A Comment on the Atmosphere of FR

A concerned FReeper | December 30, 2004 | K1avg

[K1avg]

For the past several months, fate has conspired to keep me away from the computer. I haven't posted nearly as much on FR as I used to. With the holidays, though, I've had an opportunity to catch up a bit.

What I found on my return is a bit disconcerting. While there's always been an element here that refuses to reason and does little more than insult Democrats and RINOs, it seems that this mentality has taken over a large portion of our membership. I've encountered more shrill, radical nonsense in the past couple of days than I had in the months before my absence.

Certainly it's acceptable to gloat a bit after our enormous gains on November 2, but I do believe it's about time to get back to normal business.

Referring to Democrats as “Rats” or some variant thereof may be somewhat amusing, but seeing the reference in nearly every other post really gets annoying at times. Pet names for Democrats and RINOs may be funny the first time, but quickly get old. It's one thing to respect someone, and it's certainly acceptable to not do so for one reason or another, but it's never alright to be downright incivil.

Just the other day, I was in an argument here with some other members who were supporting Yanukovych over Yushchenko because Yush had pledged to remove Ukraine's 1600-some-odd-strong force from Iraq and was *gasp* more liberal than Yanukovych. Seriously, that's absurd. I'd be happy to debate with you here, but anyone can tell you Yushchenko as president will be much better for the Ukrainian people, our interests in Iraq be damned.

But I'm getting away from the subject at hand. These are just a few examples of the devolution of discourse here. While everyone is certainly allowed to have their own opinions, there is a certain level of civility that should be maintained, regardless of the context.

This is the sort of stuff you find at DU, not here. I recognize there's plenty of good, civil users here, and I'm thankful for that. To those guilty, though, it would be nice if you could tone it down a bit.

I love being here. Things like the Undead Thread, Daily Dose, and crushkerry's Lib Pundit tournament, along with the usual daily banter of normal news, makes FR like no other political site on the web. Let's keep it that way. Thanks for your time, and have a lovely day.

[Howlin]

Well, I knew that; since you didn't know who dawn posted to, I figued I'd point it out.

[AppyPappy]

Not necessarily. In 2001 after Bush won, we had a bunch of these posts. They wanted us to be more "civil" and show "dignity" so the liberals would see we were reasonable people. Then the Democrats wouldn't feel the need to be so hostile.

Of course, the Dems saw weakness and turned on us like rabid dogs.

[Tribune7]

On one of the earthquake threads there was a lot of pointless, and embarrassing, digs at Europeans. It wasn't the place to bring in policy disputes.

A lot of them seem to be coming from newbies.

[PeaceBeWithYou]

Ah, OK. We'll be sure to ping you to every posting of the terms Rat or RINO, that way you can police the abusers personally.

You really should be more careful what you wish for. Sometimes you get it, but not in the way you wished it.

[Calusa]

The venerable Democrat opposition Pile Drived and stoved in my brain for two years, laying on everything they had. In fact I still have their kitchen sink sticking out of my bloody skull. I think we should be kind and considerate now that they're taking their come-uppance so poorly. Cal

[OSHA]

Very appropriate!

[MaxMax]

But you forgot to complain about all those damn cat pictures that keep getting posted!!!

Did you mean pics like these?
/flee

[Skooz]

Thank goodness!

[MeekOneGOP]

K1avg:

I'll be back later this evening, though, to address any concerns.

Typical post and run Troll. Let's get him!

Just kidding! :^D

[unbalanced but fair]

So we should be civil when Jesse Jackson tells Newsweek that Kerry really won? Or when Sen Leahy says the President isn't doing enough for the disaster victims? I call a Rat a rat when I see it. By the way, these are current threads.

[KJacob]

I am only posting to try out my new tag line.

[cwiz24]

Forgot your sarcasm tag.

[dakine]

Hi newbie...

[proud_2_B_texasgal]

rats....RATS.....Did somebody say RATS????

[Asphalt]

Am I supposed to say thank you? You aren't going to get it from me...

[Racehorse]

I agree with you. We were discussing this on another thread. That, and people being accused of being trolls and disruptors just for expressing a different viewpoint, however politely.

I agree, also.  Some possibly very interesting threads crashed and burned once the troll hunters stumbled in.  Still, you learn to pass the shrill ones by, sometimes answer in kind, and sometimes practice your poetic memory, which in my case does require a lot of practice.

Mock on, mock on, Voltaire, Rousseau,
   Mock on, mock on; 'tis all in vain;
You throw the sand against the wind
   And the wind blows it back again.

And every sand becomes a gem
   Reflected in the beams divine;
Blown back, they blind the mocking eyes,
   But still in Israel's paths they shine.

Not quite what William Blake had in mind when he penned The Scoffers, but it'll do.

Fortunately, there's still a heck of a lot of gold to be found around here!

[infidel29]

It's a hell of a lot easier to type 'rats' than spell out democrats. FYI, JIC, LOL, ROTFLMAO, and anyother short hand abbreviation fall into this category? Granted we could type 'dems', but the other is easy and oh so fitting.

[mewzilla]

You mean like "all democrats hate America" or "liberals are anti-Christian"?

Well, no. Obviously. But some Dems do hate America. And some are anti-Christian. If that's what they are, who are they to be insulted by being called what they are. And why should their high dudgeon make me reluctant to say it if it's true?

[Mad Mammoth]

Referring to Democrats as “Rats” or some variant thereof may be somewhat amusing, but seeing the reference in nearly every other post really gets annoying at times

Well, "Rats" is much more convenient than constantly typing out "Treasonous Communist Rodents", but I'll have to look out for some of your (ahem) "well crafted posts" to see if I can step up an extra rung in the direction of your superior intellectual plateau.

As a fairly new member of FR myself, I read what I want, comment on what I wish, and if I don't like something, I either comment on it, or move along.

For example, I recently clashed keyboards with some jerkwad who still thinks the Civil War is on, hates Abraham Lincoln to the point he probably smashes spare pennies with a sledgehammer to get some erotic gratification, and while there was some impolite name calling originating from that FReeper, it was no skin off my nose. I could have walked away from the thread at any time, and so too can anyone who doesn't like what they're reading.

If this were Lucianne.Com, there would already be so many posters banned you would need a calculator to keep track of them, because their resident school marm takes offense at EVERYthing that isn't presented in a spirit of genteel diplomacy. That's why I'm here, instead of on L.Com now.

But comparing FR to DU is laughable, those DUmmies are all plugged in to the equivalent of the Borg collective with it's hive mind: they believe everything that is handed down to them from the DNC and the rest of the 'Rat leadership without question, while here on FR, there is more than a little healthy cynicism for both 'Rats and Republicans, i.e., this is a website for free thinkers, not for the ignorant fools who believe everything they see on CNN is completely (laugh-chuckle-snort) "objective".

Bottom line?

Like Truman said:

Heat? Kitchen? Can't Stand? GET OUT.

And Happy New Year!

[HuntsvilleTxVeteran]

How long will it be before someone figures out my new tag line?