Posted on 06/10/2025 11:32:39 AM PDT by Jaysin
Dear Freepers
After almost 25 years of freerepublic.com being a rare bastion of sanity in this crazy world, I will be ending my time as a member of this once great site.
The quality of FR has degraded to the point that I no longer find much usage for the site that I can’t find on other platforms and sources. I have had multiple conversations with many freepers, both in the forum and privately and many of them agree with some of my points of contention:
A) The primary reason I am leaving is the failure of FR to address the rising and blatant antisemitism on here. Yes, a vast majority of freepers call them out and see right through it but the failure of the FR leadership to deal with this issue is not acceptable. There are a few dozen of these posters on here who have a very clear track record of posting their jew-hatred over and over again. Of course they will mask it under the cover of “I’m criticizing Israel, not Jews” or “I’m an American Firster” label or my favorite one “I’m an Appalachian Christian”. But if you look closely at what they comment on and how they do it, it is clear they have a JEW problem. These posters will ignore the atrocities committed by the same types of people who committed 9/11, killed RFK, blew up the USS cole, the marine barracks in Lebanon, shot up a club in Florida and countless other horrific acts that have killed and maimed thousands of people, orphaned many children, and left multi-thousands of grieving loved ones behind. The moral compass of these posters is quite shocking to say the least. And they always use the same tropes–foreign aid, the USS Liberty incident, war-mongering BiBi, AIPAC controls xxxxxx, and my favorite one is when they link to sites like the UN and Amnesty International as their “proof” that Israel is violating some international “law”. Some are more blunt and vicious than others, but it’s come to the point where much of my time is spent responding and commenting to the crazies on here. And of course most of them will deny they hate Jews, they just don’t want American foreign policy dictated by Israel etc….. FR is not twitter and is supposedly a tightly monitored site of like minded conservative individuals. Most of these loonies should be formally warned or banned, but they are not. Whatever happened to zotting?
B) Another significant reason I’m leaving is sadly, the quality of the discourse here. This was a website that was once feared as a threat by the left and helped expose the Dan Rather scandal. Those days are long gone. There was a time when I would come on here to get genuine and insightful opinions on politics and world events from intelligent people. Many of my political understandings and positions over the years were molded from what I read on this forum. Nowadays most of the comments to the real issues facing the USA are nothing more than silly venting comments in the vein of “we should lock up everyone of these rioters and throw away the key” or “Trump needs to fire these judges ASAP” or “It’s time for public tarring and feathering to return” level of quality. I can read through multiple threads without finding a useful insight to glean from it. It is really nothing more than venting and wishful thinking but not really practical–the same level of commentary can be found on a foxnews comments section. The personal assaults and attacks levied against each other don’t bother me so much and are often a natural response and I do sometimes like seeing someone get slammed down. I know I have been guilty of some crude and impolite commenting over the years. It’s the overall value of the content that has declined.
C) As a follow up to B, A vast majority of the articles that are being posted nowadays are from very mainstream fake news sources such as the NYtimes/Reuters/AP/DailyMail/MSNBC/CNN/SFGate etc… with a solid supplement of other almost useless sources such as foxnews/nypost/breitbart. Any halfway intelligent freeper on here KNOWS darn well that there's NOTHING useful published on these websites or articles so the comments turn into nothing more than “this article is such fake news” and similar style comments. It’s the same story over and over and over again and we all point it out. But real thought provoking ideas are not to be found. And of course we have the endless BOMBSHELLS and BOOMS and BREAKING headlines from the gateway pundit and dailymail posted on a daily basis that never amount to anything. Sites like American Thinker / townhall / Sultan Knish and some others are the only ones with real content worthy of real discussion If anyone dares to post some thought provoking article from some small blog or some less-known unfamiliar site, you’re instantly accused of blog-pimping. As a lead on to my next issue, the same news event is often posted multiple times just from a different source.
D) Leadership–I know I’m going to get flamed hard for this but who is steering the ship here at FR nowadays? I have much respect for Jim and what he’s built but I really feel like he only appears when appealing for money. He certainly is not actively involved in leading and guiding the site into the future. Perhaps it is time to pass the torch on to someone else who can keep the site as a useful and relevant place on the internet. Sadly, I feel that there is no one clearly calling the shots and no leadership here anymore
E) My final issue with FR is the functionality of the site. There hasn’t been a single update to this site since I joined. Not a thing. No, we don’t need flashy profiles and avatars and other silly bells and jingles but it’s 2025 and simple features like the ability to edit your comment or even delete it would be nice. A like and dislike option to a post would also be a nice feature and save a lot of the commenting issues I mentioned above. The ability to respond inline to comments would also make the flow much easier–If someone makes a comment at #12 and I dont join in until comment #93, I’m forced to copy/paste what they wrote so my comment can be understood in context. And no in 2025, I shouldn’t have to use html to post a picture. The breaking news is often hours behind an actual event happening. The search features are primitive at best. The site can still be very basic looking but can still be user-friendly.
I would love for FR to become a political powerhouse again that it once was but it will need to look in the mirror and decide what it wants the future to be. Or it can bury itself in the sand pretending that young 27 year olds are jumping on here and using the site (they aren’t!) I’m in my early 50’s and I sometimes feel like I bring down the median user age by 10 years. That’s not a bad thing per se, but what's going to be in 5-10 years? I really wonder how FR is going to make it into the next decade without some type of overhaul.
