The hatred toward one another here on DU is astounding

[sfam]

Do any of you act this way in person? How 'bout on other discussion boards?

When did this become appropriate dialogue?

Sure you hate the other candidates - or more likely hate the possibility that your candidate will lose. But is this level of vitriol really enjoyable for everyone?

Then again, I've only been here for a few days so perhaps I'm missing something. Perhaps the real enjoyment over ripping others to shreds takes a while to get used to - similar to learning to like a new type of wine...

[calmblueocean]

1. It didn't used to be this way.

I don't know what's happened since the primaries. You picked a strange time to visit.

DU got me through the awful 2004 election. I hope it gets back to its old self again.

[JuniperLea]

7. You've been here since 2004

I guess you just haven't seen much of the primary action around here. You should have seen it in 2000;) I was afraid it was going to put hair on my chest! EW!


Edited to say... I lurked 2000 to 2002... it took me that long to get brave enough to post after the 2000 elections! I kid you not!

[calmblueocean]

14. Heh, I lurked a long time before posting, too!

I didn't see it around 2000, though. It makes me feel a little better knowing that it was this bad once before and hopefully can get better again. :)

[JuniperLea]

19. H20Man said it best earlier today...

The make up sex will be great:)

No worries... we'll be back to sending flowers to the good guys and using all the emoticons we're neglecting right now. Like this one:

:grouphug:

[MonkeyFunk]

22. through no fault of your own

it didn't exist in 2000

[JuniperLea]

53. Excuse the fuck out of me... I was 20 days off...

All I know is everyone was talking about the 2000 election...

[asthmaticeog]

18. Not to nitpick, but DU was launched in 2001.

;)

[JuniperLea]

54. 1/20/01... and everyone was talking about the 2000 election...

I was 20 days off... so sue me:)

[sfam]

20. So what, everyone just gets friendly after primary season is over?

Totally wierd...

[goodgd_yall]

41. We then direct our vitriol towards the Republicans

A common enemy unites us.

:crazy:

[Djinn]

32. yes it did

during the last primaries things went just as troppo mental.

As someone who's views are definitely in the minority here I can tell you that people have always responded in ways I guarantee they'd be too chicken shit to do in real life.

Personally working in the job I do, I have a very thick skin and couldn't care less if people want to throw insults, I'll respond in kind and wont think about it much.

Some of us get plenty of aggro in real life and don't find it a problem, some get very little so find it overwhelming here and others have very little power in their lives and use the safety of the internet to pretend they're hard men.

The joy of being online is that they're very easy to ignore, way more so than the eedjits who spoil our days in real life.

[PVnRT]

69. Yes it has

Dig in the archives for some of the wars that happened in 2001. There have been long-standing hatred that have lasted since then.

This is an internet message boards. It's more tightly moderated than most, but there are always cockslapping fights, and there always will be.

[Ediacara]

2. Primaries are always vicious

[neutron]

34. Daily Kos troll rated off Hillary supporters

Every diary is either a Clinton Hit diary or an Obama Luv Fest.

[JuniperLea]

56. I left dKos after the marauding troll hunters started pulling pigtails...

Talk about babies!

[Cant trust em]

35. It's the only time we can actually argue with each other

most of the time all of our negative energy is focused on republicans. Usually something we agree on. The last time on DU I argued this much was after the VA Tech massacre and I was getting into gun control discussions.

[sfam]

43. I live in the city the VA Tech loon grew up at...that was no fun...

It wasn't much about gun control discussions here in Centreville VA. Was more like no discussions at all...just shock and attempts to cope.

But wow, what a circus outside the guy's parents house. I felt sorry for those living on that street. They couldn't get in or out for about a month.

[Cant trust em]

47. Welcome to DU

It won't always be like this.

[BuyingThyme]

3. I love you, sfam.

[my3boyz]

5. I was here during the 2004

election. I did not post a message. However, it helped so much to be here around other people that were as involved with politics. Many of us were volunteering. It was great.Not sure what happened this year.

[sfam]

9. I once carved a pumpkin that looks like your icon

That was a while ago...lots more at my site, http://www.fantasypumpkins.com

[BuyingThyme]

12. That's why you're my favorite.

Nice carvin'!

