Then everytime it comes up in a completely different forum or post, it gets regurgitated.
Like you invented the thing.
Or are the only person who ever had that POV.
People are fickle. They don’t always express themselves clearly. Or are not given the time to finesse their thoughts on a subject.
I suspect it was worse in the early days of the board.
You don’t have to be married to a particular idea to have an opinion on it.
★ @Spice_Weasel , I’m glad you got your work started/done.
If we here are just an activity to relieve your stress I’d like to be one who is on your front burner. You do damn well in just a relief state.
Not all Zen teachers are enlightened. I also remember one claiming that the best thing a woman could do was to pray to be born as a man in her next reincarnation, as it would be impossible for her to attain enlightning in this current life as a female. Which, taken together, seems to me to imply that dogs are superior to women, which is obviously silly. My wife, a cat lover if there ever was one, was not amused.
Now, back to our missing tea.
My teacher was joking. I’m not really a dog person. I like them okay. I love cats and enjoy their mischievous nature, and I found the comparison amusing. After all, Mara isn’t really evil in the conventional sense, more like antagonistic. Eventually Buddha invites Mara to tea.
Yes, there is a problem with patriarchy within many Buddhist traditions. Buddha himself was kinda iffy on women in his inner circle. One of the reasons my teacher left his previous temple was the unfair treatment of women and LGBTQ people. I like this place in part for its inclusivity. And also in part for the jokes.
Like the sign in the bathroom that says “Leave no trace of self.”
I’m returning to the OP, actually it’s title, the claim that it not just bad for the OP’s mental and physical health (which it seems to be) for “yours too” - which includes me, and the request to be proven wrong.
@k9bfriender - certainly those who would endorse themselves as MB “crack addicts” are best served by abstinence.
But there are many of us who can and do interact with these fora differently, inclusive of stepping away from conversations that are just getting too frustrating.
Hell I stepped away from the whole Quarantine Zone fairly early on. (Too many who reacted with hostility to my concerns about closing down schools and the harms it would cause with no evidence that would it bring any let alone significant benefit and other attacks that began to feel personal) We can (within the rules) use this place however we want. What’s your interest today? There’s a forum for that. Within reason. Sometimes it’s a good productive disagreement that makes me defend or even reconsider my beliefs. Sometimes asking questions. Sometimes enjoying reading good questions asked and answered. Sometimes just having a giggle. Sometimes trying to help answer someone else’s question.
This is a kind of playground for some of us. Nothing too important, other than that play is important for our health.
My sentiments exactly. I had to deal with my own mental health issues in the past, years before I joined this this board in 2000. It’s been a huge benefit for me and my health overall, far outweighing any annoyance it ever caused me.
Same here. I’d lurked during the turn of the century (no, not 1899 ya whippersnappers…) to get a feel for the board. Finally decided this was going to be my only online community and started posting.
Y’all got me through a really tough workplace in the 'Oughts, and then really came to the rescue during The Pandemic.
So big thanks, everyone!
But I did have to learn to walk away from a thread if it gets too negative. I should thank the mods for riding herd on many of those.
I think it’s like anyplace else. Good and bad.
You throw folks in. Mix em up and any old thing could get said.
What’s that saying?
“You can please some of the people, some of the time…but You can’t please all of the people all of the time.”
The few I find contentious are not nearly as important as those who I enjoy.
Not to say I haven’t felt the sting, I have.
But I’ve found a way to deal with it now.
In my very red corner of a blue state, i’m considered a “bleeding heart liberal”. I’m actually very centrist. I believe that compromise on most issues is a good thing.
All of that being said, the SDMB is as much a liberal echo chamber as Truth Social is a trumpist echo chamber. I give you exhibit 1: the hunter biden thread.
Prior to the verdict, all of the posts were along the lines of " He’s obviously innocent; the verdict is a foregone conclusion!". Actually, it was pretty obvious that he was technically guilty, and the verdict did not surprise anyone viewing it objectively.
All of the various Trump / Republican threads are full of so much vitriol (granted, much of it deserved). Every so often, I have to take a break from anything in P&E or The Pit just to restore my head to a comfortable place.
I cannot prove the OP wrong, in fact, I am agreeing whole-heartedly that, much like alcohol, too much for too long is bad for you.
An echo chamber seems to imply the same thing repeating over and over in an empty space, without any corners, walls, obstructions, etc. I don’t call this place an “echo chamber” because there are degrees of debate. Plus it’s an overused cliche on Reddit, where people are motivated by karma and upvotes, which I think destroys any legitimacy. Any forum that uses “likes” or “upvotes” or whatever, seems to have people repeating other highly upvoted points, whether they’re right or not, just for the approval or whatever it is people think they gain from such things.
Did you read the thread? I was surprised by how many Dopers were saying “Well, he’s clearly guilty…” Even some who were hoping for a slap on the wrist admitted that he’d done the deed.
I’ve often been impressed by the intelligence of those here whose views are progressive/lib/leftie, but can be objective or see the other side.
Only in a couple of cases have I ever thought “Prejudiced Liberal”, and those were knee-jerk jerks.
But I’ve never thought “Hive Mind” or “Echo Chamber”. Whenever I’ve seen those terms used, it’s almost always a straw man, built by someone who’s run out of more rational arguments.
In all the threads I’ve reviewed (and it’s by no means all of them) there was strong pushback on Hunter Biden’s laptop implicating President Joe Biden in any way. And that the laptop itself, having been in multiple hands since Hunter “lost” it is poor evidence of any other crimes.
Otherwise, lots of “Hunter’s problems are Hunter’s problems, what does this have to do with Joe?”
If @Dr.Winston_OBoogie has specific cites specifying otherwise, where Hunter got more than “if he’s guilty, let’s see the evidence” which, is, duh, what the whole trial was about, then please cite them. I may well have missed them.
The only time I really see it happening is when someone criticizes a Democrat. If you’re a Democrat who criticizes a Democrat you will have twenty people insisting you are an unwitting tool of the Republican party and demanding you retract your statement. And yes it feels like a pile-on.
In contrast, I feel it’s my personal responsibility to hold my elected representatives’ feet to the fire. I think Republicans’ persistent unwillingness to do this ought to be a cautionary tale for those of us with integrity, and I also know no fence sitter is going to take me seriously if I downplay wrongdoing in my own party.
