I understand exactly what you are saying and many others have expressed the same sentiment to me, either via Freepmail or on the Forum. And as we both know hundreds if not thousands of Freepers have departed or been driven out by that factor.
However, it has always been a problem. If you go back four or five years ago you'll remember Rodham and her cohorts used to call us 'Clinton haters.' And a lot of us were, and there was nothing wrong with that. What kind of person doesn't despise the Clintons? But in amongst those who legitimately displayed that contempt, there were some who wanted to display any contempt. There is a certain kind of personality that gets off on an overt display of online hate. A cyber Corporal Perry, if you will. And many of them have been legitimised by 911, in a sick way. It's somehow okay now, to hate Arabs, in their sick minds. Most of them don't give a stuff about the WTC and the people who suffered and died there, excepting for the opportunity it gives to exercise their hate. 'Nuke Mecca!' 'Wrap 'em in pigskin!'
My thoughts are, we should calmly and rationally counter them, wherever possible. I can't speak for the moderators but I don't think they're sympathetic to the haters. A lot of posts have been pulled. And here's JR's thoughts, on right and wrong:
I'm in perfect synch with those sentiments and my guess is you three are too. JR doesn't post as much as he used to, which is a bit of a shame, because he was a sort of a moral keel for the place. Anyway, I guess I'm rambling, but the point is it's up to posters like ourselves to confront these haters and sickos and military phonies on the Forum generally, just as we have here. Judging by my Freepmail there are plenty of posters who have had enough of them and would rally to our standard. I take heart from the way the balance steadily shifted on this thread, as calm and authoritative posters joined in and the sickos became shriller and even more hysterical. Let's repeat that elsewhere? All the best, By.