Instigator / Pro
7
1500
rating
3
debates
66.67%
won
Topic
#5964

Does Racism Affect the US in a Major Way

Status
Voting

The participant that receives the most points from the voters is declared a winner.

Voting will end in:

00
DD
:
00
HH
:
00
MM
:
00
SS
Parameters
Publication date
Last updated date
Type
Standard
Number of rounds
5
Time for argument
One week
Max argument characters
30,000
Voting period
Two weeks
Point system
Multiple criterions
Voting system
Open
Contender / Con
1
1495
rating
15
debates
56.67%
won
Description

This debate will be does racism effect the US in a major way. With the major shift in arguments between political groups, I think this debate will be interesting. I am arguing the Pro, which means that I will be arguing that racism affects the US in a major way that is detrimental to minority groups. I will be looking for an opponent to argue the opposite. Turn one will be considered an opening statement from both parties while the rounds up until the end will be rebuttals where questions can be asked to further points (Or for clarification). After this the final round will be considered a closing statement for both parties. The response periods will be one week due to me working multiple jobs, which means my opponent will have plenty of time to respond. The main point in this debate is not only to have a debate, but to have a valued back and forth (Debate is a good way to bring people together). I do plan to have this debate more than one time in case someone who does not accept first would like to debate this topic.

Criterion
Pro
Tie
Con
Points
Better arguments
3 point(s)
Better sources
2 point(s)
Better legibility
1 point(s)
Better conduct
1 point(s)
Reason:

This was an interesting debate, and I enjoyed reading what both parties had to offer. Con has a unique style that can be difficult to follow at times, but their core arguments were clearly expressed. Many of these arguments were easily rebutted by Pro, for example:

Con claims that white people are shot by police more than black people despite difference in crimes rate (Pro addressed this by pointing out the difference in population size), that many high-profile shootings were the result of the victim resisting arrests (Pro addressed this by pointing out that their data primarily focused on incidents where the victim was unarmed), and that Asian Americans outperform other racial groups despite minority status (Pro addressed this by explaining that not all minority groups share the same experiences with discrimination).

Con's arguments could have also used more sourcing. When pushed for sources by Pro regarding black on white crime, Con offered a link to an FBI webpage regarding general crime statistics, but not to any particular data-set/study from the FBI that would support their argument.

Pro offered very thorough, well-sourced, and strong arguments. Rebutted Con's arguments successfully while offering consistent and varied citations. However, there were some moments where Pro’s arguments could have gone farther, for example: when addressing Con’s argument that Asian Americans outperform other races despite minority status, it would have been nice to see Pro bring up the difference in how many Asian Americans came to America vs. black Americans which also is a major contributor to their differing experiences.