# I pit exaggeration about SDMB partisan-ness **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [January 6, 2010, 10:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-exaggeration-about-sdmb-partisan-ness/523968 "2010-01-06T22:30:18Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![MaxTheVool](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/9fc29f/32.png) [@MaxTheVool](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MaxTheVool)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2010, 1:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-exaggeration-about-sdmb-partisan-ness/523968/21 "2010-01-07T01:44:53Z")
> [@Airman\_Doors\_USAF](#): > > So once they are inevitably met with vitriol, are we to ignore the insults for your benefit, just turn the other cheek? It appears that you are suggesting that we do exactly that, and that is unreasonable. Of course, if we respond the thread descends into madness, which plays right into the argument you’re making in this thread. > > I hope you can see that we’re damned if we do and damned if we don’t. I guess I’m saying two things: (1) Whether or not you respond to the vitriol (and it’s certainly hard not to), don’t let that stop you from responding to, and acknowledging the existence of, the NON-vitriol. (2) Don’t start thinking about the SDMB left as “Der Trihs, Diogenese and a bunch of other guys”, aka “the usual suspects”. Think of the SDMB left as “a whole bunch of people with various positions and levels of knowledge and interest about those positions, plus a few people with extreme positions whose prominence is out of proportion to their numbers”. ---
**Author:** ![MaxTheVool](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/9fc29f/32.png) [@MaxTheVool](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MaxTheVool)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2010, 1:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-exaggeration-about-sdmb-partisan-ness/523968/22 "2010-01-07T01:46:18Z")
> [@xtisme](#): > > Of course, another answer could be that the boards former conservatives were driven out…or chose to leave because they were increasingly harried by other members on this board. And I’m not denying that happens. It’s certainly 100% the case that conservative posters on this board are going to get more vitriolic and unpleasant and unreasonable and insulting responses than one would wish. The question, though, is whether this fact becomes the defining lens through which we view all board interactions. ---
**Author:** ![Bryan\_Ekers](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bryan_ekers/32/183_2.png) [@Bryan\_Ekers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bryan_Ekers)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2010, 2:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-exaggeration-about-sdmb-partisan-ness/523968/23 "2010-01-07T02:01:35Z")
Heck, I’ve done _my_ best to point out logical flaws in pro-life and anti-SSM arguments without making it personal, to little avail. ---
**Author:** ![XT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/xt/32/456_2.png) [@XT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/XT)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2010, 2:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-exaggeration-about-sdmb-partisan-ness/523968/24 "2010-01-07T02:04:48Z")
Are you saying you are anti-life??? :eek: (just kidding) -XT ---
**Author:** ![Jackmannii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jackmannii/32/311_2.png) [@Jackmannii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jackmannii)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2010, 2:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-exaggeration-about-sdmb-partisan-ness/523968/25 "2010-01-07T02:12:33Z")
> [@xtisme](#): > > Are you saying you are anti-life??? :eek: No, he’s an antenatalist. ---
**Author:** ![Bryan\_Ekers](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bryan_ekers/32/183_2.png) [@Bryan\_Ekers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bryan_Ekers)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2010, 2:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-exaggeration-about-sdmb-partisan-ness/523968/26 "2010-01-07T02:16:17Z")
> [@Jackmannii](#): > > No, he’s an antenatalist. Well, I guess I celebrated all those birthdays for nothing, then. ---
**Author:** ![spifflog](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c5a1d2/32.png) [@spifflog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/spifflog)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2010, 2:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-exaggeration-about-sdmb-partisan-ness/523968/27 "2010-01-07T02:22:53Z")
While most of my friends consider me middle of the road or slightly left of center, on this board my arguments are viewed as conservative. And I’ve all but given up arguing politics. I just get sick of defending my positions 12 ways from Sunday. ---
**Author:** ![MaxTheVool](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/9fc29f/32.png) [@MaxTheVool](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MaxTheVool)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2010, 2:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-exaggeration-about-sdmb-partisan-ness/523968/28 "2010-01-07T02:37:32Z")
> [@spifflog](#): > > While most of my friends consider me middle of the road or slightly left of center, on this board my arguments are viewed as conservative. And I’ve all but given up arguing politics. I just get sick of defending my positions 12 ways from Sunday. Which is a shame, but I am not pitting you unless you also start making hyperbolic claims about the SDMB as a whole. It is certainly the case that someone posting a “controversial” (in SDMB terms) position is likely to be inundated with arguments of varying types and levels of civility, etc. ---
