(This is not about anyone or any thread on SDMB in particular. Although I think there are strains of it throughout a lot of the threads on here about touchy topics, the SDMB is one of the few places I think I can expect to hear reasoned debate instead of jingoistic extremist garbage as the norm.)
I’m tired of people on both sides of an issue telling me that I’m no different than their polar opposites. I’m tired of being told by gun control advocates that I’m nothing but a frothing-at-the-mouth gun nut because I don’t think the 2nd Amendment can be just wished away. I’m tired of NRA members calling me a leftist liberal elitist because I think that making someone wait 5 days and have a background check isn’t a huge burden in the purchase of a device that was designed to kill someone. I’m tired of gun control advocates telling me that there’s no reason that anyone should be able to purchase a “high powered rifle” because it’s a danger to little Timmy and all the little Timmies in the world. I’m tired of NRA members telling me that everyone and anyone should be able to walk into a sporting goods store and be able to purchase a military assault weapon because “… we have the right to keep and bear arms.”
I’m tired of Pro-Life assholes telling me that I condone the murder of babies because I admit that I don’t know when conception begins and that aborting a clump of cells is not the equivalent to murder. I’m tired of Pro-Choice morons telling me I can’t accept the idea of a woman having control of her body because I admit that late term abortions make me uncomfortable and that there’s nothing magical about passing through the birth canal that turns it from a fetus to a baby.
I’m tired of being told that I’m a sycophant if I don’t denigrate every single move made by President Bush since his inauguration. I’m tired of being told that I’m Un-American and aiding the terrorists if I do criticize some of his decisions. I’m tired of being told I’m divisive and incapable of moving on if I point out that the results from the 2000 Presidential election wasn’t exactly a clear cut endorsement of George W. Bush as a candidate. I’m tired of being called a sell-out if I don’t think that President Bush is a “pretender” or is presidency is illegitimate because of the irregularities in Florida.
I’m tired of being told that I’m divisive and ‘blaming the victim’ if I point out that there are short-comings in our foreign policy in the Middle East. I’m tired of being told that I’m an arrogant American for saying that rooting out and destroying the forces responsible for the attack on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon is the only possible response, no matter what the causes of the attack, real or imagined. I’m tired of being told I don’t care about anyone but Americans/Westerners/etc when I say that the deaths in Iraq (of whatever number they may be) are the fault of Saddam Hussein and not the fault of those enforcing the U.N. sanctions. I’m tired of being called a defeatist pussy (direct quote) if I point out that sanctions aren’t really working terribly well and maybe we need to look for other ways to effect change.
I’m tired of extremists trying to paint me and anyone else who might possibly be somewhere in the middle of an issue into the other camp of extremists. I’m tired of people “protesting” carrying around placards of Yasser Arafat as the hero of the downtrodden. He’s not Nelson Mandela, goddamn it. I’m tired of watching people labeling Ariel Sharon as “the next Hitler”. I’m tired of listening to people tell me that the suicide bombers are simply trying to fight back against the evil Israelis. I’m tired of hearing that Israel bulldozing three dozen houses in a refugee camp is a “proportional response” because 2 gunmen came from that camp.
I’m tired of being called a bloodthirsty murderer if I think that there are times that the death penalty is not only warranted, but the only sensible alternative. I’m tired of being called “soft on crime” when I say that the way the death penalty is applied in this country doesn’t make me comfortable and that some extra oversight might be in order, considering how final it is.
I’m tired of being called a potential rapist because I think that what does and does not constitute rape can be a cloudy issue in some instances. I’m tired of being called a pussy because no matter what someone is wearing they’re never fucking asking for it.
Fuck you dick-nose, just because I don’t believe in every single fucking point of their agenda, that doesn’t fucking mean that I’m diametrically opposed. Listen here, shit-swill, you morons have got to learn that “if you’re not with me, you’re against me” is not the answer to all of life’s little fucking problems. And not many of the big ones. I can be as dedicated and sure of myself on some issues as you are, you tunnel-vision, single track hobby horse riding mother fucker. But even when I’m sure that my point of view is the right one, I don’t make the mistake that everyone who disagrees with me is disagreeing with me for the same goddamn reasons. I’m tired of being pissed on by both sides of an issue just because I’m not jumping into the deep end of either side of the continuum.