This is my favorite place to be on DU...

[Blue_Roses]

I love the positive messages and discourse. I love the way we try to lift our battled spirits up with good words and vibes from one another. I love the way I can come here after I've been in a ridiculous battle in GD over something trite. I love the way I feel accepted after doing something human like snap when I should have been patient.

So, with that said...

can we skip the politics in this forum? When one feels a bias towards a candidate, it's hard not get defensive when something negative is said about them. Honestly, I like both and EITHER ONE would be a drastic improvement from what we have now.

I think that unity has to come with kindness and that's another reason I love this forum:your kindness. I don't feel like I have to get my battle armor on when I come here unlike I do recently in GD.

Just a thought.:)

[Cleita]

1. I don't think we can skip the politics.

I wouldn't want to. This is a political discussion board so we all come here to discuss politics. The fact that we discuss political situations in this forum is an extension of that. Since most of my Tarot reading is about politics and I know the astrologers do much of their prognostication about politics, it wouldn't be fair to make us go away. Whom would we discuss these things with, if not each other?

[davsand]

2. I wish. I have been begging without success.

I really do not want to see this forum torn apart by the Primary like the rest of DU has been. I always hoped we were a little better than that.

If I want to read negative stuff about candidates I'll go hang in GDP.



Laura

[Why Syzygy]

3. If it helps ..

I have some of the candidate threads in this group hidden. (click 'x')

I agree with Cleita, though. I would not post the same things here that I might in GDP. For the most part, every one here tries to handle it in a sensitive manner.

Maybe you want to talk about your upset feelings? I sense fear. Only if you want to talk about it.

[Blue_Roses]

16. thanks...

I appreciate the kind thoughts. I agree that everyone does handle it in a sensitive manner. :)

I guess it's not so much fear as it is relief...relief to come here out of the lions den, sometimes known as GD:P! kind of like going to an oasis of strength and wisdom when you've been beat down. It's really no big deal. Primary season won't last forever---I hope.

[DemExpat]

4. I value seeing what the ideas, feelings, experiences and preferences

of others here are - also with regards to the primary candidates for the Dem nomination.

You can sense the passions behind the stances, but this fascinates me, and I know we all respect each other down here!


DemEx

[hermetic]

5. Gosh, I think this is

The Best place to discuss politics. On this forum I find the most sensitive, thoughtful, rational people. :grouphug: And, it seems that if someone wants to discuss a candidate or issue here, they always put it in the subject line. So if you don't want to read about it, you don't have to.

Of course I do love all the other topics, too. Thank you, all.

[Sanity Claws]

6. I agree with you

I enjoy discussions regarding tarot readings or psychic impressions on the various candidates but stuff about the candidates that's not astrology, psychic or somehow metaphysically based, really does not belong here, IMHO.

[BlueIris]

7. I'm not so sure "forbidden topics" are a good idea in this forum.

I've been tempted to ask people to limit or censor their contributions about certain things in this forum, too, but (for the most part) have held off. The one time I suggested some limits, posters here made comments that made me think that was...not such a good suggestion. It could interfere with the supportive nature of this group.

I use "hide thread" even in here, now, though. I also have a couple of posters on Ignore at this point. So, I understand your frustration. But asking people not to address certain subjects really isn't going to help you resolve that frustration.

[Callie McAllie]

9. I hope it's not me

[BlueIris]

10. No, it's not you.

Just some folks with whom I couldn't "agree to disagree." Who I felt were posting insensitive things. Past a certain point, I couldn't look at their comments without wanting to fly into a blind rage, so on Ignore they went. And I happen to know I'm on the Ignore list of at least one "regular" here, and it doesn't make either of us bad people. Just people who don't want to read one another's posts or threads. Which happens.

[davsand]

11. How do you know if someone has you on ignore?

Do they TELL you they are doing it? I have always wondered about that. If I put someone on ignore do they KNOW that somehow??

:shrug:

Literally, it has just been in the last week that I have used both the ignore and the hide thread feature here at DU (never in this forum or with any of this group, however.) I kind of enjoy running across you guys out in the rest of DU--it is kind of like running into a neighbor in the grocery store--ya know?

I really have mixed feeling about ignore because I think that in most cases you have to interact to ever hope to find accord. There ARE a limited number of times, however, where you are just better off to avoid contact if you want to avoid conflict. Plus, I just can't stand seeing the information that someone I have ignored has said something--and I can't SEE what it was. What IF they said something I'd agree with? I'd miss it!!!! (Yeah, I'm pretty strange.)

Regards!


Laura

[I Have A Dream]

12. I don't have anyone on ignore, Laura, but...

if I did and got curious about a particular post of theirs, you can still see what they said if you click on the 'Printer-friendly format' link in the upper left corner.

[DemExpat]

13. LOL, never heard of that little trick....

so far I also have never had to use Ignore or hide, but I would if things irritated me enough! :D

DemEx

[Callie McAllie]

8. Let's keep the politics and the politeness!

I really do love the positive approach in this site, and I think we can be sensitive to the feelings of others in our comments about the other candidates. Unless it's about a republican candidate, of course. B-)

[Cleita]

14. May I also add that the last time a couple of Astro Forum

posters tried to change the content of this Forum to their narrow definition of astrology, it got Skinner involved and it didn't work out very well for them. It would be best for you to use the hide a thread and ignore functions as others have suggested to make your experience better for you.

One of the reasons I throw ideas out here that I don't in GD or GDP is because I know I will get thoughtful responses even when it's to disagree with me.

[Blue_Roses]

15. no

Skinner doesn't need to get involved in this. We're adults. It's really no big deal.

[rumpel]

17. acceptance and respect

does it not boil down to that?

[Stevepol]

18. Like many, I'm turned off by the highly charged and partisan tone

on the other forums.

But it's understandable and there's not much chance of its changing until a candidate is decided on. I just spend more time on other forums (the ERD forum and this one in particular).

I can see merits to both. I lean toward Obama but I can see that HRC has a lot of good ideas as well. Her health care plan is better than O's I think, and she might be better able to enact the kinds of legislation needed as president. I'm hoping her ties to the old politics don't hamstring her if she's nominated and elected. However, she would have a harder time getting elected I think (tho if the votes are counted fairly, I think she would win).

Obama seems to have the support of the young people. What seems to me to be sort of abstract speechifying about hope and change, to the young people and his enthusiastic supporters sounds like hope for a new generation.

Also, maybe his abstraction on the stump is better in that it leaves him open to influence by those with constructive ideas that might be more forward-looking than HRC's.

It's very hard for me to know how this will shake out in the end. I lean toward Obama, but either O or HRC would be a million times better than anything the other party would give us. My prayer is we can get out of Iraq as quickly as possible and then turn our attention to the things needing to be done at home, especially health care. But the highly partisan tone right now turns me off. It's understandable but that doesn't make it any easier to take sometimes.