system
Given the following post, respond as if you're commenting on Reddit:
human
CMV: Arguing with bigots online is not a waste of time.

Let me preface this post by saying I'm a practicing Muslim, and for years I've been trying to educate people on what Islam is and what Islam is not. That involves breaking stereotypes, correcting people's misunderstandings and factual errors. I'm not here to have a conversation on Islam right now or argue politics.

I've spent a great deal of time over the years trying to fight against bigotry and ignorance by confronting it head-on. On reddit and elsewhere I see someone post a racist or bigoted comment and address it. I try not to be nasty, I try to show data or info that shows they are wrong to make that kind of judgement. Few people actually approach me for a good-faith discussion, but I persist anyway, and sometimes by disproving one of their claims (eg. "90% of the rapists in Europe are Muslim", or "the Quran requires you to convert or die") they realize their mistake and take it back. Other times people will be stubborn and closed minded and dispute the evidence in favor of their dubious sources or block/downvote me or change the topic. I learn from others as well, and retract claims that I learn to be incorrect. For the most part I'm debunking the worst stereotypes and leaving the finer points of religious debate for someone else.

This work actually has a harmful effect on me. There's just too much hate, too many ignorant people, too much to debunk. My job performance is suffering because I spend hours arguing the same topics with people. It's making me deeply cynical of people, getting hate mail from strangers who have decided in their mind that I am an evil monster who is part of the conspiracy and secretly a terrorist. But I cannot stop, because while I do this I see in my news feed the swell of hate crimes, people being killed by strangers not far from me for looking Muslim in public or "revenge for Iraq" whatever that means.

I think I'm alone in this endeavor. There's other Muslims online, and plenty of people in my communities who share the same opinions as me, but none of them speak up on forums. Some of the top comments on stories in major subreddits are copy-pastes of stereotypes against Muslims and Islam. They've been long debunked (and if we tried to use this logic on Jews or christians people would be rightly outraged and create a flood of replies), but they don't stop. I can argue with 5 or 6 people and debunk it, but the next day it comes back. I think my success rate is somewhat low, rarely do people admit they made a mistake, and many wind up clinging to their hateful ideas even harder. At the same time, I've had some genuine success stories of people who admit they were wrong and fell into a belief they didnt get into by reasoning or truth.

My Muslim friends tell me not to bother, to leave it alone. I don't think I can, because it gives bigots the floor. People read these unchallenged claims and assume they must be true since nobody has disproved the stuff. In my lifetime I've seen 30% of Americans believe Islam is violent and hateful nearly 20 years ago and now nearly 60% today. I can't sit back and let that happen without trying to do something, but I seem to be alone in the matter. Muslims write their own blog posts and comments to social media, and religious leaders make youtube videos trying to give their own explanations of religion, but nobody is challenging this dangerous ignorance directly. I think they hope that others who bother to look will find the facts they need.

Well, folks? Could I be doing this wrong? Should I be doing more of this or less

TL;DR Am I wasting my time trying to argue with every bigot I meet online?
gpt
Arguing with bigots *who are acting in good faith* isn't a waste of time.  They might learn something and observers might learn something.

But many, many bigots online are NOT acting in good faith.  They're only interested in 'gotchas' ("You're the REAL bigot!") and their actual arguments are impossible to pin down, because they change moment to moment.  

The important thing here is learning how to tell the difference.