# the death of the Dope **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [August 15, 2019, 12:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-death-of-the-dope/838695 "2019-08-15T12:56:17Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 17
**Author:** ![Atamasama](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/atamasama/32/12961_2.png) [@Atamasama](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Atamasama)\ **Post date:** [August 22, 2019, 2:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-death-of-the-dope/838695/321 "2019-08-22T02:27:31Z")
> [@Kimstu](#): > > What I was asking **bump** for cites about, on the other hand, was his claim that the SDMB in general was somehow operating as an “echo chamber” trying to shut down “disagreement with the party line” on subjects where rational people can disagree. I still don’t know why you jumped into that exchange between me and **bump** when your suggested example didn’t actually pertain to the subject. I disagree with the idea that this place is an echo chamber for people on the left. I mean, in the sense that people on the left vastly outweigh those on the right, and they support each other in their disgust for right wing thought, yes. But an echo chamber assumes everyone agreeing about everything and that’s far from the case. People on the left argue with each other all the time and this place is no exception. For just one example among many, those on the left who support a Palestinian state will likely feud with LGBTQ advocates who don’t support a culture that criminalizes those who aren’t heterosexual. The left isn’t a homogenous set of ideals that an entire group subscribes to. There are conflicting ideologies under that umbrella which will ensure this place continues to engage in vigorous debate even without significant participation from right wing thinkers. (Cue snarky comments about how “right wing thinker” is an oxymoron… ;)) ---
**Author:** ![Bone](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bone/32/407_2.png) [@Bone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bone)\ **Post date:** [August 22, 2019, 2:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-death-of-the-dope/838695/322 "2019-08-22T02:53:19Z")
> [@Kimstu](#): > > I have no problem acknowledging that there are a lot of individual Dopers who strongly oppose many conservative viewpoints, which seems to be all you’re actually providing evidence for. > > What I was asking **bump** for cites about, on the other hand, was his claim that the SDMB in general was somehow operating as an “echo chamber” trying to shut down “disagreement with the party line” on subjects where rational people can disagree. I still don’t know why you jumped into that exchange between me and **bump** when your suggested example didn’t actually pertain to the subject. > Make up your mind: When a lot of individual Dopers strongly oppose many conservative viewpoints, do you consider that _“super tedious”_ and _“unappealing”_ and a lack of _“openness”_ and a reason why _“engaging just isn’t worth it”_, as you claimed earlier, or do you consider it _“fine”_ because you are equally entitled to strongly oppose many progressive and liberal viewpoints? > > What you’re exhibiting here is a self-contradictory mishmash of resentment that many conservative views are so generally unpopular on the Dope, and denial that you’re complaining about many conservative views being so generally unpopular on the Dope. Don’t get me wrong, my favorite posters here are people who disagree with me often. I always appreciate well reasoned and supported arguments. It’s just the crazy fuckheads I don’t engage with. There’s this thought that it’s difficult to not engage because reasons. But really, it’s pretty simple for a functioning adult. ---
**Author:** ![Kimstu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/ecd19e/32.png) [@Kimstu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kimstu)\ **Post date:** [August 22, 2019, 3:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-death-of-the-dope/838695/323 "2019-08-22T03:04:03Z")
> [@Bone](#): > > There’s this thought that it’s difficult to not engage because reasons. But really, it’s pretty simple for a functioning adult. I agree; there are several Dopers that I almost never respond to simply because they’re irrational and/or mendacious to the point of uselessness. Not even directly refuting their absurd claims can get the exchange down to a net negative delta-ignorance. (Of course, there are also a whole lot of Dopers that I almost never respond to simply because I don’t have any quarrel or nitpick with what they’re saying.) ---
