Too many political threads.

[Roxanne Appleby]

What?! Roxanne saying too much politics?

No, I love this stuff, God help me. It's a sickness.

But there are an awful lot of political threads going at the same time. Sorry, non-political AHers. I guess we've entered the last few laps before the US election, so if you can hang on for about another eight weeks it will drop back to normal.

Here's what I really want to say, although you'll have to take it on faith: Your AH colleagues who participate in the politicals are pretty darned good and sophisticated about it. We are tough and uncompromising in our rhetoric, and I know that makes you uncomfortable, but with occassional temporary departures we are not mean to each other on a personal level. We may accuse each other of being misguided and clueless, but most of the time we recognize that we all share certain core values and want good things for all people. That's the real definintion of civility - not mamby-pampy, artificial politeness.

This level of civility and sophistication in political debate is a rare thing, especially on the internet. So rather than getting anxious, you can feel proud that, much though it's like fingernails on a blackboard to you, the political discourse that goes on here is a credit to this community.

 

[Tricialen]

What?! Roxanne saying too much politics?

No, I love this stuff, God help me. It's a sickness.

But there are an awful lot of political threads going at the same time. Sorry, non-political AHers. I guess we've entered the last few laps before the US election, so if you can hang on for about another eight weeks it will drop back to normal.

Here's what I really want to say, although you'll have to take it on faith: Your AH colleagues who participate in the politicals are pretty darned good and sophisticated about it. We are tough and uncompromising in our rhetoric, and I know that makes you uncomfortable, but with occassional temporary departures we are not mean to each other on a personal level. We may accuse each other of being misguided and clueless, but most of the time we recognize that we all share certain core values and want good things for all people. That's the real definintion of civility - not mamby-pampy, artificial politeness.

This level of civility and sophistication in political debate is a rare thing, especially on the internet. So rather than getting anxious, you can feel proud that, much though it's like fingernails on a blackboard to you, the political discourse that goes on here is a credit to this community.

You have a wonderful way of saying what we all feel....America is a great country and we are lucky to live and work here and we can vote for whoever we want to...and we will... no one's opinon will change so I am not saying anymore about it...don't want to fight would much rather make love....

 

[TE999]

You have a wonderful way of saying what we all feel....America is a great country and we are lucky to live and work here and we can vote for whoever we want to...and we will... no one's opinon will change so I am not saying anymore about it...don't want to fight would much rather make love....

I volunteer...um...I mean I couldn't agree more.

I don't like all this bickering and flaming, but at least we can do it without fear of reprisal from the government...or anyone else.

 

[Tricialen]

I volunteer...um...I mean I couldn't agree more.

I don't like all this bickering and flaming, but at least we can do it without fear of reprisal from the government...or anyone else.

yes...making love is so much more satisfying than fighting ....

 

[TE999]

yes...making love is so much more satisfying than fighting ....

Well you need some fighting so you can have make-up sex.

 

[Tricialen]

Well you need some fighting so you can have make-up sex.

Umm make-up sex is soooo good!...wanta fight about something?

 

[starrkers]

Roll on November.




eta: I just looked at the AH front page index for the first time in several hours. This is ridiculous.

 

[TE999]

Umm make-up sex is soooo good!...wanta fight about something?

Anything but politics sweetie.

You start.

 

[Tricialen]

Anything but politics sweetie.

You start.

Hummm....lets see...you don't help me with the dishes....and you don't talk to me enough

 

[TE999]

Hummm....lets see...you don't help me with the dishes....and you don't talk to me enough

Oh really? Who was it that cleaned the gutters and pressure washed the deck? I didn't see you out there.

Turn off that TV and I'll talk to ya.

 

[Tricialen]

Oh really? Who was it that cleaned the gutters and pressure washed the deck? I didn't see you out there.

Turn off that TV and I'll talk to ya.

See you yell at me and I just want to kiss....

 

[TE999]

See you yell at me and I just want to kiss....

I'm sorry sugar...I didn't mean to yell...I'd rather kiss too...

 

[Tricialen]

I'm sorry sugar...I didn't mean to yell...I'd rather kiss too...

now lets go to bed...to umm sleep...

 

[TE999]

now lets go to bed...to umm sleep...

Sure...to sleep...uh huh...right after...Mmmmmmm....

 

[Belegon]

I agree that it is nice to have a place where many of those making arguments actually know HOW to make an argument.

But I am less optimistic in some ways, Roxy. You know what I would like to see? A thread that asked us to debate words that came from each candidate themselves. Not regurgitated filth from the Huffington Post or Fox News. But the candidates OWN words.

And, may every divine being ever imagined help us, not from chain emails.

No, I mean... "Obama said THIS on his website and I disagree. Why should I not?" or maybe "McCain said THAT in his speech and I don't understand why anyone would think this would work. Do you?"