**Author:** ![gonzomax](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e8c25b/32.png) [@gonzomax](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gonzomax)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2010, 5:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-exaggeration-about-sdmb-partisan-ness/523968/29 "2010-01-07T05:27:29Z")
I don’t share the divisions. I see this board as pretty middle of the road. The popular media has managed to create the definitions and they pretend there is a huge battle raging. But ,a lot of people don’'t see that damn much difference between the real liberals and main stream republicans. Liberals don’t fight for the programs they claim to believe in to get elected. They govern from the center. Unlike most repubs, Bush governed from the far right. that is unusual. Ford, Clinton, Bush 1 and most presidents stay pretty much in the middle. Our elections are sport and entertainment. Not reality. ---
**Author:** ![DMC](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dmc/32/18049_2.png) [@DMC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DMC)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2010, 5:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-exaggeration-about-sdmb-partisan-ness/523968/30 "2010-01-07T05:29:19Z")
I posted [something similar](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=278358) years ago, and spent the majority of my time trying to justify why I considered so-and-so to be a conservative, or dealing with stupid comparisons between the 50 or so that I named quickly versus every single person who had ever registered, as if one could assume that everyone I didn’t name was a flaming liberal. All of that even though I quite clearly stated: [QUOTE=DMC] This is not a pitting of conservatives in general, conservatives on this board, or conservative tactics. It’s simply pitting those who feel they are all alone, and even then, I’m only pitting that particular aspect of their posts. [/QUOTE] One of the more relevant posts in that thread was from **John Mace** , who said: [QUOTE=John Mace] For those who keep insisting that this board slants left: does it matter? Nobody wins a debate around here by taking a poll. Do you think you lose a debate if more posters side against you? I just don’t get why some people make such a big deal about it. [/QUOTE] ---
**Author:** ![Chessic\_Sense](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/7c8e57/32.png) [@Chessic\_Sense](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chessic_Sense)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2010, 5:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-exaggeration-about-sdmb-partisan-ness/523968/31 "2010-01-07T05:32:01Z")
I make it a point to respond to political issues only with the outright dismissal of the left’s position, completely devoid of a supporting argument. Why? Because I tried arguing from a conservative standpoint. It goes absolutely nowhere. The more you reason, the more the liberals say things that are outright fuckin’ nuts. But the real nail in the coffin is that there are endless amounts of off-topic Republican-bashing comments that get thrown around here. Not a single person jumps in and says “wow…uncalled for.” Example: The pit thread about the “racist” KFC commercial. Someone says something to the sarcastic effect of “oh yeah, all those Obama-monkey dolls that the Republicans sold during the campaign wasn’t racist.” Did anyone stop to point out the huge exaggeration (I, for one, never saw or heard of such dolls) there? No. Of course not. Because bashing a Republican for no reason earns you Doper points and your avatar levels up. But flip it around. Take the thread about “What lies have Democrats said about Republicans?” and you get people bending over backwards to defend Democrat mudslinging as absolute truth. So that’s the reason for the “liberal hive-mind” and “don’t dare defend conservatism” comments. It’s just not worth the effort to elucidate. You think someone should defend the positions? Fine. You do it. I did my time in the trenches and got nowhere. So I’ll stick with my baseless assertions and accusations of liberal idiocy. ---
**Author:** ![elucidator](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/8edcca/32.png) [@elucidator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elucidator)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2010, 6:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-exaggeration-about-sdmb-partisan-ness/523968/32 "2010-01-07T06:21:24Z")
Do you mind if we tag you? Won’t hurt a bit, goes right on the ear, keep track of your migratory patterns. Mating habits, too, if you have such… ---
**Author:** ![XT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/xt/32/456_2.png) [@XT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/XT)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2010, 6:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-exaggeration-about-sdmb-partisan-ness/523968/33 "2010-01-07T06:27:18Z")
Where I come from we generally use spray paint… -XT ---
**Author:** ![elucidator](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/8edcca/32.png) [@elucidator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elucidator)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2010, 6:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-exaggeration-about-sdmb-partisan-ness/523968/34 "2010-01-07T06:30:15Z")
Well, its none of my business, but I reckon pot is better for you. ---
