So it looks like I may have struck a nerve with my prior post.

[Tommy Carcetti]

https://www.democraticunderground.com/100216780306

Which I can only assure was not my intention as to anyone person, but regardless I guess that's beside the point.

I've always fashioned myself as a pragmatic person in most things. But I've long tried to be pragmatically optimistic at all opportunities.

However, more than ever, the past six years have made it difficult to be optimistic, even pragmatically so.

And I've kept on keep on knowing that there are people who haven't succumbed to pessimism, inaction or cynicism, even in the face of great odds. That they've made a decision to make a stand on things, come hell or high water.

So when the pushback--even on a friendly forum like this--boils down to "Why are we even bothering to do this? What's the point? This isn't going to change anything" even before we even attempt something, I just get irritated by that type of defeatist mindset.

We heard it in regards to both impeachments--"Why are we doing this? We'll never get the Senate to convict." And pragmatically, I agreed. But I still think it was 100% the right decision to impeach, despite knowing the odds.

I'll hear, "Let's just forget the sideshows and just focus on electing Democrats." Which is of course fine, except that if you mention certain egregious Republican elected officials, the response from those same people ends up being, "Why are you bothering with them? They're in safe seats. They'll never lose. You're just wasting resources that could be better spent elsewhere."

There's just so much negativism I can take, even as a pragmatist.

I remember when James Comey was scheduled to testify before Congress in 2017, and you had a lot of people who--justifiable so--were still upset about how he had bungled the Clinton email investigation (intentionally or not). But it permeated over into what people were expecting for the testimony, and before Comey had even said a single word, there were multiple posts about how Comey was just going to cover for Trump, he wasn't going to implicate Trump for anything, he was going to let him skate, etc.

And as it turns out, that didn't happen at all. Comey came down hard on Trump in his testimony and did not let him off the hook for any of his behavior. Now, how much came of it legally? Not a whole lot. But even so, it added valuable insight into the mindset and actions of Trump that we've since almost taken for granted.

So I just don't see the need to be constantly cynical or gloomy in these types of things before anything even happens. We don't know what purpose something will serve. Maybe it won't do anything in the long run. Maybe it will do something, but not what you were expecting. Or maybe you'll be pleasantly be surprised.

There's tempering expectations, and then there's needless negativism.

All I know is that January 6th was a violent insurrection, an attempted self-coup, and the public deserves to know as much of what happened as possible, even if you personally have become so jaded that you don't think anything will come of it.

[SoCalDavidS]

1. I Am Very Happy That Something Is Happening

I would much rather the Committee do what it's doing, rather than nothing being investigated.

I just do not believe Anything will come of it.

That fact makes me extremely discouraged, with the realization that deep down, this is a Shithole country, where Accountability & Consequences go to die, and some are WAY Above The Law.

And it gets tiresome hearing the daily drumbeat about how there will be Indictments/Charges/CONSEQUENCES. I just do not see that being in the cards. Sad but true.

[brush]

9. Consequences may very well come in the Nov. election...

even if there are no indictments coming out of the hearings. But if you watched the hearing last night you had to come away with a feeling that there will be consequences in some way as the evidence presented is so strong against the trump cabal and their activities not just on J6 but also in December and November of 2020 after the election. All the obvious complicity, participation in the attempted coup and pardon seeking by trump admin people and people in trump's orbit can't help but have some negative effects on those involved.

[Bev54]

44. One of the most difficult things to prove is intent and from what they

did last night and I think will do more so in the hearings to come, is to show intent for Trump and that he was well aware he did not win the election and he had every intent to overturn it at whatever cost and a plan to do so. They are handing that over to the DOJ which I think will help them go forward with indictments.

The WH lawyers, the previous AG and his cohorts are yet to come. Then we have the media company from Denmark that were following Stone around and have some very good information. These depolorables are going to go down, I no longer have doubts.

