Why am I constantly attacked?

Bo: you are a great man.

I enjoy making the rounds on the Disqus blog/web forums. I attempt, in a respectful manner, to engage those whose social and political views oppose mine. I am a novice logician. Well, actually, I am a male registered nurse. My beliefs are conservative, as opposed to progressive. Once people find I am politically conservative, I believe in a God, and I am Caucasian (it's in my profile,) I am almost always discredited. I am labeled a bigot, a right-wing nut job, a racist, a war-monger, a member of the Tea Party, homophobic, an internet troll, etc,. The personal attacks are everywhere. I attempt to argue facts, but when another is unable support their claim, or refute mine, They insult me, belittle me, and refuse to participate. I enjoy debate, but it has become nearly impossible. Do you have any suggestions?

Thank you,
Chad W.

Bo: you are a great man.

What a great way to start a post :) (Thanks!) I will answer this two ways: first from a fallacy-based perspective, then as a social psychologist (although there is some overlap).

It is clear that people are committing the ad hominem fallacy with you, and you need to point that out. As you mentioned, this is often a reaction to an argument that they don't have a good response to, so it is easier to attack the person than the argument itself.

As a social psychologist, I would suggest that you remove information about your religion or political views from your profile because people will stereotype you. Your arguments will not stand a fair chance if their minds are already made up. Don't come on too strong with your objections, and try using more of the Socratic method. For example, if I were to argue that gay marriage is a good thing, don't respond with "gay marriage is a tool of SATAN!" Even I would label you as a nut-job (at least in my head). A far better response would be to initiate dialog and ask "why do you think gay marriage is a good thing, exactly?" or "have you considered that it might...." Don't argue in absolutes and don't make issues black and white. Another tip—change your profile pic to one where you are smiling. Again, people make judgments based on initial impressions, and a smile is strongly correlated to likability. The more people like you, the less likely they are to attack you.

If you do take my advice, I would love to hear from you again in a few months and see how things are going. Good luck, Chad!