Free Republic: glass ant farm for zealots

Globe and Mail ^ | 10/27/06 | IVOR TOSSELL

[conservative in nyc]

The Dixie Chicks have a movie, Shut Up & Sing, coming out today, and, to keep things lively, they're staging a grudge match with the worst site on the Internet, political-rhetoric division.

"The fat chick will only drive traffic to this site," writes one poster to the site.

"The Frenchy Chix can't get a gig in a gay bar in Ithaca," writes another.

Others chime in with more corruptions: Chubby Chicks, Ditsy Twits, Vichy Chicks.

"Yep typical liberals," says someone else. "No character."

This is Free Republic, an exercise in political extremism that, despite being and something of an anthropological train wreck, keeps popping up square in the mainstream.

Most recently, it has resurfaced as a villain in the Dixie Chicks movie, which traces the fallout from lead singer Natalie Maines's infamous 2003 London declaration that she was embarrassed that George W. Bush was, like her, from Texas.

It was a bad time to be anti-war, and Americans are touchy about being criticized on foreign soil at the best of times. The "grassroots" backlash that followed -- orchestrated, in part, by the people at Free Republic, who mobilized their large and largely disgruntled membership -- saw the band savaged in the press and at the box office.

The site is a venerable and storied Web forum for American arch-conservatives. Funded by member donations, it was founded in 1996 as an anti-Clinton grandstand, and soon became a place where members could post news stories and discuss them -- though "discussion" might be the wrong word. More often, it's a kind of pantomime, where the name of the game is to cheer the good guy and boo the bad guy every time he creeps on stage.

Freepers, as the sites denizens are known, are the good guys. The bad guys, according to site founder Jim Robinson, are practitioners of "liberalism, socialism, fascism, pacifism, totalitarianism, anarchism, government enforced atheism, abortionism, feminism, homosexualism, racism," and "wacko environmentalism."

So it is that, day in and day out, Freepers attempt to outdo each other in posting the most pungent, juvenile reactions to stories. Articles containing an opposing viewpoint have the words "BARF ALERT" appended to their titles. Slurs are encouraged. When the first same-sex Canadian soldiers were married last year, the story garnered 73 angry responses, ranging from "Disgusting and despicable" to "I'd resign my commission before performing a ceremony to marry a couple of bone-smugglers" to "Let's see what happens when the Canadian military has an AIDS epidemic on its hands."

It's a hateful place that, if the world was working as it should, would be relegated to the Internet's endless fringes, where conspiracy theorists and pyramid-power believers roam the wasteland. But what's interesting about Free Republic is that, despite having attracted a crowd of the most paranoid, xenophobic and reactionary characters the political landscape has to offer, it continues to find itself in the news.

For instance, during the 2004 U.S. presidential election, it was central to the network of websites that uncovered the forged memos about Bush's Vietnam service that appeared on CBS News and ultimately cost Dan Rather his job. (Paranoia, in this instance, paid off.) Later, and less admirably, Jerome Corsi, the co-author of Unfit for Command -- the hatchet job about John Kerry's military service that crippled his campaign -- was found to be posting racist, sexist diatribes on the site.

And then there was the flap about the Dixie Chicks, spurred on by zealous Freepers. Thanks to their movie, Free Republic is getting another moment in the sun. Not helping things was the band's manager publicly calling Robinson "a coward" for refusing to be interviewed for the film. ("I am jealous of you Mr. Robinson," declared one Freeper in response. "You have been singled out and attacked by America's premier Entertraitors.") These, ladies and gentlemen, are grassroots at work. There are a lot of organizations out there that are in the business of whipping their members into a lather and unleashing them on corporations and politicians alike.

But if Free Republic has a virtue, it's that, unlike other pressure groups, it's transparent: You can see the cogs turning, the anger mounting, the members joining the half-baked me-too condemnations that will surface on tomorrow's news agenda. It's like a glass ant farm for zealots. It's a little stomach-turning, but man, they're diligent little things. It's hard not to stare sometimes.

[Little Bill]

One of the problems that the "Main Stream" Republicans and Conservatives forget, is that FR represents, to a small extent, what the swing vote in the party Thinks, 30%.

If you want to loose forget us! The pubbies did and they lost.

[driftless2]

As the sayin goes, the bad only publicity is no publicity. Thank you Mr. Tosspot, er I mean Tossel. Now wasn't my remark about the author of this article just plain, mean, nasty, and oh no, ARCH-CONSERVATIVE!!!!

[nkycincinnatikid]

Hey Buffalo Bob. Its me, Howdy!

[familyop]

"Is CTV government owned? I didn't know that. I know CBC is, but I thought CTV was privately owned. Not that it makes a dime's worth of difference. CTV seems like it owned by the CMA (you had to be there)."

You're absolutely right, twonie! ...my mistake! You know how us Yankee in-laws are. We look at CBC and CTV and perceive the "same thing." ;)

[sam_paine]

reactionary characters

Some certain widdle columnist is well versed on the concepts of the dialectic indeed!

[Albion Wilde]

"...a couple of bone-smugglers'" . . . " The few Canadian readers who are educated enough to gather such a beacon of innuendo are going to laugh themselves silly at that.

Q. What's a rumor of an Italian suppository?

A. An innuendo.

[Albion Wilde]

John Edwards would hit it.

