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The state of discourse on Free Republic

Posted on 06/08/2024 2:35:05 PM PDT by LukeL

In the past couple of years I have noticed there is a complete lake of regard for other posters on this site. Not only that but swearing seems to be tolerated. In the past day I have been called gay, a lair, that I am talking out of my *** and I am full of ****. Do we even have to go into the fighting on any thread about Ukraine or Russia. Even hard facts from multiple sources no longer seem to matter. Instead it is whoever can come up with the snarkiest reply.


TOPICS: Chit/Chat; Miscellaneous
KEYWORDS: azjoe; betamale; blamegwb; blamenevertrump; blameobama; blamerinos; blamethemods; blameyourself; bs; discource; discourse; donate; donateplease; easilyoffended; evernerds; evertrump; evertrumper; evertrumpers; evertrumpism; fakenews; fakerepublic; falsedichotomy; fledermaus; fr; freepered; freerepublic; frisnottwitter; gay; getoffmylawn; getoverit; getreal; getsmart; gettough; gettougher; goldeneagle; growup; hardlyanycursing; humblegunner; humblegunnersfault; humblehomo; hypocriticalmods; igetnorespect; insecure; itsnotthemods; itsyou; jimallowedit; justdonate; lackofmanners; lackofselfconfidence; lair; lakeofregard; learntoignore; liar; lukeisaweeper; lukel; lukelisright; millennials; modsarefine; modsarehypocrites; modsasleepatwheel; modsnothin2dowit; needsmorecursing; nerds; nevertrumpers; niceguysyndrome; notenoughzots; nottrue; nottrueatall; okmillennial; passiveaggressive; pearclutchers; qhaterspoisonedfr; qvirus; rarelyanycursing; reno89519; respect; respectisearned; rules; russia; selfimage; sodomizedgunner; sotu; spellchecksurfriend; stateofdiscourse; stateoffreerepublic; stopwhining; takeaccountability; timetogettough; timid; trolls; trolls0; trump; trumpers; ukraine; victomhood; waahtheyremean; weak; wehatehumblegunner; welovehumblegunner; whysomuchcursing; wrong; youarentspecial; zots
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To: mass55th; logi_cal869; Rocco DiPippo
I have a screen shot. ;)

Post #64 was Rocco’s and #67 was mine.


341 posted on 06/08/2024 11:08:11 PM PDT by Allegra (Toss a zeeper in the Dnieper)
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To: McCarthysGhost

“There are topics of legitimate disagreement between conservatives like The war Ukraine but there are just way too many never-Trumps for it to be organic. “

One can’t have a legitimate discourse on any subject if the only view some here will tolerate is the one Trump favors.
When a forum becomes an echo chamber, it begins to die .


342 posted on 06/08/2024 11:22:16 PM PDT by Armscor38
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To: Delta 21

Incredible photo! Desktop worthy.


343 posted on 06/08/2024 11:23:14 PM PDT by jonrick46 (Leftniks chase illusions of motherships at the end of the pier.)
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To: yelostar; LukeL
"...an effort is made to intimidate people for expressing different opinions - in hopes that they would post less or not at all. This gets rid of the people who are free thinkers and critical thinkers. A closed system has no room for people who tend to be curious and ask questions. People like this don’t conform."

Excellent point. People have always posted meanspirited comments on this forum, at least as far back as the early 2000's when I joined. However, today, the percentage of those comments is much higher. Now, there are fewer thought-provoking posts and more knee-jerk reactions.

344 posted on 06/08/2024 11:27:11 PM PDT by Tired of Taxes
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To: GBA

You clearly don’t have a clue about what was happening in the ethnically Russian Donbas for the previous 8 yrs. The Ukraine military was systematically shooting missiles and bombs into the area after Donbas residents voted to become an autonomous part of Ukraine in 2014. Kiev said they’d abide by the results but then immediately sent in the militia to deal with the “insurgents.” Over 14,000 ppl died over the next 8 yrs, many of them civilians and children. Donbas leaders asked the Russian govt for assistance so troops were sent in to send a message to Kiev to stop physically, economically and psychologically tormenting ethnic Russians living in Ukraine. Maybe NATO and the EU shouldn’t have poked the bear in the first place.


