I HATE DU sometimes. AKA Mean People Just Suck.

[Tigress DEM]

I have just been told, "If you can't stand up for what you believe, stay out of politics."

When standing up for what I believe was exactly what I was doing. I was also accused of being sophomoric and just plain stupid.

Maybe Tigress DEM should just hang it up, give up on politics.

After all, the things I believe in don't seem to matter on DU.

I believe that our elected officials are human and therefore have flaws like the rest of us, make stupid mistakes and need to be constanlty working to get it right. Sometimes they do.

I believe that the level of corruption that has been faced these last 5 years is exceptional and part of the reason DEMS have failed us.

I believe I am tired of being called names by people who say they believe in freedom and Democracy.

Tigress DEM signing off DU - maybe permantly.

[nookiemonster]

1. Whoa! Hold up! You've had some really good input here.

PM the link if ya don't wanna post it.

[Name removed]

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[Tigress DEM]

35. Holy Buckets!

This thread really grew in the few minutes I took to go face my fears and post a response to the person.

WoW. I'm almost afraid to look.

[nookiemonster]

40. That is a HUGH!!!!111 flippin' thread!!

I see your point and the opposition's. It's spirited debate. I like it.

:hug:

[Tigress DEM]

59. Yeah, most of it was really good. I had fun.

Just one or two party poopers.

[Ksec]

2. Were between elections

Ignore the testiness.

We need a cause or we start turning on each other.

Just take a breather. It'll be fine.

[Tigress DEM]

37. But WHY do we turn on each other?

I did take a breath, confronted the post that I reacted to and I do feel better.

However, I really am concerned about the way we treat each other.

I try to be part of the solution. Most days I think I am.

[slor]

3. Stay strong Tigress DEM...

ignore those that may upset you, we need everybody on the frontlines at this time.

[Tigress DEM]

38. Thanks. We do need everybody on the frontlines.

I won't let anyone turn me away, but I really felt that getting these kinds of responses for having compassion for our elected officials and only wanting to fry up DEMS if we have solid proof is a symptom of something really awful going on in our party. Something I hope we can work on.

It will certainly feel more like a party and less like a life raft with sharks circling and piranahs in the raft as well.

[Parche]

4. what happened

Explain?

[Tigress DEM]

42. OK ...

It started on the Cindy Sheehan thread about DiFi being a white male Republican with a dress on.

Post #5 went against the current - was worried that Cindy was doing the "DEMS eat our own thing" and everyone started going nuts. I got in there, tried to find out the facts about what she said, why she said it and what DiFi had done that was so awful and people got in my face too.

That was to be expected. Then things cooled down a bit, I got some information and life was better. I mentioned the way the rethugs had secret meetings and the lies about WMD etc... and someone said that I was just making excuses basically.

THAT I could have handled, but the judgmental attitude continued and this person tells me if I can't defend my beliefs that I should just get out of politics.

I simply think that is yet another example of us eating our own and I'm bothered by that tendency in our party. If we get in charge, will we really do better if people are that intolerant? It worries me.



eidted spelling

[AirmensMom]

5. Stay strong, Tigress.

:yourock:

Check your inbox. :hi:

[Tigress DEM]

45. WoW. I am really blown away. Thanks guys.

:loveya:

[TallahasseeGrannie]

6. I missed the thread

and I have to admit that folks have been great to me here at DU. Maybe because I'm old or something.

That said, I agree that even old GWB is human. I know it is common here to think of him as one notch below Satan, but I don't. He's just a jerk and a jerk in the position to do a lot of bad stuff.

But today I was reading the Christopher Lawford autobiography called Symptoms of Withdrawal and came across this quote:

"Politics, as a practice, whatever its profession, has always been the systematic organization of hatreds." Henry Adams

I'm not a big hater and that's why politics has never really appealed to me all that much. But these are special times so I have perked up my ears and am paying attention.