[choie]

2. Agree wholeheartedly, Tommy!

n/t

[LizBeth]

4. I have watched two decades of Republicans getting away with criminal behavior.

I do not have faith, or hope. I think that should be allowed especially as that is the reality we have sat in for two decades. Lots of years there to teach us well what will happen in our future in all likelihood.

[DFW]

10. And it's OK if you have neither faith nor hope

The OP and his previous post ask merely that the same courtesy be extended to those who have/keep one or the other or both.

[LizBeth]

15. I didn't tell you not to post that "hope". We were and have been being told though,

not to post "I have watched two decades of Republicans getting away with criminal behavior.

I do not have faith, or hope. I think that should be allowed especially as that is the reality we have sat in for two decades. Lots of years there to teach us well what will happen in our future in all likelihood."

See the difference?

[panader0]

28. Remember that book 'The Audacity of Hope'?

Who was that guy who wrote it? I know it'll come to me. It was a guy that not too many years
ago would have had no hope at all of being elected. But with his audacity he was elected and became
one of the best Presidents in US history. Imagine, a black guy with a foreign sounding name.....

"Hope is a good thing, perhaps the best of things, and good things never die." from
The Shawshank Redemption

[LizBeth]

29. I had that audacity to HOPE he would prosecute the criminal behavior of Bushco.

I have been taught well.

[panader0]

32. I'm a buoyant person. I don't get up in the morning and say to myself--

"Great, another miserable worthless day. I should just go back to sleep." I can find enjoyment
all around me. I'm an atheist, and I don't pray, but I feel like hope is a form of prayer, that that's
what a prayer really is--a hope.

[LizBeth]

34. Isn't that something, so similar. I am the essence of joy. That is the basis of who I am,

what I live. For you to imply that two decades of proof that Republicans do not face repercussion for their criminal behavior equals a person to be a joyless, or lacking is truly incredible and quite audacious. Daily, my cup is not only half full but runs over.

And still, at least two decades of ignoring Republican criminal behavior.

Maybe I can find and live that joy while being honest. So maybe I am even more evolved, who is to know.

[gab13by13]

40. What a fantastic post,

I believe that people who whistle past the graveyard have no idea that the insurrection has only grown since 1/6.

[LizBeth]

43. Yes, it has. And I firmly and righteously believe it is mostly because Republicans

as a whole have gotten away with their vile, bigoted, criminal behavior for over two decades and man, that line has to be drawn and not seeing it.... But I really want it to happen.

[BlackSkimmer]

68. ...

[iemanja]

70. That is your response to a known fact

That the Bush administration wasn't prosecuted. You thereby insist anyone who is concerned about that is waking up to say "it's another worthless day." That is not a reasonable or rational response. Reality exists, whether or not you care to admit it. Denying reality is the best way to ensure tyranny triumphs. We have to WORK to bring about change, not just "hope" for it.

[LizBeth]

86. OH! Awesome good. Yes. Right. And ya.... been working all day to step into some reason.

Reason has always worked well for me. Thank you.

[wnylib]

59. Does it get so depressing for you

that you need to share it in order to deal with it? Or, do you get annoyed at people who are hopeful and want them to stop? I am not being intentionally critical. You are entitled to your feelings and opinions. I just want to understand what moves people to be discouraging.

I get frustrated and discouraged, too. But then it turns to anger. That anger feels like, "How dare they? How dare they violate civil rights? Turn a democracy into an authoritarian system?" That anger motivates me to take whatever actions I can to change whatever I can, even in small ways - phone banking to elect good people (Dems), discussions to inform and persuade, donations to good candidates and causes, protests and demonstrations to arouse people who would agree but sit on the sidelines and wring their hands.

I've dealt with some very discouraging and emotionally devastating things in my personal life. Giving up was not an option because it would have left me dead or insane. So I do not understand defeatism in others.

[LizBeth]

60. Really, this is a joke, right? Lol

[wnylib]

61. I have never been more serious.

If the political situation is so discouraging and hopeless for some people, I don't understand why they hang around political message boards. Wouldn't that just increase discouragement even more?

