- Joined
- Sep 12, 2012
- Messages
- 12,936
All of what you say may-or-may-not be true, but this board has the mission of supporting future, current and hopeful Military members with an interest in an SOF career first…everything else second; to include my beloved ‘dot thread’.
Before the year-long plus blackout, there was serious debate amongst the forum owner and the staff at that time to ‘wipe and ban’ any and all discussion of politics and religion on the forum. We were significantly more active with new members compared to now, and those threads (Pol &Rel ) were not only taking up bandwidth from the staff, but the arguments, accusations and insults were causing incredible relationship damage between very long time and respected members (to include some staff members).
It is not lost on me (and I’m sure many here) that a number of the forum ‘regulars’ stopped logging in and posting when the site came back online. In some of those cases, I know for an absolute fact it is directly related to the sting felt from political discourse here. That is a loss not just to the forum community as a whole, but also to the new members who come here seeking answers and not finding the SME that perhaps they would have back-in-the-day.
The insults were not only directed at each other, but also directed at the supporters of a specific position; when people care about a point, insulting the supporters of that point can be considered just as bad as a personal insult. It got ugly. Behind the scenes it was uglier than some of you could ever imagine; much of it is buried in some of the threads here, including this one. Some was so vile and triggering that ‘we’ deleted it to get conversations back on track.
Nobody knows that more than I. From my rooftop and the help of a good scope I could (and did) pretty much watch that city burn. I viewed on the TV as the Mayor and the Governor froze in panic and directed the surrender of a police precinct; they let the looters overrun and destroy it. I listened as an elected Muslim Representative in my state said about 9/11: “Some people did something”. Car jackings are so out of control (and continually done by the same group) that I do everything I can do avoid going into the city I once loved.
Of course I’m angry, pissed, and sometimes afraid, but I will forever believe that we cannot lower ourselves to their level; it is one of the reasons I am so disappointed and disillusioned with the Republican Party. I used to take pride in the belief that ‘we’ walked the high road and were not so easily offended, quick to throw an insult or triggered as our more left leaning citizens; that is just not the case anymore. Sad really.
I say all that to say this, many here probably agree with some of what you say. (Admittedly myself included from time-to-time), but you present your opinions in such a way that they smells like a shit-sandwich peppered with derogatory words and slang (especially true in the The self identity thread. ) that it is can be difficult to want to publicly support or engage with you.
You are obviously a pretty smart, and well researched dude; I may question the quality and accuracy of some of the info you post a ‘facts’, but I believe that you believe it. All I’m asking is that you (and everyone who posts) attempt to make your points without the over-the-top disparaging comments.
As this election looms, this thread is going to get significantly more active, and as a staff of 1, a repeat of 2020 is simply not an option.
Presidential Election thread Under Construction 