[Clark2008]

23. Oh - you're not old, Grannie!

You're young at heart and that's what matters.

Besides, you have a lovely avatar.

Now... about GWB being human... :rofl:

:hug: to you AND Tigress.

[TallahasseeGrannie]

28. LOL

Well, maybe there is a slightly different subspecies we could assign him to?

Remember at the debates, the thing on his back? I believe it was actually his TAIL tucked up there.

Just kidding. He's human, Too DAMNED human. I'm sorry he bred.

[Clark2008]

43. LOL - Jenna and Barbara add nothing to the gene pool much,

do they?

:rofl:

And I already thought we had him assigned to a sub-species - he's "The Chimp," afterall, even though that isn't a very nice thing to say about chimpanzees. :7

[Tigress DEM]

64. The Chimperor is stark raving neked.

:spray:

[hiabrill]

48. repeat

repeat

[hiabrill]

50. GW is a lemming...

and an insult to the human race.... that's just my opinion, I might be wrong.

I'm sorry his mother bred...!!

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[meisje]

79. Deleted Sub-Sub-Sub-Sub-Sub-Thread

[Mr_Spock]

90. Deleted Sub-Sub-Sub-Sub-Sub- Submarine-SandwichThread

:D

[Tigress DEM]

62. You are so sweet.

And I also agree that although "technically human" GWB is more of an ape than most and I just don't expect him to be anything more than a walking talking ape these days. Allows me to have sympathy while still maintaining a respectful fear of the damage he's capable of inflicting.


:pals:

[Tigress DEM]

57. Most of the people I've been with on DU have been AWESOME!

Even those I disagree with I can usually find some common ground, but it was just one of those days that this pervassive attitude of "rip apart any DEM that won't lock-step with the talking points" felt like a knife in my heart.

Maybe I am naive, but I believe that most of us are decent people and we may have mis-information or lack courage to do the tough stuff, but basically DEMS in general pull together and get the job done.

Those in our party who act hatefully seem to be an aberration to me.

I can agree with holding people accountable, but the whole mob mentallity of ripping someone to shreds isn't where I want this party to go if I have any say about it.

[Kralizec]

7. I understand. It's why I keep my posts few and far between. n/t

[nookiemonster]

11. Don't be intimidated!!!!

I've had my ass handed to me on more than one occasion. So what?

Sometimes I just like to stir shit too, but ya know.......

:evilgrin:

[hippiechick]

31. I know where you're coming from.

Been here since the early days (March 2001), yet I still get called a tr*** and a Freeper and an undercover mole (for sites I never even knew existed) when I dare to say things that go against the DU echo chamber.

Sometimes y' just gotta wonder.

:hug:

[Tigress DEM]

66. Ah, well if it happens to YOU hippiechick, I'm in good company!

:patriot:

[hiabrill]

80. I've been called a troll and freeper

Only a couple of days ago

At first, I honestly didn't understand what was going on, I was so naive. When I realized they were on my case, I was shocked....! Still am.

I feel like I've been violated, my ass was literally passed around on a plate..... I was mercilessly eaten alive.


Being abroad I've always had less up-to-date news, hence DU has now become my main source of news. I never did recover after the election loss, but DU gave me back a little faith.

It wouldn't deter me away from DU though. I love this place.


I'm 100% supportive of keeping Freepers and Trolls out of DU. As I've seen the damage they've done to other Discussion Forums.

[Tigress DEM]

87. Just curious.

PM me - who called you a freeper and a troll?

I have some suspicions about someone trying to bring me down. Not the original person I posted about either.

[Tigress DEM]

65. Thing is, if it eventually solves the problem I don't mind.

I am worried about someone new to DU who WOULD go away and not come back though because of those kind of responses.

Still, I have been harsh a time or two but it was mostly about the issues or support of an issue. Maybe this was just a wake up call and I shouldn't worry about it as much as get more articulate.