[LizBeth]

62. This is just silly and you have become too emotionally invested in defining all I am from the

little I commented.

[wnylib]

63. Nothing silly about it.

Last edited Fri Jun 10, 2022, 10:16 PM - Edit history (1)

The nation is in a precarious position. We are at risk of losing our democracy. We need all our energy to fight the process, to vote, to take action, to pressure elected officials.

Discouragement is counterproductive.

[LizBeth]

65. "Nothing silly about it." In your opinion. Merely, in your opinion.

[iemanja]

71. If you all are so hopeful and optimistic

Why are you so bothered by a few posts that disagree with you? Is your hope so fragile?

[LizBeth]

87. It really became a surreal sub thread. I have not experienced this for a while.

People decided every iota of who I am as a person cause I said I am bothered about two decades of Republicans getting away with crime. But then on reflection and listening to others, it is well over two decades. I mean, abuse of impeachment because Clinton had a bj, SC in 2000 election, Reagans Iran/Contra.... Nixon of course but he walked away at least in shame, for a while anyway. All the shit pulled on Hillary the last handful of years.

Faith/hope. Hmmmmm.

Anyway, hi you. A lovely 60's kinda day.

[iemanja]

89. To you as well.

[Upthevibe]

45. panader0...Wonderful post...

Thank you

Shawshank Redemption is on my top five favorite movies of all time and you perfectly inserted one of the best quotes ever....

[DFW]

37. And I, in turn didn't tell you what not to post, either.

There is no point in telling anyone what NOT to post.
It rather diminishes the pool of posts on which to comment or launch discussions. Also--while I often ignore posts, I have yet to ignore a post-er. You never know when someone you thought incapable of it might actually have interesting to say.

That remains my humble opinion, of course. It is an advantage of DU that no one is required to respond to a post that one feels is not worth the time or effort. Some people are just what the Germans call "streitsüchtig," but it's not a condition known to be highly contagious, and my immune system has so far managed to fight it off.

[LizBeth]

41. Actually, the Op that was being referenced did ask people to stop posting their negative.

Putting in my two cents that Republicans have been getting away with criminal behavior for two decades felt like a worthy exercise with my time and effort. On the other hand, you can go right on by my posts if you like so you aren't "streitsüchtig," yourself (maybe, cause not real clear the definition. Maybe I will google. Cause I am a curious kinda person).

[LizBeth]

42. argumentative, quarrelsome, contentious, quarrelsome. Ok, guess that is a two way street, but

a message board. Kinda what we do all day long.

[electric_blue68]

94. Hey wait! You can't just leave a German word unknown to many of us hanging in the air...

so to speak.

Well, you can....but


😉

ETA

missed the later clarifying post. 🙂

[Magoo48]

50. The thing about faith is that without works, faith is dead. If all of us with faith were

willing to work like the dickens with capable, enthusiastic organizers our faith would sustain us through the inconvenience and duration. But are we willing and who will organize?

And, hope is like despair, both can be paralytic unless accompanied by sustained, positive actions. Most of the good work is done somewhere between hope,and despair.

[PortTack]

5. I always enjoy your posts! Agree that constant cynicism and gloom are not helpful

[gab13by13]

6. I have just one question,

Why didn't DOJ prosecute the Cyber Ninjas who violated federal and state election laws? Title 52 of federal law.

The Cyber Ninjas we have learned because of a FOIA filing by a private citizen group and local media group was a pro-Trump, fake company with a mail box for an office. Because DOJ only wrote them a stern letter, which was blatantly ignored, the fraudits spread across the country and kept the Big Lie alive.

This isn't a guess what DOJ is or isn't doing, this is a question why DOJ failed to prosecute people who were given access to ballots, voter information, election equipment and materials which were supposed to remain in the possession of election officials for 22 months.

Why?

