I see too frequently from English-speaking radicals countering criticism by calling people brainwashed. Yes, they are severely “brainwashed” by bourgeois ideology, but calling them for what they are is not always useful, and especially not in this case.

Since we were born in a bourgeois society, being ideologically alienated is a given. We were all fed bourgeois ideology at some point, unless we had critical thinking human beings as parents, which is a rarity on its own.

But remember, when we call someone “brainwashed”, unless they’re an actual lunatic, we are also calling everyone who’s reading the discussion and disagrees with our point of view, which is a given, since being constantly fed bourgeois is also a given.

We should, then, usually avoid personal attacks and, instead, attack or question their arguments, so in this manner, you’re not attacking who disagrees with us. Unless they’re a full-blown fascist, or a despicable person in general, we have no political gain from insulting people.

In general, always have a discussion like everyone’s watching the debate, because indeed, everyone is watching. Someone will read your replies at some point, and if they believe what the person we are attacking believes, they will tend to put themselves in the shoes of that person and possibly reject even further our contributions to the debate.