A humble suggestion for Clinton, Edwards, Kucinich, Biden supporters

[ruggerson]

and everyone else who isn't an overly enthusiastic Obama supporter.

Don't take any of this too seriously.

It doesn't much matter if the more fervent Obama supporters here are really just trolls or actually incredibly destructive human beings who you would not spend more than a second with in real life.

If Obama ends up being our nominee, and you want to find a way to support him, an easy way, psychologically, is to stop reading the more fervent DU Obama supporter's posts.

Obama himself, whatever you may think of him, is a far better person than most of the people who advocate for him on this message board. At least he is a dedicated individual who is in the thick of a committed, important fight, not a deranged child or a very disturbed adult spewing irrational hatred on an anonymous online site.

Recently, business travel made me unable to read DU GD-P for a number of days. I read the newspaper, watched some CNN international and found I saw really good things in BOTH our leading candidates (not so much in the media itself unfortunately.) I found Obama to be a cheerful fighter. Not my first choice for President, but someone I can easily support in the fall.

When I came home and read DU, my mood immediately darkened. You cannot help but start to really dislike Obama, despite yourself, if you read the posts here. Sure, it's a psychological trick. You know that he is not responsible for the humanity, or lack thereof, of some of the people who support him. But, the negativity and the, I hate to say it, evil vibe is so overwhelming that it reflects on Obama no matter how much you understand that it is irrational to let it do so.

All this is not to say that there aren't some great Obama supporters here. There are. But even they, in their heart of hearts, know that this has been a bizarre online social experiment gone very awry. The bad seeds have taken over the asylum.

So, if you care about our country and if Obama is indeed our nominee, enjoy the other aspects of DU - GD, Video forum, Groups, etc. and only stop into GD-P when you have spent enough time away to observe it, and the folks addicted to it, with some sense of perspective.

Our country is far more important than angry people on a message board. Hold onto that and you'll find it's very easy to start seeing the good things about Barack Obama.

[Skittles]

1. I've put a lot of asshole Obamabots on Ignore

but they seem to be crawling out of the woodwork

[ruggerson]

2. Well

I don't use ignore, nor do I find it fun to use "bot" labels. This is less about harboring disdain for people than it is about moving past the more destructive ones and seeing the bigger picture.

[Seabiscuit]

19. I have over 800 of the on ignore and they're *still* crawling out of the woodwork.

It's like an outbreak of the bubonic plague.

[Tesha]

20. That's okay, most of them doubtless have you on ignore as well.

I'm not an Obamabot, just the sort of luke-warm supporter
described in the Original Post, but I'll bet I'm one of
your "800" because I can't stand Clinton.

Tesha

[grantcart]

3. Excellent piece - I look forward to rereading it tomorrow.

I think the overly enthusiastic responses from some on both sides has to do with how long they have look forward to their particular candidate fulfilling their individual hope. For me it seems like we are recapturing part of what was lost in 1969 with both Martin and Bobby.

[Why Syzygy]

6. Me too. It does feel that way. nt

[Beacool]

4. Sorry, but my dislike for Obama is not due to his immature fans.

They only add fuel to the fire, but I could never vote for someone who I honestly don't think is prepared to be president.

:shrug:

[Why Syzygy]

5. You're right.

Obama is a much better person than I am. No one should judge him by my behavior. Please.

[AGirl]

7. Obama is about HIS SUPPORTERS, ITS ABOUT THE MOVEMENT

so its perfectly legitimate to judge Obama based on the type of supporters he attracts

[merwin]

9. That makes no sense, and is illogical.

Obama is not defined by his followers. He is his own person, and people choose to follow him for their own reasons. Obama doesn't seem to play to a particular crowd or change his message.. however, there are a wide variety of Obama supporters, some are annoying as hell, and some aren't.

[AGirl]

10. it makes perfect sense, Obama wants to build a "people campaign" and i will judge him by the type

of supporters who want to be part of his movement. It might not be fair, but that's reality.

