I know it's sort of "DUH!" for you guys, but the "tone argument" seems to keep popping up in one form or another, and it does bother me a little, if only as a distraction from more important issues.

Against someone calling people who always believe rape victims "idiots." I enjoy turning their arguments against them.

"idiotic" at all. Besides, believing the victim's story is usually the default for other crimes...

Using the tone argument after stepping on someone's personal trauma is adding insult to injury.

If I feel like a snark exchange-- very rare-- I can do that too. Letting people set the tone of the discussion or argument lets me know if it's worth discussing with a particular person. You'll notice I get into very few exchanges.

The "tone"argument/complaint is used by people who have misunderstood intent, don't understand the argument, or possibly have run into vehement disagreement over a topic OR had their ass handed to them at some point.

That being said, I see more often a tendency towards using sarcasm and baiting depending on topics instead of argument or discussion when it comes to discussing topics with feminists. Kind of a knee jerk defensive reaction. I no longer worry to much about it here at DU, there are exciting things happening in the world for women despite setbacks and atrocities. Feminism had, and has a huge part in paying it forward. DU is kinda falling behind in certain areas regarding genders, probably because of the MRA infestation.

Generally left-leaning, yes, but only "radical" in comparison to how knee-jerk right-wing so much of this country has become.