The fact that even my most heavily downvoted comments usually have some upvotes too tells me that I'm not shouting into a void. If me trying to make sense of things out in the public makes even one person reconsider their position then I see that as a success. The mobbing and ad-hominem attacks haven't ever made me change my mind about anything so it's just wasted time on their part. It's also a good way to lure out the meanest commentors so that I can block them.