Okay, not really.
[Author's note: I hate doing rants, but this deserves it.]
But this diary currently on the recommended list here (with the actual content having now been removed and posted here) would make you believe that Daily Kos is going down the shitpipes. You're all a bunch of fucking elitist, self-righteous people with fascist tendencies. You're being held down by the man. You're being personally attacked from the left, from the right, and from every other goddamn direction. You're not liberal enough. You're a fucking sell-out, a tool, an accessory, an accomplice to the GOP, a right-wing spy.
All I can say is that everyone here needs to grow the fuck up, and fast. This is an embarrassment to the blogosphere that because people have some seriously fucking thin skin, there's this nagging need to exacerbate existing problems.
From what I can tell, a lot of these problems started boiling over after the recent midterm elections. Now that Democrats are in power, we have to impeach immediately, we must address this issue, that issue, or whatever the fuck it is that your #1 issue is. The blogosphere is a place where we can all discuss our concerns about various topics and issues, but I'll be damned if I can't say that it seems like a lot of people seem even more fucking unhappy since the Democrats took back the House and the Senate.
Jesus F'in Christ. Can't you handle a little fucking success?
Most of you are older than I am, so I'd expect there to be a realization that change always takes time, and whatever your burning issue is not necessarily going to be addressed right away. And at least at Daily Kos, I think a lot of the front-pagers are highly cognizant of the fact that it will take time to effect change. Whether it's universal health care or minimum wage increases or ethics reform or changing the policy in Iraq - it's not going to happen overnight.
But what's more disturbing is that there has been an increase within the Daily Kos community to take stabs at 'The Man'. Whether it's Markos or one of the frontpagers or just community members who don't agree, it seems as though people have suddenly felt that they're being held down by a strawman and that they can't express themselves the way they want to. Why? Because some of us don't agree with them on certain points.
Learn to take some goddamn criticism. If you want your fucking ego to be stroked, this is not the place to do it. It's the fucking equivalent of being Rush Limbaugh in the sense that you're just setting out a viewpoint to receive accolades. If people disagree with you - and they are likely to do so - handle it and have a civil discussion about your disagreements. Instead, though, it seems like there's a tendency to dismiss any criticism and then start taking shots at whatever strawman is set up.
But the worst thing of all is the stupid fucking pissing contests people on both sides get into. Personal insults are hurled back and forth, and nothing gets solved by doing them. All it serves to do is to deepen an existing divide and make what should strictly be disagreements of opinion into deep-seated personal dislike. The blogosphere is not a version of high school where you can feel more secure about attacking people due to anonymity. Well, it's not supposed to be, but that's what it has degenerated to at times, particularly recently.
Perhaps the blogosphere isn't meant to be more than a playground for some. mcjoan noted (and this is no personal attack on her) that Daily Kos is 'just a fucking blog'. And the way some people seem to treat others here, it may be much less.
It's not. Maybe right now, Daily Kos is just a 'fucking blog', but you can fucking take the money to the fucking bank that the advent of the liberal political blogosphere, particularly Daily Kos, saved the Democratic Party from a quick demise. Why? Because we fucking raised money for long-shot candidates that the party wouldn't have previously given a second thought to. It's because it's inspired ordinary people to get out and get involved in grassroots politics again. It single-fucking-handedly helped clear the path for Howard Dean to assume the DNC chairmanship and turn the Democratic Party around. It changed the way that our party did politics, and it made our leaders fucking realize that they are going to be held accountable by us. Daily Kos and the liberal blogosphere may have a readership a fraction of the size of this country's population, but goddammit, we have an effect that goes far beyond our size.
Everyone has their own niche here. If you want to write about grassroots activism, fine. If you want to write about how crappy things are in the world, fine. If you want to write about what the Democratic Party needs to change, fine. All that I fucking ask is that folks here can show some maturity when making their posts, can handle their criticism, and realize that we are all working together in changing the way politics is done in America.