Thank you for the thoughtful response. (post 30)
FR means a lot to me. It is hairy, uncivilized, often uncouth, inappropriately irreverent, all the things we see on the Internet at large.
But, for me...it is a jumping off point. I don’t watch television. I don’t read newspapers or magazines. I don’t listen to the radio. I stopped all that about 20 years ago.
But I use FR as my source of things I need to know about, and I go from there. I consider myself far better informed than people who depend on papers or the alphabet news networks. Ugh. Now, I may not know about things instantly when they happen (I often run up to six hours behind) but thanks to the interactive nature of FR, I feel that I have a better handle on specific issues. I have to cogitate on things and don’t just eat it up as the media spits it out, but...I see that as an advantage. I can think for myself.
And I like the community. I have met many Freepers in person and gone to one of the annual FR Conventions down in DC, and they are a slice of society at large who just happen to be conservatives. They have all the foibles of America, the faults, the strengths...
There are a few Freepers I just avoid, but there are only one or two of them. I even like to talk to the crazies among us, as long as they aren’t uncivil...:)
And we get all the opinions...good...and bad. It is my lifeline to staying informed. Without it...where would I go to keep up with things?