This weekend has been one of the most disappointing I have seen in a while on dkos. Seriously, the acrimony here is rising to the level of becoming almost unbearable. The fighting and bickering and namecalling and personal insults have risen to the level of cyber bullying. It has really gotten out of control. I guess I could have just not clicked, stayed away from the subject matter that has been driving this site up a wall for about a month or so, I could have stayed away entirely. But I didn't, I clicked and I was nauseated with what I saw therein. This weekend, the stunning tempo of this not-so-new pie fight increased exponentially. Diaries, 800 comments long with nothing but vitriol and hate spewed in any and all directions towards people who are supposed to be political allies. It was disheartening to say the least.
The sad part is that most of this could be avoided. The acrimony and anger could be reduced. This conversation could produce light instead of heat. But no, the conversation about guns this weekend went another, much more negative, hurtful, disrespectful, angry direction. It's been extremely painful to watch this debate unfold, mostly on the sidelines, and occasionally interjecting myself to try to say "I have an opinion, one that I am passionate about, but I am not going to flame someone that disagrees with me." I suspect that the majority of active kossacks are like me, watching, waiting on the sidelines, wanting that light-producing conversation, and shaking their head that it is almost impossible to have with the acrimonious atmosphere that we find ourselves in. Many of us are afraid to add our voices, for fear of being flamed, being insulted, put down. Many of us just don't want to deal with it, many of us are looking for adult conversation and continually are convinced that none is to be found at dailykos pertaining to guns and gun regulation.
I just wish we could remember that there are human beings behind the User Handle. Yes, these are mostly words on a screen, profiles and pictures of people we will most likely never meet and never have interaction with in the real world. There are virtually no consequences to being angry, bitter, and personally insulting to fellow kossacks. Perhaps the warning here, an NR for the most egregious offenses, but for the most part there is no consequence for posting a nasty comment to someone you disagree with. But even that one errant comment that castigates someone for having a different view than yourself can add to the overall nasty atmosphere that is smothering rational conversation about this topic. When you multiply that by dozens of users and hundreds if not thousands of comments over, what, just a short 2 day window, the atmosphere here gets thick with anger and bitterness.
Maybe my skin is too thin for the endless cycle of blog drama and pie fights that roll through dailykos from time to time. Maybe, If I can't handle the heat, I should get out of the damn kitchen, and I suppose that is true. Still, I just don't see the purpose of absolutely raking someone over the coals for a small difference (even a large difference) of opinion. Whats the point if thats all the conversation becomes, an exercise in why your opinion is oh so superior in every way to that of your perceived blog enemy, and not only that, why they are the absolute scum of the earth, the scourge of progressive politics, the supporter of tyrants, and on and on and on. At this point, the conversation has turned into a no holds barred, SUNDAY SUNDAY SUNDAY wrestling match instead of anything approaching a sane conversation about policy or even politics.
I just don't really get it, I guess. Sure, I have had my bad days, erupted on people that totally didn't deserve it, mocked someone in anger and drunkenness on a friday night (something I totally regret doing to this very day), but I try my absolute best to find the goodness in people here. I try my best to understand that these people aren't my enemies, THESE ARE MY POLITICAL ALLIES! These are the people who are right beside me, protesting inequality, finding injustice in the system, fighting for the rights of the poor and marginalized. Deeper than that, I try to understand that there is a human being behind the handle, with feelings and opinions just like me, seeking validation and comrades, perhaps even friends. And while our agreements may be vociferous and rowdy, I understand that at the end of the day, even though we have never met face to face, a lot of these UIDs are friends.
I don't know what I am ranting about today. I just wanted to get these thoughts down before I get too bummed out about this place going to shambles this weekend. Anyway, peace out.