Changing minds is tough, but people do it every day. Some of the impulse to bully seems like "I'm getting frustrated at this tough task so I'm going to lash out and then justify it later as actually good."

Not saying that bullying has no place at all, just that we can't lose sight of what we're actually trying to do.

Debates, especially online ones, actually suck for convincing anyone of anything.

The internet is the most powerful propaganda/communication tool in existence. Millions of people have been politically radicalized through it in the last decade alone. People just rarely say they were convinced during a conversation (or they marinate on it and the mind change comes later), and the lurkers who get their minds changed don't comment because they're lurkers.