I truly wish FR the very best going forward and I wish only the best. I genuinely hope something good will come out of this final post. I will not be responding to this thread but will probably read direct freepmails sent to me regarding the thread before I log off for the last time. Some of you will tell me good luck and some of you will me good riddance. I understand.
GOD BLESS THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA AND ALL FREEDOM LOVING PEOPLE IN THE WORLD.
Excellent advice. Christians, Muzzards, oops also...equal opportunities to be insulted or misunderstood.
Probably a good idea for anyone who takes it all too seriously to stay away from opinion sites and social media.
I think this place it good for people because you can look forward to being insulted far more than once a week. It builds strong bones. heh Gives you a real chance to see how other people look at issues other than your own aspect.
If a person gets too angry, step away. Chill out. It isn’t necessary to post answers to every post.
Nothing more boring though than the old echo chamber and post after post of uh huhs.
Call me antiquated, but I do not think the terms “fellow travelers” means what you think it does. The term “fellow traveller“ is used to identify people who sympathised with the Soviets and with communism. “Fellow traveler” is a euphemism for commie.
Speaking of people I’ve never seen in 25 years …
Whatever happened to zotting? I check the articles. Generally, I’ve found reading comments a waste of time given their banality.
We all have our cross to bear. 😉
I rely on those who do. I was locked down on campus during the Virginia Tech shooting and I came here to find out what was going on several blocks away from me.
..............
I remember that AP
I am pro-Russia because I deeply appreciate the country, its people, and its traditions. My family, including my Russian wife, and I reside here, and I am also serving as a missionary.
I am deeply troubled by the widespread hatred directed at all Russians by many on FR. The enthusiasm and celebration over Russians being killed on the battlefield are appalling. While I understand the Russian army are the ones in Ukraine, does anyone truly believe these soldiers have a choice in deployment?
I support Russia because it has become my home, and I want it to prosper more than I wish success for Zelensky, whom I view as a grifter, or the Biden administration, which I believe misused our tax dollars to prolong this conflict. This does not mean I am anti-Trump or anti-America, as some suggest about others who point out facts that aren't based on lies from the globalist media outlets.
I want peace (as all Russians that I know do as well) and an end to the SMO, but if a victor must emerge, I will stand with Russia.
I read your posting history to try to understand where you were coming from....
I get it.
My approach here is that I post information and links where I have expertise—and hope to share with others.
While I do get into debates from time to time that is just part of the picture. I don’t particularly enjoy the variety of logical fallacies thrown at me from time to time—ad hominem is common, arguments from authority are common, namecalling is common as well.
However I remind myself that hopefully the links I post are viewed by some lurkers who learn something from them.
If that happens (and I believe it does) then I achieved what I wished to achieve.
It looks like you have some specialized knowledge as well—and my view is you should share those for everyone’s benefit—and not get too concerned if some folks have no interest in learning from them.
Anyway—best wishes.
Oh Bag it
“I became an Israeli citizen in 2008 and have voted for Likud/Bibi EVERY single election since my first in 2009 – 8 national election votes in 14 years!“
https://freerepublic.com/focus/f-chat/4107176/posts
I understand the sensitivity around some comments here, but there will always be a few problem people.
The vast majority of FReepers are “pro-Israel,” but they also are US citizens, first.
Thailand??
Oooppsssss.
Wrong rank.
That’s what I know about military rank, which should be more considering all the siblings I have that served.
You make some really good points.
There really isn’t any thing quite like FR out there
I have been here for longer than you
The racism here can be unattractive, I have a multiracial adoptive family.
But there are still gold nuggets to mine, less than before.
I know we are losing people and I worry about the future here.
When people are paying attention to a marginal like me there are many much better who were way above me who are no longer here. Attrition because of death and goodbyes.
It is still a good place to get community and get a check when on other sites. There are some people I really respect here.
I swear I had a Galil in 7.62 that said "shalom" every time it was fired.
As we can see from some of the nasty, snarky replies to this thread.
Preach it!
I actually don’t mind not having an edit feature.
It would allow someone to flame bait, then change their reply and deny they ever said what they posted.
It forces people to own their words.
Unless the mods delete the post and I’ve seen FReepers being protected, so it seems, by that happening.
I often tune out biblical passages. I respect the Bible, but it is easy to cherry-pick passages. It’s easy to take brief passages out of context. Besides, Bible quotes are not part of our common language. The secular will tend to be unfazed. The religious should be repelled by passages chosen to advance an agenda. All that having been said, a well-chosen and apt biblical quote can be special.
All I can process here is the assertion that Jews tend to gravitate towards the top of the power structure. British Prime Minister Benjamin Disraeli comes to mind. I don’t know his story, but I’m not aware of any great controversy.
There is A-hole Schumer. He gets along just fine with A-hole (”devout Catholic”) Pelosi. Someone can extend the list with numerous A-hole Protestant leaders. So, I say, so what?
The lack of any real specifics shows that their anti-Jewish attitude is unfounded.
I am anti-Muslim. I find it justifiable given their many terrorist actions around the world. The root of their problem can be found in their religion. Mohamed beheaded, so they behead. Mohamed tolerated the rape of infidel women, so it is ok today. Motivate the troops by telling them that if they die in battle, they will have sex 24/7 with 76 virgins. What a sick religion.
I found its helps to understand that we are all getting really old and cranky. It isn't easy to reply to snarky and hurtful comments in the same manner. I've been trying really hard to stay on topic when posting, and not to reply harshly. Easier said than done sometimes.
Editing would have been useful with that one...
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