I would dearly love to see such discourse here.

Yet I see lots of the other. People quoting figures I know for a fact to have been proven false. People calling a man who endured torture a traitor.

It saddens me and lowers my opinion of people.

 

[DeeZire]

I think it would be nice if we could all tolerate each other enough to not have to use the ignore button. I don't use it myself, since I find it entertaining when supposedly civil people turn into blathering idiots. (The colorful language from some of these dustups can be a good resource for dialogue in a story.)

It does bother me when people use the ignore button to avoid dealing with information that threatens their reality, much like it bothers me when people get all their news from one source, and one source only. I mean, we all perceive our reality in a manner that compliments our ideology, but to do so in the absence of facts seems counterproductive to the functioning of a healthy society that actually has to deal with the realities that are being ignored.

Granted, not using the ignore button does require some will power, but the more we learn about how our buttons get pushed, the better we should be able to deal with adversity in life, right? It's like, you go "this dude is trying to push my buttons, but I'm not going to let him, because I'm an adult, and he, obviously, isn't."

Of course, there is the annoyance factor, the 'life is too short to have to deal with this crap' attitude, which is also perfectly valid. It's just that some of the people who are using the ignore button are missing out on some interesting stuff.

Oh well, their loss, I suppose. It's not like a closed mind is going to open because of some tidbit of information found in an annoying post. It would probably take an act of God to do that, and I don't think God posts here.

 

[ishtat]

Roll on November.

eta: I just looked at the AH front page index for the first time in several hours. This is ridiculous.

November 4th is Melbourne Cup Day- the race that stops a nation.

It's also my birthday

Is anything else much happening round about then?

 

[starrkers]

November 4th is Melbourne Cup Day- the race that stops a nation.

It's also my birthday

Is anything else much happening round about then?

Nothing that matters.

 

[JAMESBJOHNSON]

DEEZIRE is right.

I never use the IGNORE button. Using it is the best and quickest way to miss something.

ROXANNE

You cant be more wrong. Most of the dummest bastards in the universe post at AH. I mean, where else has food fights over grammar and punctuation? I cant recall a quasi-serious discussion of writing since I joined. Likely because so few know shit about writing.

 

[Roxanne Appleby]

I agree that it is nice to have a place where many of those making arguments actually know HOW to make an argument.

But I am less optimistic in some ways, Roxy. You know what I would like to see? A thread that asked us to debate words that came from each candidate themselves. Not regurgitated filth from the Huffington Post or Fox News. But the candidates OWN words.

And, may every divine being ever imagined help us, not from chain emails.

No, I mean... "Obama said THIS on his website and I disagree. Why should I not?" or maybe "McCain said THAT in his speech and I don't understand why anyone would think this would work. Do you?"

I would dearly love to see such discourse here.

Yet I see lots of the other. People quoting figures I know for a fact to have been proven false. People calling a man who endured torture a traitor.

It saddens me and lowers my opinion of people.

Bel - I sympathize, but don't really agree for a couple reasons. What you're describing is the usual debates we have here about substantive policy issues. Electoral politics at this level really are about more than that.

Much of the campaigns are about symbols, and the candidates themselves are primarily symbols. The symbols represesent a lot of very amorphous and ambiguous things, many having more to do with affect than effect. We touched on one the other day - flag pins, traditional nationalist attitudes about the world and non-traditional internationalist attitudes. What's the specific policy involved in that? It touches on a whole bunch of them, and involves an approach and attitude rather than than a particular policy prescription.

That's just one of thousands of such symbols and symbolized things that are in play in these contests. To try and distill it all down to a discussion about a handful of particular policy prescriptions is to distort it. It also may be "discriminatory" in an odd way, because non-policy wonks are just as engaged with the symbols, have just as much right to do so and have contributions just as legitimate even though they aren't armed with reams of facts and figures. The only "prohibitions" are on incivility and outright fabrication.

We "politicals" can handle all that (a few of us really sick ones thrive on it), but I feel sorry for the non-political AHers. Our debates and tensions are a form of pollution for them. Thus the title of this thread - the least we could do is restrict ourselves to a "ghetto" that takes up less real estate on the forum.

 

[drksideofthemoon]

Too many political threads?

Yes, I have to agree there are far too many. Personally, I find politics about as interesting as watching paint dry.

 

[JAMESBJOHNSON]

What difference does it make; little if any writing threads exist here.

Maybe swap jokes or recipes or pics of grandkids?

 

[dr_mabeuse]

Fuck the lot of you

 

[DesertPirate]

Yes, I have to agree there are far too many. Personally, I find politics about as interesting as watching paint dry.

True, but every now and then it's fun to stir the pot just to see the explosion
Both extremes are dangerous and ridiculous at the same time.

 

[Trombonus]

Fuck the lot of you

Careful, the ladies might, and most likely will take you up on that offer.