2016 Postmortem

I know why DU exists. It exists solely to help the democratic party. I generally love the democratic party. I see myself as a progressive-liberal sort though, and I fall more in line with your first progressive definition than the second, 'loyalty above all else' definition. When those you should be simpatico with start doing things you disagree with, do you stay with them, or do you follow your heart (I.E. principles)?

I don't know where I'm going to be in relation to DU coming up. It's pretty sickening when I try to make a post trying to get people to 'see' from another person's perspective, and all they do is roll their eyes, or some such in a demeaning fashion. It's child-like and completely disrespectful. Perhaps this divide is caused by people not even attempting to see from another person's perspective, but instead just hunkering down into their own little thought processes. I've posted threads which I have felt were completely valid that ended locked, perhaps because they weren't necessarily shining a 100% positive light on the democratic party. I'm a big believer in seeing things as they are, not how you want them to be. So... you take the good with the bad and make your judgments accordingly. My philosophy: more information is better.

I understand this is Skinner's site, and he can run it as he pleases, but that doesn't take the sting out of getting posts locked down that I felt were probably in the clear as being fair, balanced, informative, and not even critical of Clinton herself. (Edit: Seriously, it had to do with search engine algorithms.)

So... Perhaps in time I will join Herb despite the fact that my vote is nearly 100% sure to go to Clinton. I can't imagine a Trump White House. I also... just... at times have difficulty with the nature of how this forum works. "Cheer on Clinton or shut the hell up " type mentality. It's similar to religion in a certain way, and certainly some people here are just as fanatical about Clinton as others are about their religion. That's a major turn-off for me. Fanaticism usually foregoes logic.

Anyway, thank you again for your very excellent post. You touched on a lot of issues I have had to deal with internally here.

In closing, driving thoughtful people away does not make for a better community. I will miss Herb and the numerous others whom have taken leave over the past few months.