When You Label Your Opponent "A Hater," You've Lost The Argument

Bleacher Report is a site with a lot of promise.

It provides fans with a means of expressing their opinions and dabbling in the field of sportswriting.

However, as is the case with most things, you have to take the bad with the good.

The down side of Bleacher Report is that some people just don't know how to argue in a constructive manner. 

The most prevalent example of this is the overuse of the slang term "hater."

In some cases, its a knee-jerk response.  Article about Team A or Player B is written.  Response disagreeing with the premise or argument in the article is posted.  The response is immediately met with the retort "you're a hater."

In other cases, its the final line of defense.  Article about Team A or Player B is written.  Response is posted.  Discussion goes back and forth for a while.  Then, when one person runs out of arguments, he simply states "you're a hater."

What does that even mean?

I, for one, am an admittedly opinionated and, at times, passionate sports fan.  But, I can honestly say that there are few, if any teams or individuals in sports for whom I feel anything approaching hatred.

I hate the leadership in Iran.

I hate those who would do wrong to people close to me.

Heck, I might even say I hate blue cheese.

But do I hate Kobe Bryant?  Do I hate the San Francisco 49ers?  Do I hate the New York Yankees?

No.

I might wish for them to fail (particularly the hands of the teams or players I favor), but there is no true hatred there.

As far as I'm concerned, if you can't respond to an opposing point of view with something more substantive than "you're a hater," then you've lost the argument.  Better to just state your opinion, try to back it up and, in the end, agree to disagree.

For the record, though I do not believe I've called anyone a "hater," I have not always lived up to the highest standards when arguing here.  I've been drawn into unnecessary "smack" talk.  I plan to avoid doing so in the future.

For the sake of his site, I propose that others should do the same.  Give a little more thought to the arguments you make.  Back up your position with specific facts, stats, examples or, at least, reasonably objective viewpoints.

Don't just fall back on calling other posters "haters."

I just hate it when people do that!