In the spirit of the classic George Carlin routine, The 7 Dirty Words You Can't Say on Television, I present here a collection of my own experiences saying well-intentioned things on Daily Kos and getting my <bleep> flamed off for it.
I've been sitting on an earlier draft of this diary that juuuuuuust maybe came off as a little peaved (GBCW), but I decided instead to try to present the material in a way that would raise the humor level and (hopefully) my own flame resistance.
With that, ladies and germs, here is my list of The 7 Dirty Things You Can't Say on DKos.
#7 - I read on Free Republic that....
Yes, quite innocently (who, me?) I noted not long ago that our compatriots on the right had raised the issue of anonymous web contributions via giftcards to the Obama campaign. My intention was to make sure that we on the left were sufficiently insulated from such accusations of wrongdoing. Was I flamed? Well, not if you don't count the following representative comment...
[A] person whose online homes are freeperville and Newsmax is NOT one of us.
Take your concern-trolling ass back to freerepublic and whine to people who might give a fuck about "how mean and hateful 'liberals' are".
Yeah. Love ya' right back.
#6 - Harry Reid is doing a good job.
OK, I haven't personally said this one, except in response to a poll, where I was able to remain, thankfully, anonymous.
#5 - I don't support gay marriage.
Let's face it. LGBT is a super power of the first magnitude here on DKos. (Not that there's anything wrong with that.) So, dear Kossacks, be as anti-Christian, anti-Israel, anti-wingnut, anti-free-trade or anti-corporate as you want, but you better not be one iota less than 100% in total support of equal rights for gays. It's simply not allowed. Personally? OK, I admit it: I'm opposed to gay marriage. But then again, after my life experiences, I'm equally opposed to straight marriage -- so maybe it's acceptable.
#4 - As a Hillary supporter during the primaries, I....
Can I just say ten Hail Howard Dean's and finally be forgiven? Please?
#3 - I think Kos is wrong about....
Well, at least I can say that Kos himself never flamed me (or otherwise acknowledged my existence), but others have been less tolerant of my opinions. Did you see the guy the other day who suggested that the Save Soapblox campaign sounded like a scam to him? Since I'm baring my soul here, I have to admit that I agreed with him that contributing to a commercial product was a tad unseemly, but I was afraid to voice my support for his position over Kos's. He's gone now, which brings me to....
#2 - GBCW
Anybody who is disgruntled enough to sign off the site is a known loser whose every past position is now fully discredited, and a miscreant who should probably never have been allowed on DKos in the first place. All together now, let the ridicule fly! 'Nuff said.
And the Number 1 Dirty Thing You Can't Say on DKos, is....
#1 - I'm concerned that....
If you are concerned, that makes you a troll. You. Are. A. Troll. Period. Don't worry. Be happy. Everything is perfect here in Progressiveland. Joining DKos means never having to say you're sorry. So kick off your concerns at the door and please stay on the approved list of talking points.
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OK, that's a somewhat tounge-in-cheek look at my concerns observations about some intolerance I just maaaaaay have observed here. I sincerely hope that it is taken in the spirit of acceptance and inclusiveness that I intended.
The bottom line is that I believe we need to embrace a wider variety of points-of-view here at DKos. Please don't be so quick to flame, yell Troll! in a crowded diary, or HR just because you might disagree with the poster and your position is the known majority view here. Some of us have thinner skins than others.
We critisize the wing nut echo chamber. Let's make sure we're not creating one of our own.