all you are doing is making yourself into an asshole here, so you can feel smug and superior to these folks

These folks' entire political worldview is based on feeling smug and superior to commie libtards. It's just ego and tribalism, purely emotional justifications. They don't care about facts, they care about posturing and rhetorical victories.

they only typically change their beliefs based on personal tragedy or trauma.

Which is what makes shame and belittlement so effective at denting their armor. It isn't about convincing them in the moment, it's about making them feel small and stupid. Feeling small and stupid is personal trauma, and if it happens enough they might abandon the beliefs that target them as small and stupid.

The biggest problem with the left is that we try to be civil and win the debate with facts and logic, when the audience doesn't give a shit about facts or logic. They are simple creatures, shame is the only thing their walnut brains understand.