[Walleye]

7. Have we turned into nattering nabobs of negativism?

[Sympthsical]

8. One thing to keep in mind is people form teams around the issue

So now we have Team DOJ Doing Stuff vs Team Trump Will Walk.

And every scrap of news or tweet or throwaway comment is just another piece of evidence that my Team is winning and your Team is losing.

Such is the way of internet message boards and the internet in general.

I try to never be on a team if I can help it. I suppose I think very little will be done at the end of all this. However, I freely and openly admit I'm making guesses and speculating based on past experience and what I perceive to be true about our current political environment.

I could be totally, completely, absolutely wrong.

What I don't do is Happy Talk. There's too much Happy Talk. 2016 should have always and forever sealed away the idea that people can just wish things into being by endless positivity and never pointing out problems. Clapping for Tinkerbell isn't going to work. Engineers who paper over problems see planes disintegrate in the sky (was watching an Air China crash documentary last night - oof).

Everyone's barometer for positivity and negativity is different. Seeking only one or another in a space where maybe a hundred or so people regularly post isn't going to do it. A group text might work. But that would be so dull.

Just do what I do. My eyes literally glaze over once I hit a certain attitude or swarm clump. Very dull. Things are easily ignored. If I'm not ignoring something, it's because I'm interested. Whether or not it's interested in a conversation or interested in, say, the way a cat swats at a ball of yarn will vary.

Now, you'll have to excuse me. I am Team Tobasco, but my partner is Team Sriracha - a point of vigorous contention if not outright food violence in our household. A news story hit this morning about a Sriracha shortage, so I must repair to Costco and horde like like the middle class white Karen I always aspire to be.

And even though I will obtain the Sriracha, that doesn't mean that Team isn't inescapably, universe offendingly wrong.

[fightforfreedom]

11. I agree.

Also, some of the cynicism is backed up with things that are not factual true. That's when I feel it is OK to post and point it out. I admit, sometimes I do it with sarcasm, humor.

Example, Garland is not investigating the leaders of the coup. He is doing nothing.

[Scrivener7]

16. Again, the word you keep looking for is "factually." Also, just

because it seems to be a thing in some of your posts, "our" and "are" are not the same.

[fightforfreedom]

17. People know what I mean.

Thanks for telling me though. Sometimes I type quickly and don't review what I typed. Excuse me.

[Scrivener7]

20. Yes. People do.

[mzmolly]

12. Hear hear!

[Cha]

79. Right!🤷‍♂️💖 Love the Pragmatically Optimistic!

💙💛

[mzmolly]

82. Ditto!

[Cha]

83. Aloha, mzmolly💙

GOTV 22!

💙💛

[Scrivener7]

13. Stir, stir, stir. Divide, divide, divide.

Feel better?

[OneGrassRoot]

21. Wow...

in the face of everything we have gone through since 2016, you interpret this post or even the previous request as an attempt to divide and stir the pot?

Wow. 🙁

[Scrivener7]

22. Yes. That I do.

[muriel_volestrangler]

74. It's a question of language

"Wet blanket", "pessimism, inaction or cynicism", "defeatist", "cynical", "needless negativism". Yes, those words about DUers are divisive. I don't see how you can say "wow" about that.

[OneGrassRoot]

93. Yes, I hear you...

I should have clicked the link on the original post and instead went with my impression of it from having seen it previously. Still, honestly, "wet blanket" was the only questionable use of language, imo.

Interpreting someone's pattern of posts as cynical or pessimistic is no more divisive to me than posts calling others naïve or Pollyanna. Both happen here rather frequently and always have, so it surprised me to see this particular OP referred to as divisive and trying to stir the pot.

As with most everything, it's subjective. Some are offended to be referred to as cynics and defeatists and others are offended to be referred to as naïve and Pollyanna. Certainly there is some disdain ingrained in both but, in the scheme of things, I just don't see it as a reason for battles on here.

