It is the worst part of Dailykos.com. I have known it exists since I first started participating here a year and half ago. I understand when I will be reviled for going against the spirit of the group mentality, and when I will be a part of it.
It's much more fun being a part of it. And I had enough unique takes on the depredations of the current administration to join in the group hate that we all shared, even if I sniped at the edges at times.
Here's how mob mentality works. You don't have to know the details of any governmental action, bill or legal decision--all you need to know is its source.
When this site was rooting for Al Gore, then John Edwards now Barack Obama, those diaries and comments that praised him got cheers. I had a diary yesterday that illustrates this process.
You can read the diaryit if you like, but what I described was a state law that based on previous diaries of mine and others would be generally condemned by the readers on this site.
I then took a poll, that although only seventy five people responded, based on my own experience of polls with hundreds of responses, is generally an accurate reflection of the population of readers.
If we had zero mob mentality, as I describe above, the source, the individual attributed to supporting the bill would not affect the percentage of those who approved or disapproved of the action.
If we were evaluating new information about the candidates fairly, not with a bias that makes our favorite's decision a good decision simply because he/she made it, the ratio of each candidates approval/disapproval would be close to identical.
That's not what happened. If Obama voted for this bill that 80% of us deplore, it becomes a good decision by 9/32 of us. If Hillary Clinton voted for us, it is never a good decision, but always a bad one.
This is why mob thinking is so pernicious, whether it is from the left or the right. It closes the mind. Those who hate Hillary, hate everything she has ever done, now does, or everything she will ever do.
In my example, those who say Obama was right to vote for this accept the need for political expediency, yet does not Hillary Clinton have the same excuse. Not among a mob. Mobs don't worry about details. They don't worry about guilt or innocence, or extenuating circumstances. Mobs only know whether a person, a race, a country is on their side or against them.
Reason is the enemy of the mob mentality. It disturbs the pleasure of being a part of group with unconditional acceptance of each other. And the leader of the group has a special place, a focus of affection and reverence that unites all believers.
I hate this part of dailykos. But it is what our country has largely become. While some few may try to transcend it, it just may not be possible.
Here's the poll from the diary.
What candidate supported or voted for this law, with your opinion
John McCain, he was wrong
2% 2 votes
Mike Huckabee, he was wrong
25% 19 votes
Hillary Clinton, she was wrong
21% 16 votes
Barack Obama, he was wrong
32% 24 votes
John McCain, he was right
1% 1 votes
Mike Huckabee, he was right
5% 4 votes
Hillary Clinton, she was right
0% 0 votes
Barack Obama, he was right
12% 9 votes
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