The "Neutral" D&D Thread... "Why I hate Politics."

Good idea Fatty I was thinking of starting a thread similar to this with the main idea being --- why do we keep coming back here? My general thought was that we get so frustrated hearing all the political nonsense (constantly bombarded) we need to vent and let our true feelings out. This is really the only place that we can do that with people we “know” and be blunt with our opinions. There is really no other setting where we can talk so openly about what we dislike (with such a large audience) and not worry about being arrested. There is a limit of course, but sometimes you just need to let your feelings fly. Overall however there are many more positive conversations when you look back at the forum as a whole since it’s inception.

 

Yes Yes, do rap on us for actually caring. Maybe you should go reside in a theocracy or dictatorship in the middle east where you don't b**** because you can't. Ya dont have to open the thread if ya dont want to. They have titles that are usually indicitive of the subject content.

 

cat fighting is fun.

and they have the right to do it 'vause they
are all 'contributing members'

 

Let's get something straight. "Caring" and "Arguing ceaselessly with no hope in hell of changing anyone's mind" are two very, verrrrrry different things.

I know what I know and I've seen what I've seen, and so have all of you. Some things can't be shared and some opinions can't be changed by others. Ratcheting up animosity with one another doesn't seem to help the situation in this city, state and country, all of which I dig, so I don't bother.

If you guys want to keep banging your head against the wall (and each other) that's cool, it's fun to watch sometimes. But don't hate on us that aren't into pointless debate and claim that we "don't care."

 

I think underoverup hit the nail on the head - you can go off with people you sort of know here...

Yeah, a lot of the conversations are pissing matches, but then once in a while you run into a great post by someone detailing their beliefs (this happens on both sides), and it makes you (or me, anyway) glad to see there are people who actually give thought to their beliefs instead of believing the various propaganda machines.

I avoided D&D like crazy and was glad when Clutch separated the Hangout into two parts... but I would check once in a while to see if there were interesting threads. When a true discourse occurs (very rare) or someone provides new information/knowledge, that's cool.

The rest sucks.

 

I hate politics like I hate money.

The more you have the more problems you've got.

But you need them both to operate, and more of them both also has benefits for all involved.

 

Fatty not a good way to keep the thread "neutral."

 

That's freaking weak, Fatty. You start a thread to say you're sick of reading conversations in this forum (don't read them then) and when someone says they care about the things they post you call them a moron. Go back to the hangout and talk about how drunk you are. This thread sucks.

 

I used to ignore political discussions and really didn't follow anything (some will argue that is still the case). A couple of things changed that for me.

9/11
Getting married and having a son.

The threat of terrorism is a major concern for me. To be honest, I don't get into the economy, environment, gay marriage and even tax talk. I think all that pales in comparison to the fight against terrorism. I do know those issues still have major importance, especially in the long run, but they just don't have the significance of terrorism to me.

 

For me its the other way around. Economics, environment, taxes and deficits do and will affect my life and the life of my children far more deeply than terrorism does (at least util some terrorist sets off a nuke or electromagnetic pulse bomb in America's major financial sectors). I am greatly concerned about the cost of living, my ability to save and invest, stay employed/seek employment, afford an education for my children, continued civil liberties and life opportunities, etc. To me, those are everyday concerns, the loss of which frightens me more than dying in a plane crash or my office getting bombed.

Terrorism ranks lower on the list because it isn't an everyday thing to me. The devastation of a plane crashing into a building is easy to imagine; but the collapse of the American economy under the weight of deficits, high oil prices, inflation and soaring deficits and the loss of civil liberties sending the nation back to pre-1964 (I guess how bad this is depends on what side of tracks you come from) are not. What do I care if the terrorists can't get me if I am broke, loss my house, have no means to provide an education for my children and am under constant harrassment from my government?

Of course, I recognize that the mother of all terrorist attacks will wreak havoc on our financial sectors and yield the outcomes I fear most. But I am always concerned about leaders utilizing fear to control voters.

Edit: and regarding the thread topic... The most annoying thing about this forum is that there are certain posters who really seem insincere about having any kind of discourse. They just parrot party lines and try to push buttons, not even considering the arguments of "the other side."

Of course, the beauty of this forum is those posters who are intelligent and thoughtful. They provide great information, great arguments, interesting articles and link to great sites. They alone are worth the bile and poo-flinging that makes the D&D the D&D.

 

I totally agree with this. It is far past time for a viable third party that is beholden only to the American people and not big money in one form or another.

 

Perhaps if the person had simply said that they "care" and left it at that, Fatty would not have responded the way he did, but since the poster in question took the time to lament the burden of being so much smarter than people who don't consider Internet poo flinging a worthy pastime and implied Fatty would be happier under a totalitarian regime, I don't blame him for taking offense.

The fact is that this forum is a morass of silly, inconsistent yammering that accomplishes nothing other than allowing a constant stream of pointless bickering and if not for the additional work its elimination would create, it would probably already be gone.

I'd be amazed if the bulk of what goes on here makes anyone proud of their political affiliation.

 

I am a conservative as most know. I love this forum because it does allow us to bang our head against the wall. There are certain dems on here that I never agree with (SamFisher, Franchise Blade) but it is the ability to bang our heads on the wall that I think both Reps and Dems on this board love. The internet is the single biggest political tool ever, allowing for cross country debate and exchange of ideas. I know that despite the bitter bickering, we all respect each others opinions as Americans. Moron is a good word for someone that lives in a democracy and dismisses it. That sir, is you.

 

Why do we enjoy banging out heads against the wall? We're never gonna change anybody's mind.

 

Some people who participate on this board have changed their positions. For instance, I believe Mad Max and Cohen were both Bush supporters in the past. Their participation in the debate here probably had something to with this change.

 

I honestly think they both came to those conclusions on their own.

 

I think they did too (and add mrpaige to that list). But so what? Is this forum only valuable if people change their minds on account of it? Part of the reason I come to this forum is to read those guys' posts -- and rimrocker's and MacBeth's and SamFisher's and about twenty or thirty other great posters'. And while stupid, bad stuff happens in here I'd still say the ratio of good posters and good posts to bad ones at a level even or better than what's usually found in the GARM. (I also don't measure the success of the GARM according to whether an SOF can convert a YOF or vice versa -- I just like reading the posts.)

The haters in the GARM don't ruin that forum for me and the trolls in here don't ruin this one. For me. If certain posters - or if all posters - ruin this forum for anyone else, I don't see why it's such a big deal to just not read it. I'd like a higher, friendlier discussion here than we sometimes have, but there is a lot of good stuff in here. If someone doesn't agree, I really don't understand why they keep punishing themselves by coming back.

And coming into a forum just to tell everyone how ridiculous it is that they post here is neither neutral nor benign. Fatty was asking for it.