345 posted on 06/08/2024 11:36:25 PM PDT by Prince of Space (Trump 2024!)
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To: RaceBannon

I guess you support returning Joke Bidet to the White House for another 4 yrs. Good to know.


346 posted on 06/08/2024 11:38:05 PM PDT by Prince of Space (Trump 2024!)
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To: SuperLuminal

In 1998 and 1999 the discourse was interesting and educational, though heated, because everyone pretty much had to source their assertions.

You couldn’t get away with posting crap that was just freshly made up for long.


347 posted on 06/08/2024 11:54:16 PM PDT by piasa (Attitude adjustments offered here free of charge)
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To: kiryandil
"I’ve been around here for 27 years."

That's a big credit to you. Your years of experience adds greatly to the discourse.

348 posted on 06/08/2024 11:54:45 PM PDT by jonrick46 (Leftniks chase illusions of motherships at the end of the pier.)
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To: Prince of Space
"We can’t afford to be operating under the Marquis of Queensbury rules or we’ll lose our country."

You make a good point. Part of the experience in deliberating our ideas on FR is to gain skills we will use against the forces opposing our culture. I call our enemy the Culture of Death. We need the skills in climbing that cliff and delivering the death blow to that culture.

349 posted on 06/09/2024 12:11:50 AM PDT by jonrick46 (Leftniks chase illusions of motherships at the end of the pier.)
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To: Armscor38

When a country undergoes a communist revolution free speech is squelched for sure. Even worse, enemies of the government are imprisoned without proper cause. It’s happening now in America and all over The West and Trump is the only one that is fighting back in any meaningful way. So when I see so much negativity, sometimes entire never-Trump threads, I have to wonder. Are these people just blissfully unaware of the situation or are they actually part of the situation. Either way it makes little sense to me because everybody will suffer under communism or civil discord, everybody.


350 posted on 06/09/2024 12:22:36 AM PDT by McCarthysGhost
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To: Allegra
Thank you for that. I've saved it to my profile links. I came late to the party that night after being alerted to it, and missed the good stuff. Now that I've seen her reasons for having those posts removed, it makes her look even more petty and ridiculous.

And how sad that whoever the mod was, was so quick to obey her command.

351 posted on 06/09/2024 12:22:53 AM PDT by mass55th (“Courage is being scared to death, but saddling up anyway.” ― John Wayne)
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To: LukeL

A perfect example is here:

https://freerepublic.com/focus/f-chat/4242984/posts

Once upon a time, one particular poster on that thread would have been immediately zotted.


352 posted on 06/09/2024 12:27:09 AM PDT by Fresh Wind (Fake news, fake election, fake president, real tyranny.)
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To: jonrick46
That's a big credit to you. Your years of experience adds greatly to the discourse.

LOL!

There are many who would disagree.   

353 posted on 06/09/2024 12:40:40 AM PDT by kiryandil (FR Democrat Party operatives! Rally in defense of your Colombian cartel stooge Merchan!)
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To: McCarthysGhost; Armscor38

Armscor38, aka Nicolle Wallace’s little brother.


354 posted on 06/09/2024 12:43:12 AM PDT by kiryandil (FR Democrat Party operatives! Rally in defense of your Colombian cartel stooge Merchan!)
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To: Prince of Space
I've pushed the abuse button a few times, but only on posts that used extremely offensive profanity or were over-the-top personal attacks on another poster that were not germane to the topic being discussed. In rare cases, I've pushed it when people who lost an argument descended into nasty ad hominem tirades against the other person.

From the Free Republic Home Page:

Please enjoy our forum, but also please remember to use common courtesy when posting and refrain from posting personal attacks, profanity, vulgarity, threats, racial or religious bigotry, or any other materials offensive or otherwise inappropriate for a conservative family audience...

