Since I'm still a relative newbie (having only been registered here for the past 16 months), I wasn't around for the original pie fight, and I wasn't around for the primary madness. But I heard that they were both extremely divisive, upsetting, and almost tore Dkos in half.
Unfortunately, we have a similar situation going on right now. I have been asked by others to diary this, in order to confront it head-on. It's been brewing beneath the shiny surface of Daily Kos for the past 10 days, and it has just blown a motherfucking gasket in TomP's latest diary.
This one is particularly bad because it pits Kossacks against other Kossacks.
For maybe the last four months or so, Daily Kos has been embroiled in a fierce struggle within the Democratic Party. On the one hand, (Camp 1) you have party loyalists who agree with President Obama quite frequently, who believe we should all band together to vote for the party right down the line, usually (but not always) without question, and who feel that Barack Obama is but one man at the mercy of Congress. On the other hand (Camp 2), you have raging leftists who are frustrated with President Obama, Congress, and the Democratic Party, who are freaked out at the cognitive difference between Candidate Obama and President Obama, and who have no idea if they're still loyal to a party that hasn't kept the most important promises it made. (See: change, "Yes, we can!", etc.)
I used to be in Camp 1. Now I'm in Camp 2. My struggle was diaried and commented on extensively, and it has been a difficult process for me personally. I have absolutely made my share of mistakes in it, there's no question about that. It has also gotten me kicked out of SheKos, and it has made me question former "friendships" that now appear to me to be nothing but manipulation tactics that I (quite stupidly) fell for.
So I wasn't really all that shocked when I discovered this thread, but Christ on a crouton, did it ever explain a lot! I have been so utterly relieved since finding this thread that I've almost been turning cartwheels. It all makes total sense to me now!
And maybe you've seen that former sig of mine, wherein I claimed not to be stable? Maybe you've heard about a "troll list" being floated about, made by Kossacks specifically about other Kossacks? That's here.
And who created this Facebook group, to pit Camp 1 against Camp 2? You ever wonder who's been invited to be into this Super Exclusive Club™? I have my suspicions about who's in the group proper, but I guess only time will tell.
On the general "campaign" employed by Camp 1 against Camp 2, see this. Of particular note are the following statements:
succintly put, I want craptastic and/or overly negative diaries to stop making the rec list and stop dominating it, respectively.
no the group is not about slink, but as she is the posterchild for the above behavior, she obviously is a target of our efforts, imo. and by that i only mean organizing to try to diminish the influence of her (and other) bad diaries as much as possible.
this includes:
recon at FDL, DD etc. to keep up with their memes to maybe get ahead of them
timing the publication of our diaries to suck the oxygen out of hers/something comparably wretched
reccing diaries on the rec list around the crap diaries, e.g. rec all the ones below it
reccing other diaries that have a shot at the rec list for to displace them
basically throwing my diary reccing standards out the window, within reason of course...hahaha. i'm afraid the new standard has to be "is this diary better than what's already on the wreck list?" if yes, rec, even if you wouldn't normally.
i mean, we can post amazing diaries all we want, but let's face it: it's going to take some getting tricksy to really diminish the worst of the bad influences.
This diary is an attempt to call this motherfucking stupid Facebook group out on its bullshit. For those who would claim that this diary is divisive, may I remind you that the Facebook group itself is divisive, and we should not only be afforded a chance to respond, but that the creators of this way-too-much-time-on-your-goddamned-hands group has a bit of explaining to do?
Oh yeah, and Cedwyn: as far as getting "tricksy" goes, I think I'll still be participating in that Dkos book club, but it won't be with you, "friend".
Good luck trying to explain this one, guys. You haven't a leg to stand on.
"Circular firing squad", here we are. Meet The Mother of All Meta™.