Agreed, I think it’s possible to be a sealion even when the target is someone with an unreasonable position. Building from the metaphor given, if someone states they don’t like disabled people and a disabled person pops up and incessantly questions them on why that is still a form of trolling. No one is ever going to be dissuaded from their position via sealioning, because it’s a form of harassment.
Okay, final thought. I will say that the comic would have been much better at getting across the idea of sealioning if the first line had been “cabbage.”
“I like most ruffage, but I don’t care for cabbage.” “Dude, don’t say that out loud!”
“Pardon me, but I couldn’t help but overhear…”
Based on the cartoon, it’s always seemed to me that the crucial component of sealioning shouldn’t be the superficial politeness or bad-faith arguing, but stalking; the sealion refuses to allow the other person to exercise their right to leave the conversation. In a message board context, it seems like sealioning should mean following people into thread A to call them a puppy-felcher based on stuff they said in Thread B. But looks like that ship has sailed.
Recall that the comic is describing an existing behavior, not coming up with a new behavior for the sake of the comic.
It might have been more accurate if the couple stayed in the carriage as it traveled from location to location, incessantly asking questions. The couple could choose to leave the carriage, tired of the sea lion’s antics, and then a new couple gets in, and the sea lion starts badgering them as well.
(Cue the cartoon about a badger.)
Yeah, I kind of feel the comic fell short by making it about the sealions themselves, and not the act of sealioning. Nevertheless, you can figure out the intent without nit-picking the execution.