**Author:** ![Guest-starring\_Id](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guest-starring_id/32/21736_2.png) [@Guest-starring\_Id](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Guest-starring_Id)\ **Post date:** [August 22, 2019, 3:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-death-of-the-dope/838695/324 "2019-08-22T03:11:02Z")
> [@Atamasama](#): > > I disagree with the idea that this place is an echo chamber for people on the left. I mean, in the sense that people on the left vastly outweigh those on the right, and they support each other in their disgust for right wing thought, yes. > > But an echo chamber assumes everyone agreeing about everything and that’s far from the case. People on the left argue with each other all the time and this place is no exception. For just one example among many, those on the left who support a Palestinian state will likely feud with LGBTQ advocates who don’t support a culture that criminalizes those who aren’t heterosexual. The left isn’t a homogenous set of ideals that an entire group subscribes to. There are conflicting ideologies under that umbrella which will ensure this place continues to engage in vigorous debate even without significant participation from right wing thinkers. > > (Cue snarky comments about how “right wing thinker” is an oxymoron… ;)) Plus billions. I hope every right winger here reads that and _never fucking stupidly dares again_ to spew the “leftist echo chamber” horsey-poo. ---
**Author:** ![octopus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/octopus/32/3716_2.png) [@octopus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/octopus)\ **Post date:** [August 22, 2019, 3:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-death-of-the-dope/838695/325 "2019-08-22T03:44:49Z")
> [@Guest-starring\_Id](#): > > Plus billions. > I hope every right winger here reads that and _never fucking stupidly dares again_ to spew the “leftist echo chamber” horsey-poo. Just because the majority are not in 100% agreement doesn’t mean this isn’t an echo chamber. Your post is probably another good example of the no true Scotsman fallacy. ---
**Author:** ![Guest-starring\_Id](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guest-starring_id/32/21736_2.png) [@Guest-starring\_Id](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Guest-starring_Id)\ **Post date:** [August 22, 2019, 3:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-death-of-the-dope/838695/326 "2019-08-22T03:57:00Z")
> [@octopus](#): > > Just because the majority are not in 100% agreement doesn’t mean this isn’t an echo chamber. Your post is probably another good example of the no true Scotsman fallacy. Nah, echo chambers are reflected by uniform agreement. Period. Which is why right wingers are more hive-minded than lefties are. Show me any thread, anywhere, with disagreement among right wingers. You can’t. ---
**Author:** ![octopus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/octopus/32/3716_2.png) [@octopus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/octopus)\ **Post date:** [August 22, 2019, 4:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-death-of-the-dope/838695/327 "2019-08-22T04:02:37Z")
> [@Guest-starring\_Id](#): > > Nah, echo chambers are reflected by uniform agreement. Period. Which is why right wingers are more hive-minded than lefties are. Show me any thread, anywhere, with disagreement among right wingers. You can’t. I’ve disagreed with some of the more extreme libertarians which typically get lumped with the right. I have agreed that UBI might just be a good idea. I don’t like forced patriotism and I think Kaepernick has a point. I don’t echo every right wing idea. Hell, I even think Trump is a nut. ---
**Author:** ![Guest-starring\_Id](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guest-starring_id/32/21736_2.png) [@Guest-starring\_Id](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Guest-starring_Id)\ **Post date:** [August 22, 2019, 4:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-death-of-the-dope/838695/328 "2019-08-22T04:04:45Z")
> [@octopus](#): > > I’ve disagreed with some of the more extreme libertarians which typically get lumped with the right. I have agreed that UBI might just be a good idea. I don’t like forced patriotism and I think Kaepernick has a point. I don’t echo every right wing idea. Hell, I even think Trump is a nut. Sure, point taken, but I would’ve preferred to see a cite where those views were opposed by another right winger here. ---
**Author:** ![Atamasama](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/atamasama/32/12961_2.png) [@Atamasama](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Atamasama)\ **Post date:** [August 22, 2019, 4:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-death-of-the-dope/838695/329 "2019-08-22T04:11:22Z")
> [@Guest-starring\_Id](#): > > Sure, point taken, but I would’ve preferred to see a cite where those views were opposed by another right winger here. Do you think HD would agree to all those views? Or Urban Redneck? I doubt it. ---
