Reply #34: I used to post on the about.com Civil Liberties boards... [View All]

[Mythsaje]

A LOT of "conservatives" post there.

I was there when Bush won the Presidency (or had it given to him). He wasn't Mr. Popularity with the generally Libertarian group posting there at the time. I was there on 9/11. In a matter of a few short days I watched the "anti-government, anti-authority, and pro-freedom" crowd go nucking futz.

Within weeks, there was no talking to these people.

It was the Iraq war that finally made me leave. They bought the arguments hook, line, and sinker. Me and a few other people were smart enough to see the writing on the wall, but the majority of them didn't want to see it.

I SAID it would be a disaster, that we wouldn't be greeted as liberators, and it would damage not only our standing in the world, but also do serious injury to our military.

I spent some time away from politics and then, last year, found DU. It was like coming home. Sure, we argue amongst ourselves about some of the silliest things. But I find a lot of that debate to be healthy. We have similar, if not identical, ideologies.

I went back to the CL boards about six months ago to check in... They're clumsy, hard to navigate, and the crazies are STILL in charge. From a place populated by people that claimed to distrust government power, they morphed into a cheering section for some of the worst abuses of authority we've ever witnessed.

I don't need to debate these people. I already KNOW how they think.

That's why I'm glad DU doesn't let them come here and poison our well. Believe me, there's enough opposing views on DU already to generate healthy debate. I'm left libertarian... Others are NOT.

If anything, I think that the mods should have a little more hands-off approach to certain things. But that may be a carry over from the CL boards, where you were allowed to say ANYTHING and if it was over the line, everyone ELSE jumped you for it. Free Speech was NOT debatable there. It was a plain fact.

That's the only thing I ever miss about it. Believe me. There's nothing else TO miss.