[sfam]

16. Check out my dragons - those are my favs, but Sponge Bob...

always wins. Literally, it takes a bit more than 20 minutes to carve and gets more Ooohs and Aaaahs than pumpkins that take me 12 hours to carve.

[BuyingThyme]

27. I don't know where your dragons are.

[sfam]

28. http://www.fantasypumpkins.com

I put this at the bottom of the sponge bob picture.

[BuyingThyme]

68. Oh, I somehow overlooked that link; thanks.

Your pumpkin page rules. Combining the best holiday with your art -- man that's a wonderful thing. I guess most of us did that to some extent as children.

Do you ever do the generic kind with triangular eyes/nose and limited teeth?

[JuniperLea]

60. The dragons are so cool!!

Love the Death Star... that must have taken a while!

[sfam]

62. The Death Star's always a HUGE hit, but my 2007 one was a rush job...

I only spent like 6 1/2 hours on it - I wanted to spend more like 10. This sometimes happens leading up to he big day. I usually carve for at least 5 days straight, getting no more than 3 hours a night. This last year, many pumpkins that I thought would take 6-8 hours ended up taking 10-12 hours. Still, it turned out fairly well for a rush job. :)



I might like my 2006 one better - I spent about 8 hours on it...also a rush job! Got it out like 5 minutes prior to trick or treaters coming:

[JuniperLea]

70. You've inspired me to give it a try!

Maybe transfer some of my drawings onto the pumpkin and give it a go! Thanks for posting links to the sites too... I'll do some reading.

[mondo joe]

4. It's amazing. There was one thread that was shut down last night

that was full of the most nasty harassment I've ever seen on DU, or probably any message board.

[emilyg]

13. That one was disgusting.

[ruggerson]

36. agreed. disgusting doesn't even begin to describe it

I've been unpleasantly surprised by some "liberals" around these parts.

[sfam]

38. I'm actually amazed there are moderators here...

Didn't know that. I certainly wouldn't have guessed...

[ErnestoG]

6. From what I hear, it's going to get ALOT worse.

Back when I was hiking in grizzly country (Banff National Forest, Canada), rangers admonished me that there was no more ferocious creature on earth than a grizzly mom who thinks her cubs are threatened.

He clearly had never come into contact with DU partisans during a primary.

[sfam]

25. Wow...worse than this? Don't tell me there's gonna be a hand signal fiasco too!

Seriously, how much worse can it get?

Lets just take a normal example. Say an Obama supporter WILL NOT support the Dems party if Hillary wins. Um, OK, so, does this make that person evil? What if the reverse happens - is the Hillary supporter truly evil?

BETTER YET!!! What if someone supports Romney? Are they evil? Misguided surely, but are they really worth slinging the crap people have been doing? And if a Romney supporter isn't worth it (well, ok, perhaps they are in some cases, but I digress), surely an Obama, Edwards or Clinton supporter isn't.

[ErnestoG]

45. From what I have seen, this place wants to corral everyone eventually into one hole

and I really have a problem with that. Will I vote for a Rethug in the general? When a snowball can survive hell. But that does not mean I am contract bound to vote for the Democratic nominee, either. And I surely will not if I think they are really not the person for the job.

GroupThink is a dangerous think to twiddle with.

[sfam]

49. Here here! I have voted for John Warner ever since he was responsible for...

ensuring that Ollie North lost in 1994. He's a good guy, even if he is a republican.

[itsrobert]

8. If we were in public, I'll be the first to reach out to shake hands

Unlike Obama.

[sfam]

15. So why not online?

I'm all for fun, rediculous pokes at one another, but there just seems to be REAL hatred here.

But its not just here, its in all the comments on virtually all the political blogs now. Its like we as a society have totally lost any sense of humanity in these posts. What's wierd here though is this appears to be a threaded discussion board - meaning the same people interact over time. I just don't get it...

[Raine]

10. This country has been fragmented for years

I guess now it's even filtered down into the parties themseles.

[joshcryer]

11. I was here when the Deaniacs were mocked into oblivion by the Kerryites.

[calmblueocean]

21. It was never *this* bad in 2004.

There were lots of disputes and snarking, to be sure, but not the nasty, insulting sliming that we've seen around here lately. It's personal this year in ways it wasn't in 2004, and that's led to a lot of ugliness.