**Author:** ![Dale\_Sams](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/779978/32.png) [@Dale\_Sams](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dale_Sams)\ **Post date:** [August 22, 2019, 4:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-death-of-the-dope/838695/330 "2019-08-22T04:13:09Z")
> [@begbert2](#): > > I’m a fat dude - it was recently determined that I weigh more than both my parents put together, which means that my fat alone weighs as much as an adult human. And when I hear somebody calling Trump fat, I hear people pointing out that he’s a liar and a tool. The fatass has had his pet doctor write lies into official government documents to pretend he’s not as much of a fatass as his fat ass makes him. > > That said, I don’t really notice people calling him fat much - after all, what _really_ bothers him are his tiny, tiny hands. His tiny, babylike hands. > > And the fun part about _that_ bit of body-shaming is that it’s Trump-specific; he’s the first and _only_ instance I’ve heard of somebody being bothered by having small hands. Rian “Round-head” Johnson sympathizes. ---
**Author:** ![Guest-starring\_Id](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guest-starring_id/32/21736_2.png) [@Guest-starring\_Id](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Guest-starring_Id)\ **Post date:** [August 22, 2019, 4:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-death-of-the-dope/838695/331 "2019-08-22T04:18:25Z")
> [@Atamasama](#): > > Do you think HD would agree to all those views? Or Urban Redneck? I doubt it. Oh curses, you disagreeing leftie! ::impotently shakes fist:: ---
**Author:** ![Guest-starring\_Id](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guest-starring_id/32/21736_2.png) [@Guest-starring\_Id](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Guest-starring_Id)\ **Post date:** [August 22, 2019, 5:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-death-of-the-dope/838695/332 "2019-08-22T05:32:27Z")
To add: But to see disagreement among, like, _any_ of them, _in the same thread_? I guess I haven’t been here long enough to spot such a situation. Going out on a limb/guess here (because I’m not ultra familiar with the following), but I’d wager this place is waaaaaay less hivey than breitbart, 4-chan, gab, stormfront, and a whole whack of reddit fora. ---
**Author:** ![I\_Love\_Me\_Vol.I](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/i_love_me_vol.i/32/521_2.png) [@I\_Love\_Me\_Vol.I](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/I_Love_Me_Vol.I)\ **Post date:** [August 22, 2019, 8:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-death-of-the-dope/838695/333 "2019-08-22T08:11:19Z")
> [@Atamasama](#): > > But an echo chamber assumes everyone agreeing about everything and that’s far from the case. People on the left argue with each other all the time and this place is no exception. It’s true. Some people here think Trump’s immigrant detention centers are the equivalent of locking up children in Alcratraz. Others vehemently disagree and insist it’s the equivalent of locking kids up in Abu Grahib. ---
**Author:** ![iiandyiiii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/iiandyiiii/32/7924_2.png) [@iiandyiiii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/iiandyiiii)\ **Post date:** [August 22, 2019, 9:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-death-of-the-dope/838695/334 "2019-08-22T09:13:40Z")
> [@Bone](#): > > Don’t get me wrong, my favorite posters here are people who disagree with me often. I always appreciate well reasoned and supported arguments. Stop it, I’m blushing! And I love you too. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Budget\_Player\_Cadet](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/budget_player_cadet/32/205_2.png) [@Budget\_Player\_Cadet](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Budget_Player_Cadet)\ **Post date:** [August 22, 2019, 10:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-death-of-the-dope/838695/335 "2019-08-22T10:35:15Z")
> [@Bone](#): > > There’s more examples of course, but it is hard to take seriously the view that the SDBM isn’t unwelcoming to conservative viewpoints. In our defense: any site that isn’t unwelcoming to conservative viewpoints would be shit at fighting ignorance. Have you seen the places that are welcoming to conservative viewpoints lately? It’s not that they’re awful, it’s that they’re awful _[by the standards of subreddits](https://www.theverge.com/2019/6/26/18759967/reddit-quarantines-the-donald-trump-subreddit-misbehavior-violence-police-oregon)_. And this should come as no surprise, because the American right wing has continued its gradual slide away from the reality-based community and is currently rallying behind a president who is calling himself Jesus and canceling diplomatic missions with allies because they won’t sell him Greenland. I’m mostly just lost as to what you expect. What, you want us to respect your political opinions? Fuck you. Your political opinions about as worthy of respect as the shit I flushed down the toilet is worth hanging in the Louvre. Either abandon and fight back against the party that has gone completely fucking insane, or expect to be treated as though you endorse the positions of the party that has gone completely fucking insane. And they’re concentration camps, buddy. Deal with it. ---
