General Discussion
In reply to the discussion: Why is DU's popularity waning? (Title edited, explanation within.) [View all]AverageJoe90
(10,745 posts)I noticed a lot of extreme pessimism in the last 2-3 months leading up to the election myself, so that probably played a pretty major role in this most recent drop.
But you know what? Another thing I've noticed is that there also seems to be a not insignificant correlation between the prominence of "white privilege" and radfem threads and a drop in this site's attendance, and I think I know why: Social Justice Warrior extremism(yes, I went there. Because it was necessary). Honestly, what did these certain cliques expect when they were splattering their "only whites can be racist/all whites are racist & responsible for racism", "if you disagree with white privilege (theory) , you're not a genuine progressive/liberal/etc.", "all men are potential rapists", etc. crapola everywhere? What did they expect? And I know I wasn't the only one warning them that they were driving potential friends and allies away. But did they listen? Fuck no. In fact, I can't even help but wonder if a few of these particular folks aren't just extremists, but even ratfuckers, too: I've noticed a recurring theme-"Liberals/Democrats have just as much of a racism problem as Republicans/Conservatives".....and no, I won't name names, but it's been said, or implied, at varying times.
Yeah, I hate to sound harsh, but this isn't just a problem with a few fringe nuts on DU. It is a general problem, and the activist left is being hurt, and increasingly badly by it; it doesn't really matter, by the way, that FOX News is rarely listened to by all but the more conservative 30% of viewers.....because the muddying of the waters has been enough to confuse the middle, and badly, and we haven't done NEARLY enough to stand up for ourselves. And we already have enough problems, with the fact that the Party apparently didn't do enough to defend Obama's legacy in this year's elections.
This is a serious fucking issue, folks. It ain't just the party that oughta be fixed, so do our efforts on the ground. There's still some hope, with Moral Mondays and whatever's left of Occupy, and stuff like that, but it's time to get back on our feet, and get things done. No more debates on whether or not white folks "enjoy" collective "privilege"--we don't--no more of these debates on "rape culture"--it's largely meaningless anyway--etc., and it's time to focus on actual reform, for real protection of women's rights, equal protection for minorities, and fixing our badly broken sociopolitical system in general.
(P.S., for those of you who may believe in "white privilege" theory, or "rape culture", etc., but who have tried to be as respectful as possible and who haven't engaged in ad hominems, or "No True Scotsman" or "Liberals are just as bad" type arguments, or false accusations of racism, misogyny, etc., than I would like to apologize and clarify that my personal frustrations were not directed towards you. )