[fooj]

8. Don't let someone who behaves like an infant get you down...

you are entitled to your opinion...period.

If people don't like it- THEY CAN LEAVE!!!
:hug:

Peace.

[Tigress DEM]

68. Thanks.

But where DO we draw the line between holding officials accountable and understanding what they are up against and trying to salvage any that really can be good for the party?

I mean, when someone has ties back to RNC, like Nader in the 2004 election, I don't feel I can trust them anymore - but I lay down a very specific reason based on facts when I say it.

Other people are more forgiving of him or don't know about it, so if they disagree with me I try to find out where they are coming from. I don't immediately put them down.

I've learned a lot from people here who I initally disagreed with totally. A lot of it had to do with information they had used to make their decisions that I hadn't known existed. I've changed my mind on things. I feel better for the discussions mostly. I feel stronger about what I believe when I have to defend my beliefs.

[SoDesuKa]

9. Don't Get Discouraged

A lot of people don't know how to be civil. That's mostly their own problem because it alienates them from people to whom civility is important. It can become your problem if you allow it to happen again. These leopards don't change their spots. So . . . stay clear of them.

DU is worth the risk of an occasional insult. Don't get disouraged.

[Oeditpus Rex]

17. Lack of civility is one thing

But what I find far too much of at DU is willful ignorance, groupthink, mob mentality, schadenfreude. I encountered these in the first thread I read today. Few wanted to listen to one of the few rational posters, apparently choosing to go with the riotous flow.

I thought liberals were supposed to be better than that.

Still, yes — such incidents are uncommon, and the rest is worth it.

[Tigress DEM]

70. I think it's the Wonderland Syndrome.

We've fallen down this hole where reality is so skewed and we are working so hard to get things back to sanity, that we DON'T know who are friends are sometimes.

And too, we've been angry and unable to get to the action that is the fruition of our anger and manifest the changes we need to get our contry back.

Some seem to think that acting like rethugs is the answer - that the group think track will net us the same results it did the rethugs... yeah, I don't think those that want to follow that path have extrapolated it to the end yet. :yoiks:

[Tigress DEM]

69. Thanks. You're right.

I do give people time to show me whether they can change or not, but I won't lay myself open to abuse without reason.

[blm]

10. Some purists aren't real purists...they're purist posers.

Don't dare let them chase you away. That could be what they were aiming for in the first place.

The real lefties would have greater understanding and tolerance for a variety of opinions.

[Tigress DEM]

72. I've always thought that tolerance was a DEM family value.

But I don't know if that person was really just a poser or just hyped up about the issue and trying to slap me over the head with and opinon.

[Greyhound]

12. I totally understand your point. n/t

[Tigress DEM]

73. Thank you. Nice to be heard. nt

[DawnneOBTS]

13. Don't let one person...

...get to you that much. I know you've probably heard this before, but it's like you are letting them win, and you are better than that. A Canadian on DU was giving me trouble, and actually had two of my posts removed because they didn't like what I said about the Red Cross. But then I thought, this person doesn't understand the United States and its corruption-I don't mean to offend any Canadians out there, but there is a difference between this country and Canada, as well as the American Red Cross and the Canadian Red Cross.

[Tigress DEM]

74. I won't.

I think of moving to Canada sometimes. Then I feel like I need to stay here until this gets settled.

[medeak]

14. see ya! n/t

[Tigress DEM]

75. Sorry to disappoint. Won't be my swan song after all.

Don't know how you meant it after all the NVMojo stuff.

:shrug:

If you were being nice, I sincerely apologize.

[jobycom]

15. When they attack you instead of debating your comments, you've won

The worse the name-calling, the more proof that they don't have game.

[Tigress DEM]

76. Could be.

Still, a little dose like this isn't going to kill me.

And like that say, if it doesn't kill you it makes you stronger.

