A sudden surge of victims on DU - please stop!

[Hephaistos]

There have been, and still are, tons of threads in which southeners, gays, christians, etc., complain loudly about being bashed, disrespected, or sold out.

Yes, there have been some offensive posts lately. However, having lurked here daily since 2001, I am quite certain that the OVERWHELMING majority of DUers

- do NOT think all southeners are knuckle-dragging inbreds
- are supportive of equal rights for GLTBs and will NOT stand by idly as they are packed on the wagons
- respect freedom of religion and the religious opinions of fellow DUers, even if they disagree with those opinions

Lately it's almost like a large-scale psy-op has been unleashed to divide us. Think about it - nothing is easier to post a slur under a pseudonym, and then come back under a different name and loudly complain about intolerance.

Be particularly wary of those claiming to be driven away from our cause by the alleged intolerance.

I respectfully suggest the truly aggrieved direct their anger at the real danger facing us. That danger does not originate from fellow DUers.

[ClassWarrior]

1. Thanks Heph.

NGU.

[Pithlet]

2. I think some people have a legitimate beef.

There were far too many posts stating we need to give up on gays to attract more votes, for example. There was a lot of crap here after Nov 2. A lot of fear and anger. We're still seeing the effects.

You are dead on, here: "Be particularly wary of those claiming to be driven away from our cause by the alleged intolerance." Nothing smells more like closet freeper then statements like that.

[Hephaistos]

13. No doubt there was nasty stuff said

as is to be expected on an open internet forum where people post under pseudonyms. One poster may be tipsy, another had a bad day at the office, or a fight with the SO, and proceed to let off some steam online. It's bad with email, it's even worse on forums.

An offensive post warrants a short rebuke and an alert. But not dozens of threads.

[Pithlet]

17. I agree.

That has been my point in the Christian bashing thread. It gets to the point where people are bashing anyone who is anything like that people that bashed them to begin with. It's insane.

[RegexReader]

21. it is definitely not as bad

as the BS at the office here in a red state. Suck it up and drive on. We need to get the party back on track by getting a fighter like John Edwards as the chair of the DNC to take it to the freepers.

RegexReader
$USA =~ s/Republican/Democrat/ig;

[sam sarrha]

3. I am in the Heartland of the south..It is pretty intollerent here... in

rural areas.. If you dont go to church you are suspect. when i am intorduced to someone they usually say.."Pleased to meet you what church do you go to ?"

[tedzbear]

4. Where are you? Alabama???

I have a retired lesbian friend who moved to North Carolina. She is one brave woman.

:bounce:

[Anakin Skywalker]

8. Thanks for the Info.

I will make sure to never visit such areas.

[Catch22Dem]

9. My wife and I make fun of that all the time...

Here in Okla. when we meet the parents of friends of our daughter, the automatically say "so where do you go to church" as if GOING was a forgone conclusion, leaving only the WHERE unanswered. She has one friend who isn't allowed to come over because we don't go to church. Fuck them.

[blm]

5. The psyops have been pretty heavy lately.

They aim to make us eat our own. They do it after every election.

Clinton won and they still turned enough Dems against him to make the Congress turn over in 94.

[tedzbear]

6. I have switched to the Green Party and I am not a freeper.

I was ABB and voted for Kerry because of that. But now I have vowed to vote only for the candidate who really represents my beliefs (not for the less evil of the two).

Go Green, go!

:bounce:

[Catch22Dem]

12. So why hang out at DEMOCRATIC underground?

One of our stated objectives is to promote democratic causes and elect democrats to office nationwide.

[tedzbear]

14. Read the DU membership requirements, thank u.

It doesn't say a member has to be a Democrat.

[Catch22Dem]

19. You're absolutely right, and I never suggested you were breaking rules...

But if you decide to stay, will you promote the defeat of Democratic candidates in 2006?

[JuniperLea]

7. it's 2004 people!

jeez! didn't jesus hang out with prostitutes and stuff? man, where is our tolerance? love the sinner hate the sin? who does it hurt for people to be gay? i'm so sick of the self-righteous i could puke!

[sweetheart]

10. Let Thelma and Louise take a dive

The care that went in to DU before the election has many of the
posters backing off, and others just blowing major steam and
frustration as if we're all on a thelma and louise leap.

I just scanned GD and notice nothing but what i call "high school"
threads... so it seems that the propagandists who were working
seriously up to the election are taking a rest leaving the kids
to bicker, blame and be generally divisive.

If someone is not mature enough to "get" the point you've seen,
then oh' well...

DU has become the place the conservatives can come to gloat over
the poor libbies, and even more so, the hatred is stewing as if
they're planning to turn DU in to a republican outpost.

Let the children play. At least they'll learn.

[Hephaistos]

20. Happens to me, too

Back in the old days I used to read EVERY thread. After a while, you can predict the content of about half of them just from the title and/or author.