**Author:** ![Homebrew](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/c89c15/32.png) [@Homebrew](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Homebrew)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2010, 6:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-exaggeration-about-sdmb-partisan-ness/523968/35 "2010-01-07T06:33:26Z")
> [@Chessic\_Sense](#): > > I did my time in the trenches and got nowhere. So I’ll stick with my baseless assertions and accusations of liberal idiocy. Funny thing is, though, nobody could tell the difference when you made the change. ---
**Author:** ![BigT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bigt/32/12044_2.png) [@BigT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BigT)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2010, 9:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-exaggeration-about-sdmb-partisan-ness/523968/36 "2010-01-07T09:28:34Z")
The thing is, this happens all the time no matter what subject you talk about. There are always people who get really angry and respond poorly. I’ve tried to get the “Don’t be a jerk” rule to apply to this concept, but no one seems to want to. And then I find myself responding the same way. I guess I don’t see the point in complaining about it. Why can’t actual complaints be limited to the Pit? A feature I think would be awesome is to mark your post as a Pit post, so you could still respond in thread, but people uninterested in emotional overreactions could disable it. If only it wasn’t more work for the mods. ---
**Author:** ![Bryan\_Ekers](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bryan_ekers/32/183_2.png) [@Bryan\_Ekers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bryan_Ekers)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2010, 10:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-exaggeration-about-sdmb-partisan-ness/523968/37 "2010-01-07T10:49:28Z")
> [@Chessic\_Sense](#): > > I make it a point to respond to political issues only with the outright dismissal of the left’s position, completely devoid of a supporting argument. Why? Because I tried arguing from a conservative standpoint. It goes absolutely nowhere. The more you reason, the more the liberals say things that are outright fuckin’ nuts. But the real nail in the coffin is that there are endless amounts of off-topic Republican-bashing comments that get thrown around here. Heck, I’ll take you on, and though I might slip into sarcasm, I’m sure I can give solid reasoning for any number of liberal\* positions. \*I’m not actually an American liberal, but a Canadian who votes conservative, but I guess by the relative political spectra of our two nations, I’m sufficiently leftish for your purposes. ---
**Author:** ![Steampunk\_Willie](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/f6c823/32.png) [@Steampunk\_Willie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Steampunk_Willie)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2010, 11:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-exaggeration-about-sdmb-partisan-ness/523968/38 "2010-01-07T11:21:43Z")
\ To the conservatives who feel they are always cut off or shut down, why do these few guys who are doing so upsetting you so much? Either they are making themselves look like jackasses by not being able to properly defend their opposing view and it makes you and your opinion look better or they prove their point and you are wrong. Where is the issue? Some conservatives (not _all_ obviously and I shouldn’t even have to point this out. CLEARLY when someone says “The republicans did blah blah blah” they don’t actually mean ALL republicans. A 3rd grader should be able get that) don’t seem to realize that a lot of the time they are shut down by ‘liberals’ it is usually on social issues. If you believe I shouldn’t be allowed to get married and in the 21st century be a second class citizen in _America_ and your biggest defense is “That book says God said that” or “traditional values”, I am not going to take you seriously and will treat you the way someone with such a closed brainwashed mind deserves. If someone started a “Let’s bring back slavery!” thread on the board, would anyone think any black dopers would go in and honestly respect the person’s viewpoint? Run on sentences ftw!!! ---
**Author:** ![Bricker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/977dab/32.png) [@Bricker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bricker)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2010, 1:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-exaggeration-about-sdmb-partisan-ness/523968/39 "2010-01-07T13:22:45Z")
I disagree with the conclusions offered by the OP. But I’m pretty tired of the fight. The OP might wish to ask himself why so many conservatives… No, strike that. When I was younger we had an honorary uncle, the older son of a family friend, who used to tickle me and my brother unmercifully. But his idea of “tickle” was not the giggle-inducing thing my dad or mom did. No, for him, tickling was gouging his fingers into my side. And so, quite often, I used to say to him, “Stop it. That hurts!” And he’d reply confidently, “No, it doesn’t!” What I lacked the ability to articulate clearly back then, but certainly felt with increasing frustration, was, “What the hell? How are YOU able to tell ME what does and doesn’t hurt?” ---
**Author:** ![Jackmannii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jackmannii/32/311_2.png) [@Jackmannii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jackmannii)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2010, 1:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-exaggeration-about-sdmb-partisan-ness/523968/40 "2010-01-07T13:26:41Z")
Sort of like smokers telling nonsmokers that the smoke shouldn’t bother them. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-exaggeration-about-sdmb-partisan-ness/523968.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-exaggeration-about-sdmb-partisan-ness/523968.md?page=3)