Well one out of 2 anyways...
Posted on 04/01/2005 4:26:00 PM PST by Poohbah
First, this is NOT an April Fool's joke.
I am leaving Free Republic.
Over the past two years, civility and thoughtful discourse has vanished from this site, replaced with demands for ideological conformity that are straight out of Stalinist Russia or China's Great Cultural Revolution, and unrelenting uncivility if said conformance is not forthcoming. This trend began with the California recall election, where certain posters were allowed to flame the living beejezus out of those who didn't wholeheartedly support Tom McClintock, or thought that he wasn't running a campaign capable of winning. It extended into the Keyes campaign last year, where any critique of Keyes' campaign strategy was shrilly flamed, despite the obviously flawed execution of his campaign.
(Aside: one person who flamed me during the Keyes mess later said that he hadn't intended to start a fight with his remarks that accused me of homosexuality, pedophilia, and other evils; I was instantly reminded of the time I had to bail one of my Marines out of the local lockup. "Honest, Sarge," this Marine told me, "I didn't mean to start a fight when I called that Army Ranger a faggot." My response was not [and still isn't] suitable for public consumption.)
Since then, the Terri Schiavo case has pushed FR over the edge. We had posts calling for people to ensure that "accidents" to befall Schiavo and Judge Greer. We had posts praying that Iran would soon develop nuclear weapons, so that they could destroy the United States. And until the FBI started making arrests, those posts were allowed to stay up, completely abnegating Free Republic's standards.
We had people on both sides of the issue point out that the Schindlers were associating with some people of extremely low character, and that our uncritical embrace of these parties would not rebound to our favor. Rather reasonable attitudes to take, actually; but the loudest of the loud were in no mood to think.
My personal favorite was the following exchange:
The issue is not legality, but public opinion. Which will not be helped in this case if the pro-Terry side becomes associated in the media with Christian Identity, white supremicists, neo-nazis, racists and/or anti-semites.
Diva Betsy Ross made a valiant attempt to...ahem...whitewash Christian Identity, but it didn't work.
To top things off, we had people embracing as some sort of conservative icon, to the extent of posting a fundraising link.
I always thought that conservatism valued thinking over feeling, careful contemplation of facts over wild-eyed repetition of every damn rumor to come down the pipe, et cetera, et cetera, et cetera. For a while, Free Republic met those criteria in spades.
Those days are long gone, and I have serious doubt as to whether or not they're coming back.
I know that many of the usual suspects will cheer this on, as their longtime nemesis is leaving them the field.
Be careful what you wish for; you are in the process of getting it. You may succeed in driving the folks who disagree with you from the site; but you will end up being just another collection of shrill voices in Bedlam. When everything is an over-the-top scream, no one will be heard.
Farewell.
All four-digit or lower FReepers are entitled to an opus.
Ahem. Will you accept any responsiblity for your share of it?
Ahh, feel the love...
Poohbah:
We've both been here about the same length of time. Don't know that I have ever addressed you before.
But I read your posts, and I'll miss you.
The problem you point out also bothers me. It needs to be addressed by JimRob.
Hope you return soon.
Sincerely,
An old Okie
That's a short opus. I would have thought you could have at least done a little more gnashing of the teeth.
It'll be interesting to see how this exodus is going to effect the fundraising this quarter. Let's see if the pro-lifers are as generous as they think they are.
Check out this other opus:
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1375756/posts
this is what I wrote:
On News/Activism 04/01/2005 2:52:56 PM PST · 43 of 380
I agree with you. The Terri case made me realize that this has become a forum of wackos who refuse to look at both sides of an issue and attack anyone with another opinion. I mean...after reading that "Terri died for our sins, Let's employ Terri to the Vatican, Terri is just like Jesus, Terri was choked instead of having an eating disorder (despite having a very low potassium level), Let's make Terri a "saint", let's call 911 for Terri", I am literally disgusted with how low this site has sunk.
People can be conservative but they also should use the intelligence and common sense that God gave them to be open to ALL the facts, not just the ones they want to believe in.
May we all one day be as perfect as you....
Am I the only one who thinks that this a 4/01/05 thing?
Okay, an E4 is this thin skinned??
Fine. Poohbah & I disagree on many things, but I'm certainly not leaving, and this is a joke.
Of one type or another...
ROTFLMAO!!
I must need glasses!!
You know I think Poohbah thinks FR is all about him! Who is running the Opus???
Oh It is all so dramatic! I am Done boohoo!
I'm sorry you want to leave rather than stay as part of the bedrock.
Every community, and especially online communities, go through upheavals and changes. If the solid base leave when things get hairy then the place will indeed at worst fall apart, and at best fresh voices of reason will prevail.
I'm sure you have many more years of life knowledge and experience than I do- but I've spent alot of time in online communities- from a channel operator on IRC to a moderator for ZDNet(C|net) and Gamespot. I've seen this happen time and again, and it's always worse when folks throw in the towel.
I think it's important, if one really cares about the purpose/goals of this site, to hang in there and instruct the newbies, lead by experience, and kick some butt to keep people sane if necessary.
Whatever you do and wherever you go, peace be with you.
Ah, yes, Jack Thompson. Now HE could opus!
Well one out of 2 anyways...
Don't worry. I won't bother with an opus. Pooh and hchutch said it better than I could anyway.
I have been here since 1998, and I am not leaving. I may elect to not post for a while when the nutters are on the loose, but I feel if we all leave this forum the media will use the weirdos as examples of conservatism.
Who are the nutters?
Those who said that Jeb Bush is guilty of murder.
Those who accuse the President of desiring illegal immigrants.
Those who are convinced that the President is in collusion with Bill Clinton.
I could give more examples, but I don't want to waste the time on such a sad day.
However, I am going to stick around and post as I see fit. I am a pretty tough old grandma, and no one is going to drive me out.
Irrational religious zeal trumps reason and the products of thought. Wittness the twin towers, same phenomena different zealots.
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