[OldLeftieLawyer]

16. Yeah, there's that

The people who like to describe themselves as "liberal" and "tolerant" very often turn out to be anything but. It's how they believe, and if you're not one with them, you're wrong, wrong, sophomoric, condescending (I get that one a lot because there seems to be something wrong - for them - about knowing something they don't know), wrong, wrong, wrong.

Ah, fuck 'em.

Listen - there's that little icon on the far right of their screen names. See it?

Click on it, and they no longer exist. It's the "ignore" feature. Probably the best part of DU.

If they can't have a civil exchange with you, they are not worthy of your attention.

Stay, continue, don't quit, and piss off the self-appointed Puritans.

[Tigress DEM]

100. Won't quit, but I will still challage people to ....

put their tolerance where their mouths are... or fingers on the keys... well, I guess it loses something in the cyber translation.

[Orrin_73]

18. Unfortunatelly there are some bigots here

I met one a few weeks ago it was an ignorant bigot, only interested in his claims. I stopped correspending to him and said on my last pm that he should come to his senses and calm down. He reacted even with meaner reply then before. I figure he did not get it.
When I joined DU in 2001 it was such a nice place unfortunatelly some who joined later are making worse for others. It was not what DU used to be.

[Tigress DEM]

97. Some people's behavior is definately worse than others.

Still. When you are talking to someone who WANTS to be reasonable and is looking for a solution, it is a great experience even if you are on opposite sides of the debate.

When it's like that, I love this place.

But I am honest. I am only human and if a fellow DUer issues a personal attack, it bugs me.

Still a great place mostly.

[Mythsaje]

19. We shouldn't stand in support

of those who don't stand in support of us. Politicians who are more interested in playing the game than actively working for the people (whether they have a 'D' after their name or not) deserve to be called on it. If we don't we simply encourage them and others like them to continue the same way.

On edit:

There have been a number of times when I could have retreated from DU because I didn't like the way someone posted toward me...one of them just today. I don't appreciated being snotted at because my "background" allegedly doesn't qualify me to comment on something. My background is that of a free-thinker and I'll damn well comment on anything I choose, particularly if I believe the dialogue of the subject at hand is prone to control by an echo-chamber of group-thinkers.

[BattyDem]

20. Don't let anyone chase you away

Most DUers are mature enough to respect different points of view, so don't let one or two people bully you into silence. Put them on "ignore" - I've done that with a couple of people who seemed to have a problem with every opinion I shared and it made DU much more enjoyable. ;-)

I have no patience for people who can't diagree with me without launching a personal attack. Disagree ... discuss ... debate ... but don't "diss" - it's not nice. :P

Hang in there. Most DUers aren't mean. :hug:

[LWolf]

21. Who said DU was civil?

There are some civil posters, and there can be some civil debate, but I've seen more flaming, attacking, derision, etc. here than I see in the real world full of people who have differing opinions. There is something about the anonymity of an internet forum that seems to encourage people to leave their manners behind.

[William769]

22. I have been called many things here (liking me to the right wings)

I just consider the source & realize these people can't get me on my beliefs so they try to make me part of the other team. I just take it with a grain of salt.

I would hate to see you leave over this. Life is to short.

[CatWoman]

24. I hate DU sometimes too

especially when we go into stupid overload.

Seems to happen near the new moon.

[leanin_green]

46. Yeah, during that lunar phase. . .

everyone is turned in on themselves, looking for answers and operating on cruise control on already established/accepted parameters. Of course, full moon has been an interesting phase around here as well. Remember the children and spanking thread? Full Moon in Aries, Wow!

[CatWoman]

71. LOL

I didn't have enough nerve to go into that thread :D

[leanin_green]

77. I got "spanked" there from all the non-spankers.

Talk about a knee-jerk reaction from a bunch of so-called progressives!
There wasn't a lot of open-minded discussion going on. Tolerance went right out the window.

