The thing is that the OP is perfectly right. I don’t say that the regressive left comprises the majority of members here but they ate the most vocal and strident. And they, who would be the first to condemn bullying behavior, are the first to engage in piling on and bullying. And they do so proudly.
See the thing is that, around here, philosophical agreement is not enough. Agreement on objectives is not enough. No, you must agree with the regressive left on every nuance of their opinion or you will be pilloried. I have been called racist (because I believe that words are just sounds and outlawing a sound only increases it’s power.) I have been called transphobic (utterly bullshit term) because I believe it is a mental illness.
The fact that I believe transpeople should have access to the medical needs of their condition- up to and including full transition - and they should have absolute full-protection under the law and that fucking with trans-folk is abominable is utterly irrelevant.
The mods support this both tacitly and explicitly. An example, fuck you and variants, e.g., go fuck yourself, fuck off and die that seems pretty fucking clear-cut and yet there is still a pit thread entitled, “Fuck you Drad Dog” seems to me that’s a pretty obvious violation of a very clear rule. But it’s okay because he isn’t one of the cool kids. But I’ll bet a gillion dollars that had I made a pit-thread called, "Fuck you Una Person I’d be busted as soon as I hit enter.
Christ, a couple of weeks ago I drew a week long suspension for… who fucking knows? The notice I got said, “no specified reason.” I got no PM announcing it to me (standard procedure) nor was there an announcement on ATMB (standard procedure).
I also drew a suspension for “threatening” a poster by saying that if they had said the same thing in the past, in person, they’d have gotten a smack. Not, “I want to hit you”, not, “I’m going to hit you.” But rather, had you travelled the thousands of miles to get to my town and said that to my face you’d get a smack. There is precisely zero accepted definitions of threat that would apply to that statement.
Whether you all like to admit it or not this place is well on its way to becoming nothing but the regressive left proudly smarming over shutting up anyone who disagrees through numbers, verbal violence and capriciously applied “rules.”
I know I’m going to get slammed for this post (by the three people that actually read and the multitudes that just skim a line and then blow their wad.) I know this and I don’t care. I’ve figured out that if I’m to avoid banning I must either agree with positions that I don’t really support (trolling - but it’s for justice so it would be okay) or shut-up entirely.
I’m okay with that. I’ll get banned sooner or later and I’ll feel significantly less loss than I would have 5 years ago.
I guess establishing chill over dissent constitutes “fighting ignorance.” The hallmark of the regressive left.