[BlackSkimmer]

39. It's fascinating isn't it?

A nerve was certainly hit, but not the one the OP thinks.

These meta posts used not to be allowed here...wonder what's up?

[Bev54]

47. And so they are again on this OP

[BlackSkimmer]

48. "Pirhanas?

Wow, insulting DUers who don't agree with you?

Seeing a lot of that here lately. Shame.

[agingdem]

18. I agree...

almost 48 years ago Gerald Ford pardoned Richard Nixon and the United States is still paying the price for Nixon's unconditional pardon....the Republican Party learned a valuable lesson..to quote Trump "I could shoot somebody and I wouldn't lose voters"..no accountability, no price to pay no matter the crime, be it Iran/Contra, an unprovoked war with Iraq, torture/waterboarding, Russian ties to the Trump campaign, Trump/Ukraine quid pro quo, ignoring a pandemic and "disappearing" the 300,000 covid deaths, election fraud, sedition, and inciting an insurrection...we teach our children to tell the truth, own their screwups..we warn our children "you do the crime you do the time"... and Republican response: we don't follow the rules, we make the rules..go fuck yourself"...not anymore

[DFW]

19. I saw some of the responses you refer to. Some could have come directly from Napoleon

Not Bonaparte or Solo, but rather Orwell’s Napoleon. « All opinions are equally welcome, but some opinions are more equally welcome than others, and yours was not one of them. » I’m getting several of those, too, these days. I rather treat them like acid rain. If it rolls off the umbrella without penetrating, I’m not going to let it ruin my day.

[sarisataka]

23. Anyone need a seat?

[electric_blue68]

24. Nothing -may- happen. I still have some hope...

I try to keep the words of St Yogi in mind:

"It ain't over, till it's over".

[usonian]

25. I'll reply to this the same as I did to ed.

I'm for looking at facts (and Onion-style un-facts) sometimes unpleasant ones
because realism helps us make things and ourselves better.
and humor helps us cope.

I've got enough vexations in life to take up fact-less panic posts. (not accusing)
because
1. I've got a long list of things that I misplaced, and am looking for.
2. I misplaced the list.
3. Other stuff I forgot.
So there.

I guess that the site is what people think it is, give or take what the admins smack down.
And I am a relative "newbie" here.
My personal view is that aside from some humor (Mark Twain is one of my heroes) and photography, I want to present

A. helpful and factual stuff that IMO (and YMMV!) is going to help people understand the context of what is going on, because confusion, division and disillusionment are powerful enemy weapons. (and I'm not accusing anyone here)

B. stuff that's going to help us "message", benefiting from my life experience dealing with a bewildering array of people, from E-1's in boot camp to deranged sociopaths in Silicon Valley and aerospace, to Nobel Prize winning professors at Berkeley.

To prove that I'm not making an idle claim, here are my key posts.
And if I never post more (some days, I feel like that, living a drug-free life ... which ain't easy) here they are:
Key articles:

https://www.democraticunderground.com/100216777247
Every Accusation is a Confession.

https://www.democraticunderground.com/?com=view_post&forum=1002&pid=16779230
Know your adversary.

https://www.democraticunderground.com/?com=view_post&forum=1002&pid=16772624
SPEAK TO YOUTH! MY GOODNESS

https://www.democraticunderground.com/100216768463
Stand Up and Fight! GOTV links and positive actions everyone can do.

https://www.democraticunderground.com/?com=view_post&forum=1002&pid=16768224
There's a playbook.

https://www.democraticunderground.com/100216497648
Links for Ukraine Humanitarian Relief

https://www.democraticunderground.com/100216524810
The best, the ONLY cure to WhiteChristianNationalism, race baiting, mysogyny, etc. is WINNING

I've said my peace, and Say any damned thing you want.
I just appreciate the opportunity to share.

I've got no axe to grind except on this and friends.

[Caliman73]

26. Your use of the term "Wet Blanket Brigade" signaled some kind of intention.

You could simply have laid out the viewpoint that you did in this post, but you chose to start the post with a pejorative for people who have a different viewpoint of the world than you may have.

