http://www.visibleorigami.com/2020/03/one-more-tiresome-apologia-that-redeems.html

SNIP:

I hesitate to do this, especially since I mentioned it recently but... maybe I've never explained certain things exhaustively enough? Right off the bat, I KNOW that no matter how much you explain something to certain people, it WILL NOT take. There are reasons for this. One reason is that they are stupid, or chronically fixated; same thing. This is the case with religious fundies. Another reason is that they DON'T WANT TO UNDERSTAND. Their point is harassment, period. Another reason is that understanding you is not the cardinal issue. They prefer that you understand them. They want to be doing what you do but they are not equipped to the task so, metaphorically speaking, they believe that if they come into the room where you are speaking and speak at the same time that you are speaking, they will have become your equal, or perhaps be mistaken for you. It is a little like air guitar, karaoke and lip syncing, all at the same time.

Recently I had someone say that I did not have children and so I did not understand; attended by a slur, which said, “Well, none that you know of.” I disabused this person about my offspring and this was summarily ignored and the statement repackaged like one of those bundles of toxic housing loans that our banks sold off overseas in the previous decade. Then another person took a statement I made and restructured it, until it bore no resemblance to what I had said and then accused me of saying it. I took exception to this and correctly pointed out that it then delegitimized everything they had said. It was similar to what is called the 'fruit of the poisoned tree', concerning evidence obtained illegally and all following evidence is then tainted as well. This person assumed a kind of, “so what?” posture and went on to; “then what about this? And this? And this?”