[leftchick]

use the ignore feature

and don't go away! :hi:

[Tigress DEM]

89. But don't you not see ANY of their posts then?

I thought I heard that and I'd rather know the whole truth and the things people are making up because then I can better deal with it.

It doesn't go away just because I don't see it.

[sufrommich]

25. Please don't leave

I just read your "welcome" to me in that other thread and I want people like you around.I'm new and still wondering if I'm in safe waters.It's nice to know there are people like you here.

[annabanana]

83. most of us are easy..

There are a few designated grumps, cranks and nasties... but, believe it or not, even they mean to advance the cause. DU is a lot more civil than many many other political boards, left or right.
Welcome, wade into the soup and help us flavor the pot.
:hi:

[Tigress DEM]

88. .. to get along with? Yeah.

I made a big deal of this only because I really wanted to know if tolerance is what we are about. I believe it is and mostly people have responded in constructive and caring ways about this.

I worry about newcomers to DU getting turned off. So having this out on my post issue is a way to show them how to be tough.

I'm not going anywhere.

[Tigress DEM]

86. I'm a fixture.

And it's newbies that I go through this shit for... to show you how to tough it out.

It really is worth it.

[leanin_green]

26. I've echoed many of your same sentiments.

But I'll be damned if I'll be bullied by a bunch of pretentious, self-important, superior-minded, overeducated psuedo-intellectual, pompously arrogant excuses for liberals chase me away from one of the only Free Market of Ideas forums open to me.

Hey Tigress? Be a tiger and fight back. Consider them practice for the RW bullies we're all fighting. I know we as liberals are more sensitive, but, be sensitive about the issues you care about and develop a thick skin when it comes to these people on DU that try to treat this site like the in-crowd from high school.

[Tigress DEM]

91. Yeah, I'm fighting. Started this post didn't I?

Still, hopefully what people will get out of this is to be more factual and constructive in what they have to say.

Passion is fine. Making it personal isn't.

[leanin_green]

95. That's the problem. . .

so many people only surface read with a predilection towards seeking only that which continues to feed preconceived ideas or prejudgements.

Open-minded dialog and discussion are seldom what these people are after. Rather, they adopt the mentality of group-think and become adept at attacking anyone who isn't a part of the in-group. Remember these guys in high school? Consider them the "Jawbreakers" of DU. They're everywhere, and therefore, as insignificant as those same people eventually become.

[Name removed]

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[hiley]

29. where are you going?

don't let others squash you, come on stay and carry on.
:shrug:

[sandnsea]

30. Well don't jump into a bbq pit

And then be surprised that there's hot coals in it!! If you're talking about the dress thread. I'm sure the wearer isn't worried about it.

[medeak]

34. yep

did a search on poster 5 days ago and found that if there is a flame...person is there.

[Tigress DEM]

92. I had great fun with it mostly.

My main points were that blind obedience to ANYONE isn't a good thing and that in America the accused should still have evidence presented before we come to the conclusion that they are guilty.

Cindy is wonderful. After getting the facts, I even think what she said was funny and more about DiFi's voting pattern which does seem to show a conflict of interest and very non-DEM leanings.

However, it was a sling thread at first and no one was coming up with real reasons why Cindy would have said what she did. They just got into this mob mentality. I hate to see that here.

[BillZBubb]

32. Politics ain't beanbags!

Stick around and stand up for your point of view. Learn to not take these things so personally--that's what really will get you down. A little dust up amongst those of us here who agree on much more than we disagree will make you better prepared to go toe to toe with the wingnuts. Being able to withstand a scathing attack and respond effectively is a valuable life lesson.

You talk about nasty, get in an argument with a Freeper! If anyone here attacks you personally and not just your ideas, alert the mods. They'll handle it.

[Mr_Spock]

44. Yeah, and it ain't tiddley-winks either

:shrug: just sayin' :D

[Seansky]

33. it seems there is quite a bit of irony in your comment and action to quit

DU, if you don't mind my saying so:

1. Hate? Doesn't that make you exactly what you are deploring?

2. Quiting when you're standing up for your principles or whatever you believe? Doesn't that defeat the entire purpose of you having a principle/belief in the first place?

