But since this is far from an isolated event, how about if a leading peace activist who regularly blogs on this same site documenting her trials and tribulations fighting to end the War in Iraq, makes comments that are also banned from discussion? How about if the Jersey Girls who fought to establish a 9/11 Commission in the first place, found the information included in their recently delivered petition to Congress was considered off-limits?
What’s that you say? No this isn’t China and its version of the internet. No, no, no. This is an American progressive blog which prides itself on netroots activism and gets about 600,000 hits a day. This is the world of Daily Kos that has a policy forbidding any discussion that lies outside of the official government story on the events of 9/11.
Michael Moore and Cindy Sheehan censored, that’s right, not by GOP, right wing discussion groups but by their own Democratic supporters! How can that be? Sounds crazy right? Well actually it is crazy in a way, and there’s even a medical term for it:
Cognitive Dissonance.
Cognitive Dissonance is created when the mind is confronted with new information that contradicts previously held beliefs. The individual is then forced to take one of two approaches:
- Accept the new information and admit that they were wrong, or
- If the new information would cause extreme discomfort and humiliation, they will fight against the new information while clinging to their previous beliefs.
Interestingly enough, research done on Cognitive Dissonance has focused on studying group behavior in cults and the reactions from members who were faced with a crumbling belief system when that ‘day of judgement’ or ‘great flood’ came and passed. For the record, researchers find that what most will do when faced with this situation is not admit they were wrong and move on, but rather discount, ignore, misinterpret and deny the new information.
Cognitive Dissonance must exist not only in the head of the founder of Daily Kos Markos Moulitsas, who undoubtedly has great admiration and respect for both Sheehan and Moore, but it must exist in all of the members of the Daily Kos community who are confronted with the comments of their heroes but faced with regular reminders not to discuss such topics or they will be reported and banned.
Some members ignore the threats and post comments on their doubts surrounding the government line on 9/11 anyway, while others take up the role of ‘diary police’ and proudly stand behind the Dkos policy of ‘no tolerance’.
So does that make the Daily Kos community sick in the head and Markos another Jim Jones urging others to drink the Kool-Aid of ‘Censorship’? No, on the first part of the question. Possibly, on the second.
Looking at this recent poll, it looks like most Daily Kos members support the information and opinions of Moore and Sheehan, and aren’t buying what Markos is pushing.
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