[BootinUp]

17. I post alot less these days

its not fun anymore, and the discussion that is going on here frankly demeans our party. Of course there are still a few quality posts here and there that might actually be worth reading.

[sfam]

23. It demeans ourselves...not just our party

That's sort of where I'm at. I sort of enjoy poking fun in a imaginative way, such as my Bin Ladin handshake thread:

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=132x4260724

But I really don't get into "hating" someone just 'cause they like a different candidate than I do. I might have some real angst towards that candidate, but that seems different that just regular folk supporting the candidate.

[Guava Jelly]

24. Welcome to DU

We aren't all like this..Give us a second chance.
I think the problem is that people believe what they are doing here is informing and exposing or even debating...
When in fact it is petty bickering.
It is a nothing short of a pissing contest.

[agdlp]

26. Know your audience..

1. Is it your fellow voters that have the same views as you ?
2. Or is it independents and people that might change views?

[sfam]

30. Agreed, but I cannot imagine someone change views based on the discussion here

I have seen some pretty interesting threads. But they really have been a fairly smaaaaaalll total compared to the rest.

[Clintonite]

29. Yeah, Obama sure seems to be uniting all of us! Can't wait to see him unite us Dems and the Repubs!

[ncteechur]

31. I believe the primary season began too early. We are now just

running on pure emotion.

Clinton this...
Obama That...
Edwards this...

We are not debating issues. We are not trying to pick candidates based on rationale as much as pure emotion.

If you don't vote for Clinton, you're sexist?
If you don't vote for Obama, you're racist?
If you like Edwards, you're both?

Gimme a break.

I'm sick of it.

I have been for Edwards the entire time but here in NC the primary isn't until May so I can LISTEN to what each says and then decide. It will be some emotion, some rationale, and some faith. But it will not be completely one thing or another.

I don't like that the lady from NY NOW ranted against Ted Kennedy because he has decided to support for Obama because he has been a staunch supporter of women all these years. He can't do both?

My wife voted for Elizabeth Dole a few years ago simply because she is a woman. She was wrong--we had a big argument. Dole hasn't done very much for NC. I don't think she will make that decision again--just to support a woman just because she is a woman. Are we to believe that if Obama wins and the GOP nominee picks Susan Collins as a running mate, all women should vote for the GOP?

I like Hillary. I like that she plays hardball. However, I don't like that she is in Florida after the DNC said there would be no Dem primary. She is flat WRONG for doing that. But I like that she can give it right back to the GOP.

I like Obama. He is inspiring. I think he would make a great president.

I like Edwards and am still leaning his way. I like that he has stayed on message. He talks about the middle class and I do think he will take the lobbyists on. He is right that you have to beat them, not coddle them. Corporations have no conscience--they are profit-driven and they must be held accountable by more than a board and some stockholders.

This sorry primary timetable and whole primary system is broken like so many other things and needs to be fixed.

[sfam]

37. your right...It's 'cause we don't disagree on most issues...

Yeah, there's the Edwards Corporate thing which is certainly stronger, but for the most part, the thing we are basing our opinion on is personality. I like Barrack's inspiration, someone else is more practical and likes Hillary's experience, etc.

So yeah, maybe that's right. In absence of issues, we just run on our emotions over the candidates. But still...does this have to engender such hatred???

And yeah, this primary structure is NOT very helpful, but it does give the horserace folks like Tweedy to have the time of their lives. Good thing someone is having fun...

[ncteechur]

33. I believe the primary season began too early. We are now just

running on pure emotion.

Clinton this...
Obama That...
Edwards this...

We are not debating issues. We are not trying to pick candidates based on rationale as much as pure emotion.

If you don't vote for Clinton, you're sexist?
If you don't vote for Obama, you're racist?
If you like Edwards, you're both?

Gimme a break.

I'm sick of it.

I have been for Edwards the entire time but here in NC the primary isn't until May so I can LISTEN to what each says and then decide. It will be some emotion, some rationale, and some faith. But it will not be completely one thing or another.

I don't like that the lady from NY NOW ranted against Ted Kennedy because he has decided to support for Obama because he has been a staunch supporter of women all these years. He can't do both?