You don't see the need to be "constantly cynical or gloomy..." but that is your point of view. People have different points of view. People have different experiences. I kind of see that as akin to disagreeing with a Black American saying, "I don't see the need to be so negative about the police all the time".

You are always going to have points of contention when drawing the line between "tempering expectations" and "needless negativism" as those are subjective lines rather than objectively verifiable. You just have to do what we all do, either engage with, in the best faith, the people's opinions, or ignore them.

[BlackSkimmer]

49. Good post.

Funny how many attacked those who disagreed with that particular OP.

Hit a nerve, all right. I don't think he realized how much that was so, just not in the way he thought. Smh.

[Caliman73]

54. Thanks. I have no problem with the back and forth...

Thing is that my interpretation of the original post and this OP was that it seemed to be an attempt to essentialize and cast dispersion on people with a different point of view without attempting to engage with the sentiment or at very minimum, try to engage in a dialogue about "why" someone might feel inclined to post a more negative response.

I am interested in the "why" of things. I want to engage and find out why a certain approach is taken as opposed to another. When you start out by labeling one set of responses with a derogatory phrase, then it seems your motivation is to dissuade them from responding. The idea that, "I hit a nerve" was also interesting. If I walk up to you, call you an asshole and tell you that your ideas are negative and irrelevant, I am going to hit a nerve, and it is difficult to defend the idea that "My intention is not to offend".

[LizBeth]

55. +1

I think my sub thread is a good illustration of what you are saying. Not only on the receiving end derogatory insults but my whole person being defined simply because I do not have "hope", lol. A little bit extreme, I think.

[Yo_Mama_Been_Loggin]

27. It didn't bother me

[Karadeniz]

30. I'm perfectly okay with your statements!!!

[ismnotwasm]

31. You're alright

Except I haven’t heard the term “wet blanket” in, like forever.

We should bring it back!

[Cha]

80. lol.. he said "hill of beans" too.. &

I had just been saying that to myself the previous last few days.

💙💛

[ck4829]

33. That was the kind of thing that needs to be said. We need to make waves, especially here.

[Novara]

35. Yeah, I just can't live in too much negativity

I'm dealing with some health issues and it makes me realize that life is too short to live in negativity.

During a particularly bad point in my life I would say "Hope is something I can't afford." And I was so miserable. I don't want to live like that.

So while I am not a pollyanna, I do hope that the arc of the universe will bend towards justice. I have to believe that it will.

And I am very encouraged by what I saw last night. Very encouraged. Not just the hearing but the reaction to it. There was so much chatter on twitter focused on Garland that I believe there will be a metric shit-ton of pressure applied to the DOJ to indict all these motherfuckers.

And I intend to be fighting alongside them.

[LonePirate]

36. DoJ doesn't need the J6 committee to build criminal cases.

They may want it to foster popular support; but DoJ can act without the J6 committee. Apart from some very low-hanging fruit with which there has been photographic evidence, DoJ has not acted. Make of that what you will. Evidently DoJ doesn’t realize they have until January 2025 to obtain convictions in court - not simply arrests - before a possible Republican AG kills all prosecutions and investigations. Nothing like running out the clock I suppose.

[iemanja]

73. And they have not typically waited for congressional hearings to act

In fact, Schiff says, they have typically asked Congress to take a back seat to their investigations. That isn't happening in this case.

[Gore1FL]

38. I was honestly amused at how many came out to self-identify as wet blankets.

Whether or not the self-awareness was an accidental side-effect of a defensive response, or simply honestly, I am unsure.

[fightforfreedom]

57. Good one.

[Upthevibe]

46. Tommy Carcetti .....

I totally appreciated your op and I totally appreciate this one as well.

Thank you...

[Tommymac]

51. Negativism and apathy lead to low voter turnouts. That is a fact.

Whether or not the posters on a frigging internet discussion board really have any effect on that turnout at all is, well, fodder for discussion.

