General Discussion
In reply to the discussion: Surprised by the atmosphere here.... [View all]stupidicus
(2,570 posts)this is not the first place I've had experiences like this. All of the online political boards I've been on in the last decade and more before dipping my toe in this pool of presumably and exclusively, fellow lefties, have been "co-ed" so to speak, so the peer pressure to "tow the line" has been greater but similarly ignored...lol. Being critical of BHO in the presence of cons was something many dedicated dems had a hard time dealing with, no matter how large or successful a record one might have compiled defending him from the dishonest nonsense coming from rightwingers.
Another thing I don't get is the way so many around here seem to think that such conflicts are inherently bad, when conflict is more often than not the starting point of solutions. This is not to say that the means by which the conflicts are resolved are equally bad or good. I think the polarization in this case might ultimately be good even if the quality of discourse is now often bad, because should it inevitably be shown that illegalities/unconstitutional actions have been going on with the NSA, etc, that the credulity of the current defenders of such will largely be shattered, and provide them with the healthy scepticism the rest of us have about the need for and desirability of such, as well as more tolerance in the future when other issues arise that honest speculation and/or criticism is applied to.
I had hoped after BHO threw chained cpi on the table after months and months of denials such was possible, much less likely, and of course, all the name-calling, etc, that that particular humiliation would have led to more of that than we're seeing presently over the NSA/spying issue, in a "Fool me once..." kinda way.