Sorry to interrupt the chorous of folks patting themselves on the back and relieved that all the "troublemakers" have been banished from the kingdom, but has anybody stopped to consider the price that has been paid for all this "harmony"?
It would seem that folks are content to operate in an alternate reality where the way you can tell if things are going well, is if most folks agree with you and you are rarely challenged on your assumptions/perceptions. I cannot really think of a more anti-Democratic idea than that.
Is it really revolutionary that folks from similar backgrounds with similar viewpoints would be able to agree with one another on a blog?
Somehow, I don't think it is.
Also, I find it quite ironic how many folks express that they "can't understand" why anyone would want to boycott Daily Kos. Isn't that the point though? There are large numbers of posters here who "can't understand" how the things they say are received by folks who are different from themselves. . . so the easy way out is to just pretend that everything outside of your experience or understanding is largely irrelevant.
Not too long ago, I posted a diary that attempted to share what I thought was a unique perspective on President Obama's leadership style through a Civil Rights Movement prism.
http://www.dailykos.com/...
Although I have not been contributing to Daily Kos at the level I initially did for a long time now, the things that were written (and recommended) in the comment section of that diary really blew my mind. I mean, I couldn't even read it all . . . mountains and mountains of racially insensitive, condescending, bile.
This prompted me to write another diary . . . in an attempt to escape the super crowded comment section and address several posters at once . . . that produced quite the HR party.
http://www.dailykos.com/...
And I followed that diary up with two more over the next two days:
http://www.dailykos.com/...
and this
http://www.dailykos.com/...
I bring this all up, not to re-litigate the issues in those diaries or toot my own horn. I bring this up to point out that this is my real world experience in the not so distant past right here at Daily Kos.
Now if that is my experience, as a frequent reader, infrequent poster, I can only imagine what the folks who are trying to diary and interact here daily are dealing with.
Daily Kos is a big place. You can miss a lot of stuff if you aren't looking for it. Apparently, a lot of folks missed the racial tension that has been brewing here until it has now exploded in their laps.
But now that it has exploded, let's not pretend not to notice. Let's demonstrate that we can get over our collective selves and deal with it. Honestly. Openly. And not with a sneer and smug assurance that we are right because we are surrounded by folks who echo our feelings on the matter.
That would be a big missed opportunity in this black woman's opinion. Many of those who are boycotting are those who actually care about Daily Kos as a community and want to continue to be a part of it. I confess, I am not so entrenched and can take it or leave it. But I did want to offer up at least an attempt to shine a little light on how things look from boycottville.
(Please save the snarky "Are you boycotting or not?" stuff. Thanks.)
EDITED TO ADD: Must step away for a bit . . . I will check back later.
UPDATE: Since many are taking a very LITERAL interpretation of the word "echo chamber", I wanted to add this from one of my comments below:
". . . I am saying that basically, the "peace" that has been created at Daily Kos on the issue of race is similar to the "peace" that they had at segregated schools . . . the "peace" that folks want from dealing with homosexuality . . . because it makes them "uncomfortable" . . . the "peace" that the majority feels when nobody is around to challenge their assumptions . . . sometimes "peace" is not the most noble goal.
There is a "racial" echo chamber, where all nuance is missed in an attempt to restore "comfort"."
Now I must leave again . . . . I'll check back.