I'm not even sure where to start. I've been around for a long time, and there's been flame wars before, but this just seems to be the worst. The lack of civility, the use of HR's as personal weapons, the constant hammering on the President. I mean, there's just an explosion of anger around here, and it's turning into hate.
i'm not going to dismiss the concerns and hurt beyond a lot of this, because they're justified. But there's a way to go about it. The right way looks like this. The wrong way looks like this, this and this.
I get it. This is a place to vent. But at some point, the venting gets old and it's incredibly unproductive. There are people here (and I won't name them, because I don't like to call out people, and have only made one exception to that in my six+ years here) who put SO MUCH ENERGY into bitching, and offer no suggestions as to what could be done to make it better.
And that's what kills me. Once upon a time, this place was GREAT with the activism. At times, we still can be. We've done a great job with Wisconsin. But elsewise? Nothing. Nobody is gearing up to bombard Congress with emails, phone calls, etc., telling our representatives or senators to stand the fuck up and vote NO to bad budgets. Nobody is letting the White House know that they think it's unacceptable to keep letting the GOP move the goalposts and not making them suffer for it. I used to see these calls all the time around here. On the frontpage, in the rec list. It's one of the things that made dKos a unique fucking place.
I'm sad that it's gone. The rec list crawls with anti-Obama or pro-Obama screeds, which add little to useful discourse and do a lot to make this place uncivil. Debates are fine, venting is fine, arguing is fine, but it's kind of like drinking: best done in moderation. Far too many people here (and I hate saying it, but it's mainly the people who joined over the past two years or so, based on a check of UID's) have turned dKos into a backbiting place. I think it's atrocious that people HR and run, do it to people they don't like, do it because a piece has the smallest bit of criticism, do it for the worst of reasons. I don't give out a lot of HR's, and I damn sure explain to someone why I gave it to them.
What I'm getting at is what I've spent a lot of time in comments over the past 24 hours trying to say, and which a lot of people have instead thrown their hands up and acted like Chicken Little: LET'S DO SOMETHING.
We're not happy with the President? Let's show him. If you get called by a pollster, let them know you disapprove. Write him, like I did, and tell him you won't work for him or donate to him unless he starts acting more like a real Democrat (cause trust me, as much as I like and respect him, he's done a lot to piss me off too, kinda like Clinton did). Start bombarding Congress. It's not like this budget is a done deal. It hasn't been written or voted on. There's some obnoxious things still attached. Let's fight to get them off (like the DC abortion rider). Hell, if you live around DC, get together, get a march going. ORGANIZE. Deep down, the President can respect that. He was an organizer. Remind him of his past. Get at him. Get at Congress. Show them you're pissed off. Stop wasting time just bitching here. It's great for a few minutes or an hour to vent, but then get outta the chair, off the couch, out of bed, and FIGHT, DAMMIT!
Updated by wolverinethad at Sun Apr 10, 2011 at 02:35 PM EDT
As a quick note, I programmed this to post because I had to be out for a few hours. That's why I wasn't engaging before. I see some comments saying I chose not to engage. I am doing so now. I just wasn't home to do so earlier. Thanks.
Updated by wolverinethad at Sun Apr 10, 2011 at 02:52 PM EDT
I want to take this opportunity to apologize to Gary Norton. I stopped reading his diary halfway through, it was the only one I skimmed as such before linking, and therefore I misunderstood what he said and that it was a snark diary. I was wrong for that, I admit my mistakes, and have therefore removed the link.