My wife voted for Elizabeth Dole a few years ago simply because she is a woman. She was wrong--we had a big argument. Dole hasn't done very much for NC. I don't think she will make that decision again--just to support a woman just because she is a woman. Are we to believe that if Obama wins and the GOP nominee picks Susan Collins as a running mate, all women should vote for the GOP?

I like Hillary. I like that she plays hardball. However, I don't like that she is in Florida after the DNC said there would be no Dem primary. She is flat WRONG for doing that. But I like that she can give it right back to the GOP.

I like Obama. He is inspiring. I think he would make a great president.

I like Edwards and am still leaning his way. I like that he has stayed on message. He talks about the middle class and I do think he will take the lobbyists on. He is right that you have to beat them, not coddle them. Corporations have no conscience--they are profit-driven and they must be held accountable by more than a board and some stockholders.

This sorry primary timetable and whole primary system is broken like so many other things and needs to be fixed.

[Cant trust em]

39. I'd like for people to try saying this stuff in person

I think there's something to the anonymous nature of the internet that people feel like they can lob attacks without backlash. If some people would talk to me in person the way they've talked to me on DU I would have punched them out. Yesterday read someone's post where he said that Obama made his mother stop voting GOP. Someone responded that his mother was part of the problem. Sounds like someone's hungry for a knuckle sandwich!

[george_maniakes]

40. This place definitely needs more good karma n/t

[spanone]

42. oh really....

ht

[Catherine Vincent]

44. You signed up at one of the not so peachy times on DU.

CAMPAIGN SEASON!

:)

[sfam]

46. Its nice to hear that its not like this 365 days a year...

[Catherine Vincent]

48. And don't worry,

our hatred toward Bush and the republicans will come back.

[daysleeper]

50. RE:

I totally agree with you. I found this site the year that Gore "lost" the election and it gave me some hope to know how many people shared in my thoughts of how depressed I was about that election. All I see now when I surf these boards is a lot of people who are acting lie the Republicans that we all claim to be so much against. Now while I do support Obama over Clinton in the primary election I for one am proud to be a member of a political party where we are deciding whether we want to run a woman or an African-American man for president. Fighting among each other does nothing but bring negativity and bring us to the level of the Republican's. I think that we should all remember this and think about what it is that we are fighting about and what it is we should be fighting against.

[daysleeper]

51. Thoughts

I totally agree with you. I found this site the year that Gore "lost" the election and it gave me some hope to know how many people shared in my thoughts of how depressed I was about what happened. All I see now when I surf these boards is a lot of people who are acting exactly like the Republicans that we all claim to be so much against. I am for one proud to be a member of a political party where we are deciding whether we want to run a woman or an African-American man for president. Fighting among each other does nothing but bring negativity and bring us to the level of the Republican's. I think that we should all remember this and think about what it is that we are fighting about and what it is we should be fighting against.

[sfam]

52. Don't bring up Gore...saaaaaad

I still am not over winning the Presidency but still getting Bushed. What a nightmare that event has become.

One wonders what will be said about it in another 50 years or so. Talk about a country changing event!

[tigereye]

55. actually there are some civil discussions around the forum

you might be surprised!

And welcome.

[sfam]

57. There's an idea! I forum for civil discussions!

Can we separate them from the circus?

[KittyWampus]

67. try the DU OpEd forum, for instance.

[berni_mccoy]

58. Hal, Open the Pod Bay Door. Hal.

"I'm not going to do that David"

Sorry, couldn't resist your avatar.

[sfam]

59. It's really just a Big "O"

Although I'm sort of a scifi nut. Cyberpunk movies specifically.

[DeepModem Mom]

61. K&R

[sfam]

63. Just for me, what does "K&R" stand for?

I really don't know.

[DeepModem Mom]

65. It's a shortcut to saying "Kicked and recommended." You can do it if...

you don't have any wisdom to add, but you want to "kick" a thread -- that is put it back to the top of the page by posting to it, so more people can see it -- and you want to "recommend" the thread for the Greatest Page.

[sfam]

Thanks! I'm still a newbie here. :) n/t

[DeepModem Mom]

66. I wanted to add that I K&Red your post because I have been here at DU...

a long time, and I'm really distressed at the way the board looks tonight, and looks a lot of the time recently -- and I thought what you said was important. Thanks!

[kurth]

64. Yep, they act that way in person

They argue and then have hot sex.