Me, I prefer to follow a part of DU's stated purpose, which is to ENCOURAGE VOTER TURNOUT.

Others obviously feel differently, and that is ok.

It's all good.

It's a message board on the internet. Nothing more or less.

Personally, I could sincerely give a hoot about negative posters, (more like a virtual shrug); but ...

I Do care about negative REALITY. So to all yinz in the real world, #GOTV2022! You WILL make a difference there.

[Cha]

81. Yeah! GOTV SAVE OUR DEMOCRACY 2022!!

💙💛

[Hortensis]

52. Gloom, grievance, disaffection, confusion (!) are voter suppression tools.

Tragically, they work.

I think some who want a better nation might be saved from the predators by realizing that the negative emotions that destroy dreams are incompatible with the positive goals of liberal progressivism. Eyes on the prizes. Always.

[Act_of_Reparation]

56. And accusations of doomsaying have long been used to suppress legitimate criticism.

[Hortensis]

58. It's fairly easy to tell the difference by how positive about moving

ahead the statements are, or negative. Constructive criticism is overall positive and supportive.

When the argument is that the existing system Democrats are part of first has to be replaced or destroyed, before moving forward can become possible, you know the most important goal is impeding progress by us.

If course criticism that's really just a vehicle for pissing and moaning how it'll never happen, they always win, we always lose, nothing ever changes, etc, is obvious for what it is.

[Act_of_Reparation]

67. "Pissing and moaning"

I don't think you understand this behavior as well as you think you do.

That kind of negativity is a coping mechanism, an unconscious strategy employed to reduce unpleasant emotions. In these cases, it is probably people dealing with disappointment by preparing themselves for the worst. They aren't aware they're doing it, and odds are they got to this place through some kind of emotional trauma.

I'm not a therapist, but I don't think you can shame or scold people out of maladaptive coping strategies. Empathy and support might be a more effective strategy.

[Hortensis]

69. Sure, it's a coping mechanism for probably most, both

among "the best (who) lack all conviction" and "the worst (who) are full of passionate intensity." Bless their hearts.

No one knows more about that mechanism and many ways to trigger it than the sophisticated professionals whose job it is to poison the understanding and will of electors by the hundreds, thousands, millions, tens of millions.

We're all adults with responsibilities to meet as citizens, and those of us who can need to refuse to be defeated before election day. Wouldn't hurt also start developing more practical coping skills in case worry about the future turns into what could never happen in America. Action is great for combating anxiety. Maybe learn to grow a potato.

"Yes, we can."

[Act_of_Reparation]

96. So, scolding it is.

[LizBeth]

88. Now y'all are analyzing and suggesting trauma?

Aren't we reading Garland has not "decided" to go after Trump? Since he stepped into his position to this day. Isn't that actually the message? Biden has stayed out of it. The committee about begging Garland. And still silence. And all the past history of thoroughly criminal behavior, especially by Trump, but so many other Republicans for decades.... And not an iota of repercussion. Did I miss so0mething here? Could that be it? Has Garland come out and said anything that suggests he is on it?

And you reduce the "wet blankets" to emotional trauma. That is what you came up with.

[Act_of_Reparation]

95. "Could that be it"?

Yes. People who have been let down in the past aren't likely to be optimistic this time around. That is exactly what I'm talking about.

[LizBeth]

97. Emotional trauma, or realistic, pragmatic and looking at consistent history, I ask you.

Hey.... hold on to your projections, they are serving y'all well.

[Act_of_Reparation]

98. Please read the entire exchange.

I raised the issue of people using "doomsaying" as an excuse to stifle legitimate criticism in my initial response to Hortensis. In their response to me, they claimed they addressing another set of people who are just negative. Everything I posted in that thread is within the parameters they established.

[ymetca]

64. Reminds me of that old adage

that no matter what happens here today, there are about a billion Chinese who really don't give a shit.

