Don the asbestos undies, it could get warm in here.
5.56mm
I agree completely. I almost posted a similar set of thoughts but figured it would take 10 replies or less before the name calling started.
You butthead :)
I’ve had a taste of the venom lately and appreciate what you said here.
Kudos to you, FRiend!
- Megan
Thank you for your post.
“flame away!”
You’re lucky they don’t burn you at the stake. But you are right.
Bet you didn’t preview your posting before hitting post.
I agree.
This election has become very emotional and therefore it is difficult to stay objective even for conservatives. As a general rule I make my points and then rarely respond to follow up posts unless I omitted significant references or wasn’t clear on initial post. I assume the reader can read both my point and the counter point and come to their own conclusion without the need for me to enter into a flame war.
When encountering such a give and take on a thread by others I normally skip over the banter and look for other comments. Most of this will pass once the nominee is certain and then we will be left with those 100% purists who refuse to vote for any candidate that doesn’t agree with them 110% of the time. In other words, back to normal.
Agree!
I found my way to FREE REPUBLIC following a “white water” link on the Drudge Report and have been every since.
I have to agree with the poster, things have really gotten nasty on this site over the past few months. At first I thought it was trolls who just signed up, but after looking at profiles I see many of the more nasty comments come from long time Freepers.
This is not an opus, if I do leave I will just leave, but the fact that I am even thinking of closing out my account bothers me. For now I think I will watch and see how this develops.
You need to post that in ALL CAPS because WE CAN”T HEAR YOU!
(And lots of exclamation points too!!!!!!!!!!!)
Like taking an extra second to fix the quotes and apostrophes after copying and pasting from Word.
No flame here, friend. I agree wholeheartedly. And I’ve been here a long time too, as a lurker from the beginning, then a member since ‘99.
Been very sad to see the digression and declension here, especially since the primaries have started.
But then, it’s the way of man, the way of the fallen nature, the way of flesh - over time, every thing that began as good declines and is taken over by fallen men and their fallen nature........
A big part of the problem is that FR allows posting of inflammatory opinion from sites like RedState which is pure opinion and one-sided blather as “news”. That results in counter-attack from the other side and the whole thread degenerates into name-calling and juvenile crap (not that I haven’t participated, just saying what it is).
Posting a CNN story like “Rand Paul Suspends Campaign” is legitimate news. No problem.
Posting a Leon Wolf screed from RedState like “Trump is an Orange-Haired Poopy Head” is not news. It is opinion and belongs in blogs.
The smart thing for intelligent adults to do is to skip the low-hanging fruit and just ignore such tripe. But it’s hard to do and the old mop psychology kicks in after the first person does it, and we each come up with a clever rejoinder.
I’m not singling out Cruz supporters here, both “sides” are guilty. The posting of inflammatory “my guy is great your guy sucks” material isn’t going to advance the argument, unveil any new issues, or change anyone’s mind. As long as it’s allowed, human nature is that we’re going to keep getting what we’ve been getting.
I refuse to be PC and unnecessarily polite to those wishing me harm. We’re done with that now. We were told by the liberals to be nice while they were mean and nasty.
We were told for decades that “the high road” the “road of civility” was to play by Queensberry Rules and not hitting below the belt while the liberals and our own GOP establishment played by Schoolyard Rules and smashed us in the balls.
Sorry, not going to play that “be polite while losing” crap anymore. Get used to it! America is back and she’s pissed!
I don’t have a problem with people arguing about the candidates.
When they start to call each other names over who the other is supporting though...
And the endless pissing matches. Very little real discussion and too much shouting others down.
Everyone here supports their guy for whatever reason.
If it doesn’t happen to be your guy, that doesn’t make the supporter a mouth breather of some kind.
Nobody is going to be perfect. Nobody.
All of them will let us down in some way.
On this forum we demand perfection.
Every single one of the candidates has flaws. Every single one.
Our job is to pick the one with the fewest based on the information we get. Many times the information is faulty but most of us on this forum are well informed and striving to make the best decision.
It’s hard not to get too passionate regarding our choices.
Our country is on the line.
And our very lives too.
I can hear myself think and when it gets too ugly I ask God for help to make my mind right.
It’s hard to be civil when we’re watching our country dissolve right before our eyes.
I do know that I am learning to stop and think before I post. Some of my jokes may be too ribald, my pattern of logic may appear too obscure or out of synch. Some of my remarks may need to be supported with verified events, not just my opinion. It’s called learning to be a better writer and more concise in thought. I try never to openly insult somebody unless I’m very clearly joking and not trying to wound.
I don’t come here to make anyone feel bad. I stay for the chatter and exchange of opinions. I have discovered that everyone has a different take on certain issues we may have in common, such as work, getting along with people, pursuit of faith, pursuit of wisdom and general knowledge. Pursuit of freindship too.
I think that what is going on here is a reflection of the hyper partisan antics used by the left. Since we as conservatives really don’t have anyplace out in the world to have our views discussed rationally and are subjected to abuse by those on the opposite side, many bring that mistreatment here, when they are challenged and cannot support a position effectively.
It is not everyone, to be sure. Also, bear in mind that Onambla has coarsened the conversation with his childlike temper tantrums, and demand for fealty from all.
An in the almost 20 years since FR went live, many who were good at intellectual sparring with some humor have passed on (Dr Raoul), moved on (Kristinn), or been banned such as pissant, the comedian, and others.
There is an ebb and flow, to the people who post here, and I do not think that this time is any different than 2000 when it was an open field on the republican side. 2008 was an open, and many hated McAmnesty, and Willard. others were vociferously for Duncan Hunter and if you didn’t support him you were just plain stupid. It is not new, just more intense at this time.
Take a breath, step back and unplug for a while.
Of course, I want to support the most conservative candidate, and it's not always easy to figure out who that might be. It's always easy to see who's not conservative. It's always easy to see who puts personal gain above philosophical gain. And it's always easy to spot who shouldn't be trusted.
But what happens when all the choices have some weaknesses, and personal faults? And doesn't that happen in just about every election?
I'm in Missouri, and we don't have to choose until mid-March, and who knows, the race could effectively be over by then. Still, I would much rather find out why one candidate is the best, rather than being told which one is the worst. I understand the slams against Trump, Cruz, Rubio, and Carson, and the rest. But they have become so commonplace, and simplistic that they don't have an impact on my decision.
Nice post, though, and I hope that it brings a little more civility and thoughtfulness to the discussions.
Bump