CIVILITY vs ANIMOSITY

 THIS TRULY SADDENS ME


I expect, when I visit far left sites using the Disqus platform, the hateful rhetoric and bombast against anyone who doesn't agree with their limited left wing views.


Worse, go to any pro-Trump site - try Breitbart - and see the mocking and ridicule and outright childish language being used by Trumpephites.


But lately what has dismayed me is the reactions of some people on my Form and on another I frequent.


IT is basically this: 

if you aren't progressive ENOUGH, you are only a leo-liberal, and no better than the Right.

if you are Christian you are filled with hate and fear and are actually an immoral person.

if you vote Republican you are evil, a bigot, a racist.


WORSE:

CNN is covering the Trump failure on Covid 24/7, while I thought that one of the initials in CNN stood for "news" but it has become an anti-Trump network as bad as Fox has become a propaganda network, where all Democrats are evil and out to destroy America.


YET ratings for FOX and CNN continue to climb through the roof while NPR, PBS, and other outlets with less biased views (but not totally unbiased to be honest) are struggling.


PEOPLE!!!


What are we doing? IS IT NOW OK to behave exactly like the far Right is behaving, and ridiculing, mocking, insulting any person or group that doesn't view the world EXACTLY as we view it.


FORGET discussion forums, think about the real world out there. HERE under the protection of anonymity we tend to say all kinds of things we may not say to our friends, neighbors, co-workers or family. AND YES, that includes ME.


BUT I have Christian friends, while I am not religious myself.

I have a couple of friends who typical support Republicans, and even voted for Trump in 2016.

I also have friends who are progressives, while I am a more pragmatic leftist, believe in universal health care strongly but know enough not to force it on all Americans at this time for fear of losing them rather than gathering them in.


I respect my friends, they respect me, we disagree on a lot of issues, and we feel free to voice our disagreements, but NOT all Christians are evil people, the ones I know are kind hearted, generous, they DO NOT impose their religion on anyone else AND they vote D.

There are some fundamentalist religions in America making a lot of noise and praising Trump, so we dump on ALL Christians because of a few nutcases? REALLY?


WE KNOW that a large number of Trump supporters are racist and bigots, but do we want to go down that "deplorable" road again? THAT didn't work out so well for us last time around did it? AND are you going to tell me that I HAVE TO consider my Republican friends as deplorable? REALLY?


Because I am in support of universal health care, because I am in support of gun control, because I am in support for the environment, many among my friends consider me a "progressive" but my more progressive friends view me as centralist, because I did not support Bernie Sanders.


SEMANTICS PEOPLE, SEMANTICS


ONE person's progressive is another person's centralist, one person's attitude towards Christians is viewed as hateful but is viewed by another as justified.

WE are either ALL libtards and fascists or we are all repukicans and bigots?


HERE IS A SNOWFLAKE THEORY:


Disagree with it if you want and take me to task, but it is MY theory.


TRUMP HAS WON


Even if he loses in Nov. - HE HAS WON


His goal was turn each other against each other, and we have. THERE IS ZERO tolerance for measured views or for differing opinions or differing world views, you are either ALL with us or ALL against us, depending on which side you support.


AND we - either intentionally or blindly - assign motive to someone's words. IF someone (for example myself) says something you disagree with,  then you believe that they don't "get" it or that they are not fully aware of what they are talking about or that I might not be the person I claim to be, so you will label me as not "something" enough?


WE ARE SUPPOSED TO ALLOW FOR OPINIONS ON HERE!!


WE aren't supposed to allow ridicule, mocking, name-calling, insulting, what the HELL ever happened to respectable disagreement?


I don't like the way the Right thinks, and the crazy theories they promote, so I have no use for the so-called Right, but I do believe there are still decent Republicans in America.

I DO consider myself progressive on policy but a pragmatist in my voting and party affiliation. I HAVE MY OWN OPINIONS, YOU HAVE YOURS.



SO because we are an OPINION channel, WHAT IS YOUR OPINION?????


ADDENDUM:

INCIDENTALLY: I intend to vote D across the board, have offered to drive seniors to voting booths or fill out their mail in ballots (without asking them their party affiliation), I have been talking long and loud to people in my town about ridding ourselves of Trump and his ilk.

JUST so you know.

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