**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:** [August 22, 2019, 10:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-death-of-the-dope/838695/336 "2019-08-22T10:46:08Z")
> [@octopus](#): > > I’ve disagreed with some of the more extreme libertarians which typically get lumped with the right. I have agreed that UBI might just be a good idea. I don’t like forced patriotism and I think Kaepernick has a point. I don’t echo every right wing idea. Hell, I even think Trump is a nut. If this means your personal example dispels any notion that right-wingers are an echo chamber, then the multiple disagreements among the many left-wing members of this board dispels any comparable claim about them. If you still want to claim “well, _I’m_ an individual, but _you guys_ are a hive”, then your reputation as an idiot remains unjeopardized. ---
**Author:** ![octopus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/octopus/32/3716_2.png) [@octopus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/octopus)\ **Post date:** [August 22, 2019, 11:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-death-of-the-dope/838695/337 "2019-08-22T11:37:30Z")
> [@Bryan\_Ekers](#): > > If this means your personal example dispels any notion that right-wingers are an echo chamber, then the multiple disagreements among the many left-wing members of this board dispels any comparable claim about them. > > If you still want to claim “well, _I’m_ an individual, but _you guys_ are a hive”, then your reputation as an idiot remains unjeopardized. Merely agreeing is not what makes the hive mind the hive mind. ---
**Author:** ![LAZombie](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/b38774/32.png) [@LAZombie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LAZombie)\ **Post date:** [August 22, 2019, 11:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-death-of-the-dope/838695/338 "2019-08-22T11:50:29Z")
> [@iiandyiiii](#): > > I responded to it, and you ignored me. Probably because you’re a troll who offers nothing beneficial to this board. The real death of dope are posters like you who pollute and fill up every thread with unnecessary and dull responses. I see an interesting thread and it instantly becomes a shit fest because of the same dozen or so usual suspects. What’s the point of posting 10 pages into subject? Someone really needs to do an intervention with you and let you know you are not insightful, informative, witty, provocative, revelatory, witty, or amusing. All you and most of the posters here do is serve up liberal boilerplate. Let other people with other viewpoints express themselves. You might learn something. ---
**Author:** ![iiandyiiii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/iiandyiiii/32/7924_2.png) [@iiandyiiii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/iiandyiiii)\ **Post date:** [August 22, 2019, 11:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-death-of-the-dope/838695/339 "2019-08-22T11:58:40Z")
> [@LAZombie](#): > > The real death of dope are posters like you who pollute and fill up every thread with unnecessary and dull responses. I see an interesting thread and it instantly becomes a shit fest because of the same dozen or so usual suspects. What’s the point of posting 10 pages into subject? > > Someone really needs to do an intervention with you and let you know you are not insightful, informative, witty, provocative, revelatory, witty, or amusing. All you and most of the posters here do is serve up liberal boilerplate. > > Let other people with other viewpoints express themselves. You might learn something. 😃 Lookout guys, the troll is upset! ---
**Author:** ![Ludovic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7ab992/32.png) [@Ludovic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ludovic)\ **Post date:** [August 22, 2019, 12:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-death-of-the-dope/838695/340 "2019-08-22T12:00:07Z")
> [@Budget\_Player\_Cadet](#): > > And they’re concentration camps, buddy. Deal with it. What a persuasive and convincing argument. And by that I mean “so bad that it almost makes me shift my opinion toward their _not_ being concentration camps despite being on the fence about it.” [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-death-of-the-dope/838695.md?page=16) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-death-of-the-dope/838695.md?page=18)