Because I'm tired. I'm tired of being used for my votes, for my money, of constantly being told to STFU and told to vote for lesser evils, then having cutesy, passive-aggressive denials that I'm being told to STFU tossed my way.
Of having my beliefs in the corrosive nature of the corporate stranglehold on the Democratic Party at large conflated with 'hating the troops', anti-voting rights nonsense, anti-racism, anti-sexism, and every other stupid thing out there. Of having my views labeled as 'purity trolling' time and again, of listening to people who spend every bloody moment of their time sniping at other site members while defending all sorts of indefensible actions by team blue while condescendingly talking about 'sausage making'.
Of people who refuse to demand their politicians stand behind the principles for which the Democratic Party supposedly stands, but time after time, find excuses for them, then turn around and tell me I 'have to' vote for these politicians and wave Team Red boogeymen at me.
There are people here like a lot, people I respect enormously, people who have changed my life. And it grieves me to lose contact with them, since this is really my only point of contact with the web, or indeed with society at large.
I have voted in every single election since the day I turned 18. In all that time I have voted for Democrats probably 98% of the time. I have donated when I could. I pounded the pavement for Barack Obama. But spending time thinking over the last few days, I have to wonder if I was ever anything but a useful idiot for team blue, not helping to 'change the party for the better', but simply enabling the continued corruption by buying into the lesser evil, by continuing to work with the two party facade.
Because people I thought had any shred of respect for people like me showed me in what utter contempt they held for me. If the only people on the following list had been the usual partisan pie warriors, I could stay. If only a few people had recommended that diary I could stay. But it's obvious to me that I've only been deluding myself about really being part of the community here. When Denise gave people the chance to vent their bile about the lefties and conflated my views with all sorts of nonsense, far too many people I thought I knew in some small way jumped at the chance to dance around the burning strawmen.
Why was I here? Because I thought I was part of a community.
Why was I voting for Democrats? Because I thought I was making things 'better'.
You have corrected me on both beliefs.
Why am I no longer here? Because of the people named below. Congratulations.
Why are you here? (A rant)
by Denise Oliver Velez
Diary Recommended By
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