LOL!

[Fiddlstix]

Memo To Ivor Tossell:

Click the Pic

[Enchante]

Dear Mr. Tossel,

I prefer to call them "Dixie Sluts"

Thank you

p.s. Your mind is as feeble as your column -- "Barf Alert" is not applied to just any "opposing viewpoint" but rather to the select, most revolting examples of left-liberal drivel. Your column might almost deserve it, except that you are too bland and pedestrian to truly merit a "Barf Alert."

[txradioguy]

His DU or his CP name?

[Rodney King]

is this really how we FReepers want to be perceived

You can always go and post at Lucianne, where if you disagree with anyone in the slightest way you are banned. Don't let the door hit you on the way out.

[darkangel82]

Just DU, since CP is a thing of the past. :)

[humblegunner]

But what's interesting about Free Republic is that, despite having attracted a crowd of the most paranoid, xenophobic and reactionary characters the political landscape has to offer, it continues to find itself in the news.

Hey, they're talking about you ping.

[humblegunner]

Does anyone here really care what some barking moonbat thinks of F.R.?

I love it when they hate us.

It means we are doing a good job.

[conservative in nyc]

I'm going to try to take some of these comments with similar themes on in one post:

Think about what? Please be specific.

I've never been specific on that, since the answer is largely going to depend on the poster. Many of us probably already think whether we'd be proud of what we wrote if our children, spouse or parents read it. Those who are or who want to be involved in real-world politics probably ought to think about whether what is posted here could be used against them if their identity becomes known. As we've seen before, anonymity is not guaranteed on the Internet and things posted here have been used against FReepers in the past. And I often try to think whether I'd be able to defend what I write with facts if called to do so by anyone. But as they say, your mileage may vary.

Ah, so what you really want is political correctness?

Trolling for PC, are we? Get a grip.

Absolutely not. I am not the comment police. Thinking for a second before hitting post is just common sense. Loose lips sink ships.

But before this thread descends into Dixie Chick and Canada bashing, is this really how we FReepers want to be perceived

Wow. Thats a great testimony of what you really think about the fine people on this forum. Way to get people on your side.

I probably shouldn't have said that the way I did. It was partially a swipe at the article's author, who seems to think that's all we really ever do, and partially an attempt to steer the conversation away from the Dixie Chicks, which has been discussed numerous times before. For all the reason much better explained in pending's post, The Ditzy Chicks deserved all the ridicule they've received since Natalie Maines opened her trap - they truly brought it on themselves. You don't bite the hand that feeds you and then blame the hand for the bite. Canada doesn't deserve much ridicule for most of their actions lately.

You can always go and post at Lucianne, where if you disagree with anyone in the slightest way you are banned. Don't let the door hit you on the way out.

Thanks for the invitation. I'm not going anywhere. But comments like that have driven others away.

Sometimes we need to remember that our enemies, including the author of this piece of tripe, despise conservatism and would despise it no matter how it is presented. What they would prefer is that it not be presented at all.

True.

BTW, I wonder just what the circulation of G&M really is...LOL!

About 320,000 on the average weekday and 410,000 for their weekend edition (which in Canada, is usually the Saturday edition). It's the second-most widely read paper in Canada (after the Toronto [Red] Star tabloid), and is kind of like the New York Times of Canada. It's very liberal on social matters. The other thing I've seen it called on Free Dominion is the Mope and Wail.

[conservative in nyc]

For all the handwringing about the 'quality' of postings on FR (which, BTW, has been an ongoing complaint by original Freepers since the first newbie joined and 'dragged down' the level of debate), Free Republic is still the most popular political discussion forum in America.

I don't know if the quality of the posts here has gone down. It's a difficult thing to measure. But I'm sure that the good old days weren't always good, and tomorrow ain't as bad as it seems.

Even if the quality of posts have gone down, we still do live and election threads better than any other website.

[conservative in nyc]

Unfortunately, this is how many conservatives in DC, politicians and others, also view FR. I have been told on more than one occasion that I needed to leave FR in my dust if I ever wanted to be taken seriously.

That's unfortunate, and a lot more serious than what some Globe and Mail reporter thinks.

IMHO FR has the reputation it does because extremists and loons are allowed free reign here. 90% of what gets posted is pretty good, some of it excellent, but the squeaky wheel gets the grease. The MSM is only going to center on the whackos.

I don't know that they're given total free reign. Didn't the mods ban some real white nationalist wackos a few years ago?

But one thing I'm convinced of is that some of the real over-the-top one-issue posters are really DUmmies in disguise. They've even bragged about doing that here, on occasion. I'm not sure there's an easy answer to weeding them out, though.

So let FR flow where it will. It has been successful at times up to this point and there is no reason to fix it if it ain't broken. But be prepared to be called extremist, whacko and racist...it comes with the territory and being effective.

The ironic thing is that Tossell and the Dixie Chicks are calling FReepers extremist, wacko and racist for something we had very little to do with. The Dixie Chicks brought everything on themselves.

[BufordP]

...I have been told on more than one occasion that I needed to leave FR in my dust if I ever wanted to be taken seriously. ..

Bob, I want to take you seriously.

[mewzilla]

Ants, A Photo Gallery

Recognize anyone?

:)