A diary published yesterday really hit home with me; it was about the inability on DKos to disagree with positions strongly held by some groups without being mobbed by attacks, buried under HRs, or even getting bojoed. We often hesitate even to rec a comment for fear of being put on "uprate" lists. This situation limits productive discussion and pushes DKos in the direction of sites like RedState, where anyone who expresses an "impure" thought is instantly disappeared.
While I really agreed with the diary, I felt it could have been better expressed: in particular, I thought the term "radical liberal" was inapt. I use the term "purity police", which I think is more accurate, if perhaps a bit contentious.
One commenter in the diary suggested that we who feel intimidated should just bite the bullet, express our opinions and endure the abuse for the sake of this site and our party. So, I'm going to stick my neck out and give it a try. But first I'd like to state that I am a lifelong liberal Democrat, like all in my family. In my 73 years I've voted (and I always vote) for a non-Demo candidate exactly twice.
So, as a first effort I'd like to write about an experience I had yesterday at the shopping center. Entering the center from the parking lot, I passed a couple of women wearing hijabs. I did not react outwardly in any way, but I felt a sense of disapproval, which made me pause. Why did I have this feeling? Was it wrong of me, was it bigotry? After thinking long about it, I concluded that I do disapprove and that it is not wrong of me to do so.
Feel free at this point to proceed directly to the comments section and scream in all caps for me to be Bojoed as a Muslim-hating bigot.
Or, you can read my explanation after the break. Let's see, how can I describe this?
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