Bush — Page 2

I hate to bring this thread to the top one more time... BUT:

My initial point was that there are 3-5 threads per week on the same topic over here.

(To those of you who've told me to shut up, I'm sure you would have much more lively discussions amongst yourselves with no antagonists present for you to rail at...)

I enjoy the discourse, but I just think that it's funny that the same 5-6 people are always over here saying the same things over and over.

Often a thread gets started with a good topic. Take for instance Gay Marriage. GREAT DISCUSSION TOPIC for this board... However, one or two of you (you know who you are) will start the thread off on a "W is a dimwit" tangent, and the thread is lost to viciousness and mudslinging (much like this presidential race will be). Any good ideas or rational thought (from either side) are lost in the churn. I hope that our presidential candidates don't follow our example, because there is a lot out there that needs to be worked on, and mudslinging and insult will not do anything to fix it.

I guess my plea was an "Amen" (maybe poorly worded) to Jack42's point that there was a perfectly good thread out there already. Message board etiquette, people. For a bunch of jerks who are all brought together over something that we all have in common, we are a nasty bunch.

(hangs his head in shame and disgust at his perpetual losses on this side of the board feeling much like he's be beaten by a gang of thugs)

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Call him anything you want...
It just cheapens what otherwise might be a good point in a thoughtful thread.

I can't wait to hear what y'all have to say when Kerry is in office and nothing gets better. (Especially THAT issue)

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Ckeaton: Though you and I have been publicly adversarial here in the last 24 hours, I do honestly see your point about repetition and redundancy at this board. When something happens -- the Bush press conference, Rosie's marriage, or Kristin Chenoweth dons her neck brace -- there are instantly multiple posts, much overlap. And yes, lightning-quick responses invariably invite us to shoot from the hip; they do result in a fair amount of voiced outrage.

But as Donald Rumsfeld has said famously in the past year, "democracy is messy!" A lot of us come here, feeling just that sense of "messiness," to voice emotional responses to issues that push our buttons. Messiness is a part of expression, and we are necessarily a self-editing crowd. It's been my observation that whenever we try to establish perimeters for the posting, or too carefully monitor ourselves or one another, we lose the precious gift here: saying what we need to get off our chests.

You're bothered by president-bashing, but I'm bothered by our turning on one another here, sometimes viciously; when that happens,the real value of this board is suddenly lost. It's like an argument that disentigrates into yelling; no one is heard. I can't control the repetition, but I vow to do my part to try and avoid ad hominem attack posts. Maybe respect, civility, even manners, while not required, make our arguments stronger, our expressed points of view persuasive.

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Updated On: 2/27/04 at 09:01 AM

Bravo!
We've all grown a little, I think.

(I think there's already a post on what people are 'giving up' for Lent, ad hominem there...)

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