.

Yeah, I don't think the people who's existence would have been denied if such a law existed would have a positive view on that.

But yeah, I avoid talk of politics as much as I can.

@Dexter_Morgan_ said:

@Jace said:

Religion. Although, I don't understand why it's still debated. It's 2012 and we've still got adult fairy tales.

Except people don't spend all their time trying to convince other people that fairy tales don't exist. If I believed in Santa Clause I bet you wouldn't give two shits.

I absolutely would care, under the condition that you make choices that affect other people's lives based on your belief in Santa. That was an extremely poor analogy. Your "curb stomp" was more like a strike out.

Cake vs pie, but on a more serious note religion seems to be one of the more controversial topics around.

@PeasantAbuse said:

tits or ass

Shoulder.

@Jace said:

Religion. Although, I don't understand why it's still debated. It's 2012 and we've still got adult fairy tales.

You're the reason things like religion are controversial to discuss openly. You seem as unreasonable about the topic as those who push religion mindlessly.

@Hizang said:

Vinny VS Jeff

For sex or for... Ah who am I kidding? Vinny for everything!

No wait. Jeff for everything!

Oh no! What have you done to me?

Quite a lot of the important ones...

.

whether FFVI or FFVII is the better one, and how anyone who claims any of the other numbers are best is clearly mentally disabled.

green eggs or ham

@JasonR86 said:

@Jace said:

Religion. Although, I don't understand why it's still debated. It's 2012 and we've still got adult fairy tales.

You're the reason things like religion are controversial to discuss openly. You seem as unreasonable about the topic as those who push religion mindlessly.

Any post that starts with "you're the reason this large function exists" I immediately disregard. You can try again if you want to sound rational, and I might offer a rational response in return.

Genetics, inequality, stuff like that. There are people who have strong knee jerk reactions to those topics, and those who use them to be ''edgy'' and want to stir shit.

@Jace said:

@JasonR86 said:

@Jace said:

Religion. Although, I don't understand why it's still debated. It's 2012 and we've still got adult fairy tales.

You're the reason things like religion are controversial to discuss openly. You seem as unreasonable about the topic as those who push religion mindlessly.

Any post that starts with "you're the reason this large function exists" I immediately disregard. You can try again if you want to sound rational, and I might offer a rational response in return.

don't be a dick to people who believe in things that you don't, simple stuff really

@Animasta: Of course I understand why it's still debated. But tell me, what's the difference between humpty dumpty falling off of a wall, and an old man putting two of every animal in a big boat? I can make that original statement without the intention of "being a dick", because it isn't slander, is it? I made a statement saying that two things are alike, why does that make me a dick?

@Jace said:

@JasonR86 said:

@Jace said:

Religion. Although, I don't understand why it's still debated. It's 2012 and we've still got adult fairy tales.

You're the reason things like religion are controversial to discuss openly. You seem as unreasonable about the topic as those who push religion mindlessly.

Any post that starts with "you're the reason this large function exists" I immediately disregard. You can try again if you want to sound rational, and I might offer a rational response in return.

You've already proven to be the perfect model for what this thread was talking about.

@Jace said:

@JasonR86 said:

@Jace said:

Religion. Although, I don't understand why it's still debated. It's 2012 and we've still got adult fairy tales.

You're the reason things like religion are controversial to discuss openly. You seem as unreasonable about the topic as those who push religion mindlessly.

Any post that starts with "you're the reason this large function exists" I immediately disregard. You can try again if you want to sound rational, and I might offer a rational response in return.

Try this then. Your post was poorly thought out and deliberately confrontational. Comments like that, which belittle peoples sincerely held beliefs tend to rile folk up, make them defensive and lead to heated arguments on the subject. People who view the world in black & white (on both sides of a debate) tend to be what makes subjects controversial.

The reason why people still believe in religion are numerous. Some just find comfort in the idea that there is something more. Why are you intent on taking that away from them when they are doing no harm to anybody? It's one thing to rail against fundamentalists, and even those who allow the fundamentalists to exist, but speaking as an atheist I don't really see why it matters what someone believes so long as they aren't forcing their belief on or causing harm to other people.

Sure, religion seems dumb and illogical to me, but it means something to my gran so good for her. If the idea that she gets to reunite with my grandad in heaven keeps her going then fine.

TL;DR? Don't be such a dick, patronising people is rarely appreciated.

@boocreepyfootdoctor said:

All topics are, because humans instinctually will take sides for the purpose of the gratification of winning an argument or the victimization and camaraderie of losing the argument or not getting the last word in or enough attention and so on.

That's bullshit man, there are no controversial topics!

@Jace said:

@JasonR86 said:

@Jace said:

Religion. Although, I don't understand why it's still debated. It's 2012 and we've still got adult fairy tales.

You're the reason things like religion are controversial to discuss openly. You seem as unreasonable about the topic as those who push religion mindlessly.

Any post that starts with "you're the reason this large function exists" I immediately disregard. You can try again if you want to sound rational, and I might offer a rational response in return.

He's right though, you seem to disregard a lot of things. And as @Animasta: said, don't be a dick.