"Just because I don't like your candidate DOESN'T mean I don't like you."

[Armstead]

I put that in quotation marks, but I made it up.

It's a motto we all ought to follow as we get into the increasingly heated home stretch of the primaries.

Personally, the most distressing thing about the tone here lately is not the wrangling and fighting about the merits of flaws of any particular candidate.

I'm all for passion in politics. We all ought to speak out strongly for the ones we support, and criticize the ones we don't. I don't believe in phony unity at the expense of our beliefs.

BUT there ought to be a clear bright line seperating those political disagreements from personal attacks. That includes characterizing followers of a candidate as mentally ill, stupid, cultlike, closet republicans, etc. That applies both in general terms and in the individual interactions. "I hate you because you're an Obama supporter." ...."I hate you back because you're a Clinton supporter."

I'll admit that on occasion I have succumbed to this myself. Either I've gotten so strident in expressing my views that I inadvertantly insulted the supporters of a candidate. Or, on an individual basis, I have snapped back when someone calls me a "hater" or "far left looney" or some other personal insult based on my views and support or opposition to a candidate.

But in general I try -- and I hope we all try -- to seperate the personal from the political here. I like a lot of the Clinton supporters, and I respect their opinions, even when I strongly disagree with them.

So I guess in general, I'd say that we don't need to pretend differences don't exist. But no matter how strongly we express our own views, and rassle against others, we ought to seperate the political from the personal here.

[Armstead]

1. kick

[Coexist]

2. very well put. eom.

[TexasObserver]

3. I agree.

I don't understand why so many posters lack the ability to distinguish between saying "Hillary (or Obama) sucks!" and "You suck!!"

We are all entitled to vent ourselves at candidates, but not each other. I wouldn't engage in such conversations in real life. I would never listen to such rants in person. I would turn around and show the person my back as I walked to join a discussion more civil.

[RaleighNCDUer]

5. I think that it is today's celebrity culture.

It is not so much the POLICIES but the PERSONALITIES that draw a large number of supporters - and those who are deeply invested in their candidate's political celebrity are different than those invested in their candidate's political positions. They are the one who can make no distinction between attacks on a politician and an attack on themselves.

(Crying uncontrollably)
"LEAVE BRITTNY (HILLARY, OBAMA) ALONE!"

[Armstead]

8. I agree -- It's what the right wing has been feeding off for years

[NoBorders]

4. I don't mind fiery debate

About the policies and issues, but I get pretty offended and pissed off when called names, even if it's a -bot of some kind. I'm a reasonably intelligent, thinking human being, and there's no place for personal insults here. So yeah, I agree with your post.

[BlackVelvet04]

6. Actually....

I really DON'T like you. ;-)

:toast:

[Armstead]

7. Awwwww, and I liked you so much

:spray:

[BlackVelvet04]

9. for some reason I was reminded

of Eddie Murphy doing his version of Mr. Rogers....will you be my friend?

:rofl:

[Armstead]

10. Will you be mine, won't you be mine....Won't you be.....

my neighbor?

Here little boy, smoke some of this.

[BlackVelvet04]

13. LOL......

Eddie Murphy was so irreverent. I miss those days of SNL.

[InvisibleTouch]

11. I tend to put it the other way around:

"Just because I don't like you, DOESN'T mean I don't like your candidate."

Not YOU as in the original poster, but "you" in general, those posters who throw so much mud around here. I may not like them, but I don't blame the candidate for their behavior.

[Armstead]

12. Good point actually

[rucky]

14. Seems to work better the other way around...

"Just because I don't like you doesn't mean I don't like your candidate."

[Armstead]

15. I was going to vote for Walken before I saw your banner

[Armstead]

16. kick