Free Republic is a site dedicated to the concerns of traditional grassroots conservative activists. We're here to discuss and advance our conservative causes in a more or less liberal-free environment. We're not here to debate liberals. We do not want our pages filled with their arrogant, obnoxious, repugnant bile. Liberals, usurpers, and other assorted malcontents are considered unwelcome trolls on FR and their accounts and or posts will be summarily dismissed at the convenience of the site administrators.

Free Republic does not advocate or condone racism, violence, rebellion, secession, or an overthrow of the government. Free Republic advocates a return to constitutionally limited government, reserving all government powers not expressly delegated by the constitution to the United States to the States respectively, or the people, emphasizing sovereign state governments, local government, self-government and self-rule, while restricting government powers to only those enumerated in the constitution...

This is why I personally try to find a constitutional aspect to whatever issue or thread that I choose to participate in.

I try to write in the third person indefinite style and avoid direct personal statements (like how Congress has rules that debate must be directed at the Chair and not other members).

I try to state my case concisely (but completely) so that others have the opportunity to understand my complete thought process before engaging me. I find that short, terse fragments of thoughts only leads the reader to fill in blanks that were not intended but that provoke unwanted responses.

I believe that once I speak on a matter and complete a dialogue with another reader to make my thinking clear, I am done with the matter. The reader is free to decide who made the better point; hounding the other person into submission to my opinion is pointless.

And I avoid the ad hominem at all costs. Name-calling, taunts, profane accusations, and closing posts with insinuations or putting words in the other person's mouth goes against everything that a reasoned debate should be about.

-PJ

355 posted on 06/09/2024 12:54:02 AM PDT by Political Junkie Too ( * LAAP = Left-wing Activist Agitprop Press (formerly known as the MSM))
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To: kiryandil

Whoa, seriously? In other words, don’t bother, huh?


356 posted on 06/09/2024 12:56:31 AM PDT by McCarthysGhost
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To: Political Junkie Too
Nah, we like your long posts.

They're informative.

357 posted on 06/09/2024 12:58:32 AM PDT by kiryandil (FR Democrat Party operatives! Rally in defense of your Colombian cartel stooge Merchan!)
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To: LukeL
Thank you for posting this thread. I agree with your posts on this thread, what is going on here now is worse than previous forum fights by a wide margin.

My disjointed, late night, and tired thoughts on this.

Much of this started with Obama's influence on how the government is run and administered, which has largely been ignored. Then there was the reaction to Trump by those in power who would rather the country suffer than allow him to succeed, Q, and the 2020 election getting stolen, and the realizing how much both parties are in it for themselves and their inner group at the expense of everyone else.

Then there was Covid, and the unchecked medical tyranny that followed. Jim Robinson in poor health and the moderation suffering because of it. The war in Ukraine getting used by both sides to validate their personal politics and world view, as if the rest of the world is their chess board and obligated to go along with the game.

On both sides of politics, there is a collective realization among the voters that George Carlin was right more than anyone wants to admit when he said " It's a big club, and you ain't in it. You and I are not in the big club."

There is no Goldwater or Reagan left in the GOP. There is no FDR, JFK, or the idealism of the Great Society left in the Democrats. The realization of how bad the corruption goes has left many disillusioned and willing to attack any easy target. Including friends on their side who don't pass self-appointed litmus tests.

358 posted on 06/09/2024 1:03:27 AM PDT by Widget Jr
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To: gnarledmaw
The Ukraine threads are a proxy for another conversation that isnt allowed here.

what do you mean by this?

359 posted on 06/09/2024 1:03:34 AM PDT by Widget Jr
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To: McCarthysGhost

It’s like talking to a wall with a Joe Biden lithograph on it.


360 posted on 06/09/2024 1:10:30 AM PDT by kiryandil (FR Democrat Party operatives! Rally in defense of your Colombian cartel stooge Merchan!)
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