American politics is very insular and there is so much hubris about our preeminence in the world.

I really think our current predicament goes back to that eye-opening moment of 9/11, and the subsequent debacle of attempting to maintain the mass delusion that we're still the good guys who won WWII and saved the world from despotism. We didn't, actually, but let's continue pretending we did, since it has worked so well so far.

Turns out, a lot of folks on this planet now think that WE are the main oppressors. But most of us just haven't gotten to the point of asking ourselves why that is, and how we can change that perception. Because those numbers are growing out there, folks.

I always thought that it would have been better, and cheaper, if we had just dropped plane loads of cash, instead of bombs, all over the place. That is what we are, after all. A currency provider.

[ecstatic]

66. All I can say to everyone feeling that way is to be the change you want to see

I know there are some negative posters and angry posters, but I think the majority of us go back and forth and are persuadable to either side. Positive posts give me hope sometimes. It might not seem that way, but it's true. So next time you see a pessimistic post or thread, try not to let the negativity affect you, and maybe inject some logic-based positivity or hope into the discussion. The logic part is key because the realists and pessimists are viewing things from a glass half empty or fully empty perspective which can cause blind spots with regard to positive developments. You have to hammer home the positive developments, if they exist. lol

[iemanja]

72. I don't like censorship

Or demands that people agree with you or they aren't acceptable human beings. I also question why one's optimism is so fragile that it's threatened by posts with which one disagrees.

[Ohio Joe]

85. It's a good thing he did not do any of those things then... Right?

I mean... Did you read his post? Because none of those things were even remotely in it... Not even close.

[iemanja]

90. I disagree

He insulted people and told them not to post.
https://www.democraticunderground.com/100216780306

Up above there is a surreal sub thread in which people insist a poster who noted Bush co didn’t get prosecuted woke up everyday saying how lousy the day was. Evidently one must deny reality and history to satisfy some around here.

[Ohio Joe]

91. Words have meanings though...

None of that is censorship... Demands that he be agreed with... Anyone is not an acceptable human being... If you want to move the goal post or change to some other complaint, fine but what you said was not true.

[iemanja]

92. Calling someone a wet blanket

And telling them not to speak is deliberately insulting. It is not a statement of approval or what one calls someone when they are seen as acceptable. My post is accurate. You do not need to agree.

[CrackityJones75]

75. Tommy,

If you have to apologize for standing up to negativism on a site like this…..

Well you shouldn’t have to.

Good on you!

[Emile]

76. Judgement day is coming! Trump will face the music

and will look great in his orange jumpsuit!

[H2O Man]

77. Recommended.

I recommended that, and thanked you for posting it. I'm not much interested in reading people's complaints, unless they tell what they are doing about it. Eeyore is a nice cartoon character, but no way for any Democrat to be in real life.

[CrackityJones75]

78. When I read things like:

When I read things like:

The democrats won’t do anything anyway

The democrats are weak

Nothing will happen

We are going to get slaughtered in November


on a Democratic party supporting forum like this and when we KNOW that there are trolls out there trying to bring down enthusiasm I would applaud people wondering if that is what is going on. Much more than people not calling it out and letting it fester and spread. If that isn’t you and you got offended by the accusation….. I don’t think it was the person making the inquiry who was in the wrong.

If you had pointed out that a democrat may lose their race due to points x, y, and z I think that is awesome and good analysis is helpful. Saying Democrats will lose because your view that things aren’t good and haven’t been going well isn’t going to win us many elections. If you complain about the democrats message and your own message is that democrats are basically losers… To me that doesn’t inspire anyone to vote for them and let’s face it, if yer saying it here yer probably saying it elsewhere.

[Kingofalldems]

84. Agree.

Trumpists posing as Democrats.

[Mr.Bill]

99. The way I saw it, for the House of Representatives

impeachment wasn't a political choice, it was a duty. Same for the Senate, except they failed as a body.