I have a friend which I won’t mention that at every turn that appears to like riling people up. At every turn it is of no doubt that they will produce a counterpoint and then see what the reaction would be….continuing to respond until they get a debate going. Don’t feed the flames and eventually they start to complain to say that people are dumb and don’t like to discuss things. In actual fact, I think people just can’t be bothered to talk about anything. Sometimes I think its ok to discuss things but to constantly debate things for the sake of debating it can be exasperating.
I have another friend who at every turn has something negative to say about everything. They have a negative attitude to everything. When I bring up anything that can be positive they have a knack to turn the whole thing around and taint it. I feel that is a terrible and sad way to look at life and treat others.
A good and close friend did say to me that there are always going to be people that are going to be like that throughout life and it’s a matter of how one deals with it. For me that is the Art of Zen. Being able to handle others peacefully and calmly without being affected in a large manner.