[merwin]

13. Obama preaches that we can rebuild our country and restore it

to it's previous greatness, with a message of hope and peace. Just because some people take it too far doesn't mean that Obama supports that. Don't judge him by the looniest of his followers. There are loonies following EVERY candidate, and they are usually the loudest.

[Tyler Durden]

24. "Obama preaches..."?

You see, that's what all of us who, at one time or another, supported someone else: "a tent revival."

A little too much "religious fervor" for me.

But hey, I'm from Michigan and my vote doesn't count for shit. What do I know?

[merwin]

26. The word "preach" means more than one thing...

To speak, plead, argue in favor of.

[grantcart]

11. well the thing about that whole judging thing is . . . .

[Name removed]

8. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[merwin]

12. Some people think the best way to defend their candidate is by tearing down others.

That is the problem of these people, and not Obama. You won't ever see Obama telling people to act this way. Unfortunately, some people on DU see it as the best way to try to change people's minds. In fact, it works in just the opposite way.

[grasswire]

14. I don't see him asking them to stop.

And why should he? He profits from what they do.

[merwin]

16. How does he profit from the nutcases in his court.

I'm not saying all Obama followers are nutcases, but there are several on DU who show their likeness to an Almond Joy. The majority of Obama followers are more like a Mounds bar.

The few crazies that are supporting Obama militantly are more likely to be ignored than anything else, similar to the militant Ron Paul supporters. They don't help Obama at all.

[Kaleva]

15. When Dean's campaign went South,

some of his most(self proclaimed)ardent supporters at his forum turned into vicious critics of him. Later, at the Kerry /Edwards forum, some members went postal on Kerry over errors and mis-steps that he and his campaign, in their opinion, committed.

I imagine when one puts so much of their hopes and dreams into a candidate, setbacks can be a gut wrenching experience and they feel the need to lash out.

[ruggerson]

23. that's an interesting point

I've noticed the vitriol here reaches absurd levels on primary nights when Clinton does well. Your analysis is quite perceptive.

[cboy4]

17. Yea I agree......I think there are probably only about a dozen

usual suspects that try to out asshole themselves on a daily basis here when it comes to their "support" for Obama.

Then there are the low-level idiots who try to fan the flames.

But you're right...you talk to some Obama supporters at work, or anywhere in the real world and they're nowhere as obnoxious.

That's why I would never allow what's said at DU to affect my voting decision IRL.

I don't trust Obama.

However, as far as I know, I'll support him if he's the nominee.

[JohnnyLib2]

18. Wise and thoughtful post. Thank you.

Recommended by this current Clinton and prospective Obama supporter.

[Adelante]

21. Good piece, ruggerson

From my vantage point, I wish both sides would cool down, but I've pretty much given up that notion until June.

But thank you for your effort :hi:

[mmonk]

22. Thank you for the more rational approach towards Obama.

However, to put the discord only on Obama supporters is to live an Alice in Wonderland existence. That being said, no matter which candidate emerges, democrats must find unity before the fall and must show up at the polls in November. McCain will be be, make no mistake, a continuance of our country marching into darkness.

[Tyler Durden]

25. It would help if people stopped posting shit like this:

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=132&topic_id=5424621&mesg_id=5424621

supposing themselves to be witty.

[Solon]

29. I avoided that thread, both religious bigotry and sexism, all in one!

I really can't continence why the Mods allow those people to continue to post on this board, its reprehensible.

[ruggerson]

30. Unfortunately

there are a number of those every day.

[Buzz Clik]

27. Do a global search/replace of "Hillary" for "Obama" and it still works.

Funny how that goes.

[tishaLA]

28. You're right. It's a good strategy to stay sane

I remember, as a Clark supporter in 04, how angry I used to get with the Dean supporters, how I was never a fan of Kerry, and vowed that I would never support a ticket with John Edwards anywhere near it. And then....I became a big cheerleader of the Kerry campaign, alongside those who had been my "enemies" only a couple months before.

This time, the protracted, acrimonious nature of the campaign makes it much harder to envision the same transformation taking place, but I think, and I hope, it will.

[mdmc]

31. yes