I've noticed a penchant for people over the last few months to get really nasty and personal very quickly on diary comments. It's gotten to the point when someone replies and politely disagrees with something I have written, I am actually shocked that they were polite.
It is all well and good to point out if you have additional facts that someone else might not have been aware of. Or maybe you think there is some flaw in reasoning that was made by an author. Does that make them an idiot? No. Maybe you don't have all the facts either or there is another point of view you have not considered. But people can disagree without demoralizing each other, and unfortunately I haven't seen that type of polite discussion so much lately. Maybe I'm just reading the wrong diaries.
After the big reveal yesterday that Daily Kos stories are being suppressed on Digg by organized right wingers who don't want us to get the word out or feel motivated, I started to wonder... could it be possible that they are also attacking us in the comments right here on Kos? Trying to demoralize progressive activists by demeaning people? Preventing consensus from building for candidates or concepts by poo pooing them?
I am all for a good conspiracy theory every now and then, but rather than speculate about the insidious black helicopters and extraterrestrial commenters, I am going to put on my tin foil hat and prevent them from getting into my head. You can too. It's called civility, and it's very easy to use. When you see someone getting nasty in the comments towards other people, say something. Don't just let it go, and don't let a Kossack stand on their own in the face of unfair criticism. A short, sweet "Your response to ___ would have much more credibility if you did not need to demean them to make your point" seems to work pretty well.
Regardless of whether there is a conspiracy or not, being polite and constructive towards others is good practice. So please be kind and think twice before hitting the button.
And yes, I do worry this diary will come off like some sort of PC police, nanny state, wire tapping, report on your neighbor diatribe. That's not the intention. If we are truly under attack, which seems like a moderately likely scenario, standing up for each other is not a huge sacrifice if it means we are hospitible for actual contributors and not so much towards haters.
Something Washington Governor (then Attorney General) Christine Gregoire said years ago at the state Democratic convention has stuck with me... (paraphrasing).... What is the difference between Democrats and Republicans? The difference is that we love one another. We care about our fellow citizens. We may not always agree with each other, but at our core, our passion is for helping each other, not marginalizing, hurting, and dividing.
Maybe you can do something more by being mindful in your comments and supportive of others.