Well, I've kinda enjoyed my stay here on Kos. But not so much that I'd want to stay. What was, during the election, a sight dedicated to electing Democrats has devolved into a continuous pie-fight between those who get what Obama is doing and those who don't. And those who don't are by far the loudest, least disciplined, most emotion-driven and least thoughtful members of the community. They dominate the conversation with appeals to emotion, ignorance, authority and sheer skreechiness.
And I'm done with it.
This isn't going to be a graceful exit. I spent the past few days trying to re-experience Kos as a sockpuppet. I got flamed on my first post, called an idiot, and just generally ran into the same problems I have before. And the problem is that many many of our 200,000 person community are fucking jerks. Real knee-biters. Wastes of carbon, hydrogen and oxygen.
We are presented with the opportunity to change our political discourse, an opportunity that no country in history has ever been presented with. Obama offers us the chance to transcend so much that has gone before. And the average kossak's response to this chance? "Fuck this guy, he's really just another DLCist centrist panderer."
Not only is this analysis thin at best, it's outright fucking stupid. It sucks.
So here are my final words to you all:
- Avoid the Demogogues. And by that I mean the Sirotas, Misners and even Markoses. Do your own damn thinking for a change instead of running from political fire drill to political fire drill. You might find you learn something.
- If you really want to know why your issues aren't getting attention, here's the reason: you suck at issues advocacy. Screaming at each other on a blog is great for inducing heart attacks, but does ABSOLUTELY NOTHING to get your views across to political leaders. Try actually communicating with them for a change instead of expecting them to read your lame-ass fucking "Open letter to XYZ Diary."
- Go out there and fucking do something. Really, I hate to agree with Joe Scarborough, Alegre and others, but really, drop the cheetos, put some pants on and go help your community. If there's anything that this country needs right now it's you to help it instead of playing devils advocate on the internets.
And finally,
- To the LGB community, I'm so very very sorry. You are the ugly red-headed stepchild of the progressive world, and you're going to be asked to make more sacrifices before it gets better. A lot of sacrifices. And I'm sorry again for that, but it's the reality of the situation.
And now I bid you all adieu, fuck you, etc. I've got a life to lead, and my time here has become more negative than positive. Being a jew, an atheist and an economist shouldn't be a hindrance to being a part of the Kos community, but let's face it, it is. In my days here as a sockpuppet I've already re-experienced the bigotry, theism and anti-intellectualism that cause progressives to attack all three. And in that I see the seeds of our movement's demise, as I saw the seeds of conservatism's demise in their choosing the same paths. There is no growth for our party on this blog, not any longer, not since Obama changed the rules. And I want no part in it.