Progressives Can Be Jerks, Too
Whenever I poke fun of my Democratic friends because of that party's failure to be able to present a unified message, they usually reply that Democrats are a "big tent" organization that accepts a wide variety of viewpoints. It looks like over at the Idaho home of reality-impaired progressives, 43rd State Blues, these opposing viewpoints might be starting to turn on each other. It isn't pretty...
One of the frequent posters over there, Diana Rowe Pauls, lost a brother in Iraq, and it's clear that's really affected her deeply. She frequently posts of the family problems that have arisen because of the split in her family between those who oppose the war and those who don't want to think their loved one should have been lost in vain. It's pretty sad.
Right after her last post, a poster who goes by "Tom Paine" (previously best known for his fanciful comments about the future of large Idaho technology companies with which I'm fairly familiar) apparently decided he didn't like Diana's self-absorbed worldview, or something, and posted this little hissy-fit:
"I could care less about anyone's mental or emotional problems...save it for the couch, your shrink, your dildo, or your bishop. And if anyone comes from a family stupid enough to raise someone who buys into the billous bullshit of the Bush Administration and they go die in one of his wars...you have my sympathy, but just a little bit. It's the same damn crowd LBJ hung out with...and what'd he do for the Democrat Party?
"If you want to get rid of these cretins from Texas you're gonna have to focus on their allies from Idaho...it's just that friggin' simple.
"Otherwise, shut up...take your pills, drain your sorrows, go rent a U-haul and move outtahere."
What a jerk. It'll be interesting to see if the administrators at 43rd State Blues keep the post up...
Update 2139 14 April: It looks like they did delete the offending post. Luckily, I got a screen capture of it before they did:
Are the good progressives at 43rd State Blues trying to stifle dissent against liberal orthodoxy? You can click on the screenshot above to get a bigger version; those who do will note that although I'm signed in, it says that I "can't post comments". I wonder why that is? Are they afraid of allowing dissenting opinions? Is this what we could expect when progressives get power, sometime in the 26th century? And does anyone there recognize the hypocrisy of having their posters complain about blogs that require registration for comments, when they themselves not only require registration, but also selectively decide who among those who register are actually allowed to comment?Disclaimer: Actually, were I the adminstrator of 43SB, I would have deleted the post too. It wasn't very nice...
posted by Bubblehead at 10:14 PM
6 Comments:
Thank you for sharing your opinion the way you did. I really think that discussion and dialogue can occur in respectful and rational manners between people who have different opinions. I may get a little overboard while I'm with people who I feel will understand my opinion, I really do try not to attack someone personally for disagreeing with me. You've been fair to me and I really do appreciate it.
4/14/2006 11:08 PM
Diana,
Thanks for the kind words. While we may not agree on some issues, I think it's important that people try to debate their differences civilly; what "Tom Paine" said was way out of bounds. You seem to be a strong person, though, so hopefully his hurtful words didn't make you consider not sharing your thoughts anymore.
4/14/2006 11:20 PM
I saw that too, and was equally unimpressed. If we're not judging our policies with our emotions, are we even really human? If I may add my feminist spin to this, his dissing of "emotional" perspectives on policy just smacks of the idea that people who think too much with their emotions are women, and God help us if we listen to women. Please. Heartbreak is not good policy, period.
4/15/2006 1:26 AM
Well said, Sara. And thanks for stopping by!
4/15/2006 5:47 PM
I wish I was a strong person... I'm not. I really had to consider (again) whether I'm able to handle the "public" cost of expressing my opinion in an open forum. Every time I think that I should just go back to my "hidey hole", then I remind myself of the cost we pay as a nation when we don't speak up. I'm not saying that everything I think/feel/say is right --even though I know it is ;) -- but I do believe an open dialogue and the discussion of different perspectives and beliefs are required for a healthy society. The price we pay is too great. Too many people remained silent (either voluntarily or through fear of repurcussions) in the beginning of Hitler's regime. It took strong, brave people like MLK to implement change in our own country, people who obviously sacrificed much more than a nasty blogger attack in order to try to improve our country. I'm NOT saying Bush is Hitler and I'm NOT saying I am MLK, I'm only saying that I think that I need to remember that being "uncomfortable" and having "my feelings hurt" is not too great of price to pay if I sincerely believe that dialogue will help our country's future and the world my children and grandchildren will live in. Just my own opinion, of course!
4/16/2006 10:09 AM
I've got your back, mommydi -- doesn't mean I won't continue to disagree with what you say, though, but will hopefully continue to do so in a respectful way. Speaking of which, I really should stop being snarky to morialekafa.
4/18/2006 12:35 AM
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