Maybe we disagree and that is okay. But this is not a breathless obituary. I am sure FR is not going anywhere anytime soon. It will continue to exist in some form. However, the wounds are deep and the scars will be permanent in that so many long-time posters are now gone. Posters with sign-up dates of 1998, even 1997, have been culled from the herd. Some have been among the most insightful posters FR ever had and perhaps ever will.
In my view, the most harmful participants are those who gang up and encircle a person, drive them to the ground and then claim they failed the purity test of the moment. All while professing to speak on behalf of the owner.
And then what do they do? They send sappy, glittering pictures to one another with expressions of friendship.
Maybe we disagree and that is okay. But this is not a breathless obituary. I am sure FR is not going anywhere anytime soon. It will continue to exist in some form. However, the wounds are deep and the scars will be permanent in that so many long-time posters are now gone. Posters with sign-up dates of 1998, even 1997, have been culled from the herd. Some have been among the most insightful posters FR ever had and perhaps ever will.
In my view, the most harmful participants are those who gang up and encircle a person, drive them to the ground and then claim they failed the purity test of the moment. All while professing to speak on behalf of the owner.
This nails it. We lost some terrific folks who made this board a much better place. I am very disappointed, but not surprised, that Romney is the presumptive nominee. Most of those who voluntarily left or were banned when everyone was angry felt the same way.
Jim - emotion aside, my wife said I was miserable for weeks when Romney seemed inevitable, you must answer this question to lay down the rules once and for all.
Do you truly believe in your heart that Mitt Romney will be as destructive and dangerous to this nation as Barack Obama?
I believe for many of us that is the question that needs to be answered and I know it will be a difficult question for you to answer.
I am going to go out and work on the garden because I believe my family will need it regardless of who POTUS is. Like someone said earlier, one of two unpalatable choices might give my orchard a little more time to become productive!
And then what do they do? They send sappy, glittering pictures to one another with expressions of friendship.
Amen Lando - Amen! Reading this thread just makes me mad all over again. Truce? Yeah, right. I hope the bully cliques enjoy their echo chamber.
As long as they are allowed (or tacitly encouraged) to spew their name-calling, insults and judgmental hatred, this site will continue to fade from prominence. It's very sad what has happened here.
In my view, the most harmful participants are those who gang up and encircle a person, drive them to the ground and then claim they failed the purity test of the moment. All while professing to speak on behalf of the owner.
And then what do they do? They send sappy, glittering pictures to one another with expressions of friendship.
You couldn't be more right.
And then what do they do? They send sappy, glittering pictures to one another with expressions of friendship.
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I’ve participated in that..... BUT let me explain. I always check the past posting history first and I only celebrate if they were a troll or a liberal. I never celebrate just to join the crowd. If I think the zot was ridiculous I either say nothing, put a question mark or make a comment. I have not and do not celebrate mods gone wild zots.
I disagree there. Some might even wish it to be irreversible, but I've been reading a little FR history. There's been all kinds of drama in the past, and breathless obituaries written for FR, but it always comes back.
Maybe we disagree and that is okay. But this is not a breathless obituary. I am sure FR is not going anywhere anytime soon. It will continue to exist in some form. However, the wounds are deep and the scars will be permanent in that so many long-time posters are now gone. Posters with sign-up dates of 1998, even 1997, have been culled from the herd. Some have been among the most insightful posters FR ever had and perhaps ever will.In my view, the most harmful participants are those who gang up and encircle a person, drive them to the ground and then claim they failed the purity test of the moment. All while professing to speak on behalf of the owner.
And then what do they do? They send sappy, glittering pictures to one another with expressions of friendship.
Well put. I haven't had the energy or the seemingly suicidal impulse to respond to any of the recent (past year) drama, but I will say I'm one of those who has seen one purge too many around here... And that was three, maybe four purges ago.
This place used to be really important to me, and I used to donate every month. It was a place I was happy to support, where you had to be smart and learn to form an argument that could hold up, or not, under vigorous debate. Beyond that it was a place where I met many good friends and even my husband. I still have those, but I have left this place, for now.
Debate here has given way to tattletales with ping lists and I'm a little too independent to want to live according to the whims of increasingly capricious "purity tests of the moment".
This is a forum, which means it's only as good as it's people. I want to meet, debate and learn from people, not just be told what to think 'or else' by them. Life's too short and there are already too many people trying to control me and my thoughts, to willingly look for more on my free time.
This place has to become a fertile ground for free and intelligent conservative thinking, not just threats and pesky swarming bullies, before it becomes again what it once was. We'll see. As Lando said... Many are already gone.