Our inability to effectively convert nasty critics and criticism into constructive dialog is exactly what we need now and here we are, using one of the best methods ever existed to express our freedom of thought and belief and we become unable to learn from the experience and make it better.

Maybe we all need a few classes on debate and communication..May help everyone.

Forgive my patronizing comments, if the do come across as such...

[Cleita]

36. Hey Tigress DEM, there are asses everywhere on the

internet. No one is going to agree with you 100%, but I think you will find that most DUers are worth knowing. Put the jerks on ignore. You are one of us. :-)

[Skittles]

39. WHO IS MEAN TO YOU TIGRESS

I WILL KICK THEIR ASS

Seriously though Tigress, PUT THAT PERSON ON IGNORE - this is a big board and there's gonna be people who upset you. DON'T LET THEM GET TO YOU.

[Mr_Spock]

49. lol - before I opened your post, I thought "I'll kick their ass"

and, of course, that's what was there - :rofl:

[Skittles]

56. IT'S SKITTLES' SOP

STOP LAUGHING SPOCK OR I WILL KICK YOUR ASS TOO :7

[Name removed]

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[Mika]

41. If ya can't take the heat then stay outta the kitchen!

Just kidding. :evilgrin:


:hi: :toast:

[Tigress DEM]

85. I've been boiled before. Don't know why I let it get to me this time.

Still. I think it's a valid issue.

I always worry about new people coming on DU and getting turned off.

I'm pretty tough. Still it's nice to take a poll and find out that most people still want you around.

:hi:

[neebob]

47. Way to attract the mean people

Take the war to them, so the rest of us don't have to fight them on other threads.

[leanin_green]

55. Looks like those people followed you. Well, I'll stand with you.

[Lorien]

58. My theory; some people feel powerless in the "real world", so

they bully others on discussion boards to give themselves a feeling of strength and superiority (they'll also be the first ones to write "don't let the door hit you in the ass" when you talk about leaving). Don't let them get away with it, you'll only be encouraging them. Those are the people for whom the "ignore" button was invented!

[high density]

60. There are some rude people here

I just put them on my ignore list and never see them again. In fact I suspect that some of them are long time freeper moles who are just trying to piss us off.

[alcibiades_mystery]

61. All Aboard the Pity Express!

Whoo Whoo!

:eyes:

[Tigress DEM]

96. It's not about ME really.

I just think people need to be reminded to be more tolerant.

Case in point. What are you so hostile about?

Or is this just a good grins and chuckles for you?

[alcibiades_mystery]

99. I would characterize it as shits and giggles actually

n/t

[Vinnie From Indy]

63. I have no idea what the furor is all about, but

Ya' can't make an omelet without breakin a few eggs!

[Tigress DEM]

93. But do we break each other and win?

Or do we find ways to work together in spite of differences of opinion?

[medeak]

67. I LOVE DU

When firstly coming on board...everyone thinks you are a troll.. but for some lovely folk who took it on their own to pm and welcome me years ago...will never forget them (muserider)

Never had a whine fest however and find this entire thread totally self indulgent considering the preaching I have received from this poster.

edited to say... for years my New Year's resolution was to "underreact"

It helps not to react to piffle.

[Tigress DEM]

94. Then why do you hate me enough to follow me around?

I can understand that we had differences in the other thread, but why would you come into this thread and lie about me like you did?

Your pm and mine showed we were both talking like reasonable people. I stated my case, you said nice things about your friend.

Why would that cause you to act like this toward me?

Is it some sort of get back?

[Ksec]

98. 109 replies already- from caring folks

Hope this shows you that the good outweighs the bad.

[Name removed]

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[LeftCoast]

102. Locking

Lets keep it civil here at DU. Ok?