However, the prominence of the election has driven a lot of new and potentially valuable visitors here who do NOT have that experience. I am worried that many leave with the impression that this place is where angry libs come to bash each other. Multiple 'victim' threads reinforce that impression.

[pleiku52cab]

11. Direct our anger at the real danger facing us

the real danger is JK and the DNC rolling over and playing dead. Don't they realize that voter fraud can and will (if it hasn't already) destroy our democracy. We must protest this election not only for ourselves but to insure that the one person - one vote basis of The Worlds Oldest Democracy 'shall not disappear from the face of the earth'

[SmokingJacket]

15. I agree about the psy-op.

I think most people here realize that splitting into factions only makes the thugs stronger.

[George_S]

16. WARNING From the Dean blog

BLOG PRIMER (reminder)

For those of you new to the campaign or this blog, welcome. Here are a few tips on the blog and the trolls (message board sociopaths).

This blog is a great place to pick up on breaking news and to provide feedback to our people-powered campaign. Read it, Post on it. Get involved and help take your country back!

You can also dismiss some of the posts here – Don’t get too upset with the negative anti-Dean or anti-(fill in the name of the canidate) B.S. you see. Those negative posts usually come from trolls. Trolls post here for one reason only; to disrupt the conversation. You will never know who they are or whom they support, regardless of the content of the post or the name. One person may be posting under different names, with different genders. They may even be paid operatives. It might be easier for you if you just think of every one of them as Karl Rove (Bush's right hand man and top political advisor who built his career in politics for him). Also, beware the stealth-troll post; the one that starts with something like “I was supporting Dr. Dean, but ever since…” These trolls want to start a Dean-bashing session. The best way to deal with them is to ignore them completely. Scroll over their vile garbage. NEVER respond to a troll, and NEVER use the name of a troll in your own posts. I must confess however that I from time to time respond with a (scroll) message to let it be known that their garbage is not being read and make it known that there is nothing worth reading from them.

These "Clark" trolls are not Clark supporters (just like Kerry Trolls are not real Kerry supporters and so on). They are FREEPER/GOP provocateurs. Real Clark, Kerry, Gephardt, etc. supporters are not "anti-Dean", and are busy working to get their respective candidates the nomination. Real supporters of the other candidates are posting on their own blogs, not spending 24/7 here.

These are not Clark (or other candidate) supporters, these are not even Dem supporters. They are FREEPER (Free Republic, aka the loony Clinton killed Vince Foster rabid-right) trolls. Thus some Dean supporters are lured into misguided, fact devoid anti-Clark posts in retaliation. If you find yourself tempted to do this, be aware that such retaliatory posts do NOTHING to help Dean, do NOTHING to help Dems, and do NOTHING but increase acrimony between camps while it DOES help sow dissent within the Dem camps. This of course HELPS Chimpy (aka "President" Bush). In fact some of the apparent Dean supporter anti-(Insert name here) retaliatory attacks are sometimes not even Dem or Dean supporters as well. Just sock puppets (a poster posting as multiple people under different names) in order to flood the blog with their inane garbage and increase the acrimony. Their ideal end goal is to instigating a flame war between blogs and camps and make themselves the focus of conversation and debate. It is a surprisingly common tactic of trolls.

Occasionally a troll here is a single-issue extremist, who seeks to use the high-visibility of this blog to further their own axe-grinding agenda. This is akin to the old rainbow head wig guy (dating myself here) who used to go to sporting events back in the late 70s and early 80s in order to get on camera and hold up a "John 3:16" sign during free-throw shots, etc. So don't be fooled by trolls. Don't respond with intra-party flames and attacks. We will need the REAL Clark supporters, and the REAL Gep supporters, REAL Kerry supporters, etc. come November. Never forget that. Right now those supporters and their chosen candidates are our competition, but they are not, nor should they be our enemy.

Furthermore, the Press regularly monitors this site. They are mostly interested in getting a by-line and some fast press with a blog-bite. You’ll see reports citing blog posts, usually from trolls, taken out of context and reported on the press as indicative of the campaign. The best way to deal with bad press is to write to the editor, cancel your subscriptions, donate to Dr. Dean and stop watching the corporate news. We’re onto them now. Maybe one day we’ll see real journalism replace the corporate sound-bite reporting mentality, but it won’t be anytime soon. (My apologies to the few members of the press out here who actually ‘get’ what this is about, and are able to file complete stories without bias – we’re learning who you are, and we thank you and your organizations for speaking the truth).

Finally, a safety Tip: You may not wish to use your real email address, as they are picked up and you may get some nasty stuff from the gutter, and when you do post, try to keep your posts short (shorter than this one anyway).

Enjoy! Posted by: Mitchell Gore at January 17, 2004 02:35 PM | Link

[donheld]

18. You are quite right

These are the people who need our support now more than anyone. The southern DUers, the Gays, lesbians, Christians, etc. no doubt feel horribly beat upon by the "reds" already we must not add to this feeling.

:pals: