Normally I'm not here on Tuesdays. It's my day off and I normally have better things to do. But I have spent all day today arguing with someone on Dkos and it's got me bothered and it's got me thinking. I won't say who and I won't say where (and I'd ask you to please not look it up) because this diary is not about my argument with one blogger. This diary is about how we as a community behave in the face of criticism or differing of opinion. This is about an "us vs them" mentality within the community. This is about making assumptions and punishing people based on those assumptions.
I have been here a long time. I have been here since before we had diaries. But I'm not a big name and no one looks to me as an authority on anything. I think the whole time I've been here I've had exactly one recommended diary and to this day I think it was because I used the word "Fuck" in the title (and I promised myself I'd never do it again).
Still, I feel very close to this community. Dailykos has been a big part of my life for about 3 years and I don't know what I'd do with myself if it went away. So I get really bothered when I see people in this community attacking each other. I've heard people being accused of being republicans, trolls, subverts, covert GOP operatives, freepers, you name it. I've seen people get beat up and ostrasized for their opinions, even when such opinions are expressed in a respectful and rational manner. I've seen people take offense at the smallest disagreement and I've seen people hold personal grudges and vendettas.
This will not do. I will not stand for it.
I don't know you. And you sure as heck don't know me. I will likely never meet any of you. Because of that I will afford everyone on this blog the same respect I would afford a complete stranger. And I ask you to afford each other that same respect. But we can't have any of that until we as a community come together and demonstrate that every voice has value. Every member deserves respect. You cannot ask for yourself that which you are not prepared to give to others.
So what if someone is a republican? There are disenchanted republicans coming here all the time. Should we attack them on site and turn them out into the political blizzard? Hell no! We should be embracing them and trying to bring them into the discussion. We should be allowing people who are constructive members the opportunity to be a part of the community.
Now I realize there are legitimate trolls out there. We do have minimum standards and posting a "Feingold is a pussy" diary is going to set you on the short track to gonesville. But just as we do not accept name calling from outsiders, we should not be accepting it from ourselves. It adds nothing to the discussion.
Now I love a good debate, and since you can't have a debate when everyone agrees, I will sometimes take the role of a "devil's advocate" and disagree with someone just to give them an opportunity to defend their position. I do this because I actually like it when people disagree with me. If I don't have my head on straight enough to defend my position then it shouldn't BE my position. This doesn't make me a troll, this does not make me a republican, and this does not make me a covert GOP operative.
I'm rambling I know. But I guess I just want to say that we as a community are only as good as our ability to respect each other. We shouldn't be dividing ourselves into the "real" kossacks and the "other". We shouldn't be turning on each other. So what if someone posts a diary saying that Feingold is making a mistake in suggesting censure or that Lieberman is the best democrat since FDR, if they aren't insulting or vulgar or offensive, what does it matter what they believe? It's an opportunity for you to question their beliefs and try and convince them to your side, but attacking them out of hand is just going to get you an equal and opposite reaction. The more you push the more pushback you get.
And also we shouldn't be making hurtful assumptions about each other. We are a city of strangers here. And it's not fair to judge someone's character based how how much they agree with you. In real life I can't stand confrontation. I am thankful for an opportunity to stand up for my arguments in a non-threatening environment.
And that's all I have to say about that. It's cliche I know but...please...be good to each other.