# Why so many liberals here? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [January 8, 2013, 10:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-so-many-liberals-here/646552 "2013-01-08T22:47:33Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Gyrate](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gyrate/32/3588_2.png) [@Gyrate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gyrate)\ **Post date:** [January 9, 2013, 5:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-so-many-liberals-here/646552/41 "2013-01-09T17:25:41Z")
> [@Molesworth\_2](#): > > Quite frankly, I _do_ believe that US “Conservatives” are evil. They are consistently wrong on absolutely every score. The problem is that not all US conservatives believe the above but the ones that do are the most fervent and vocal, particularly on the internet. And the moderate, rational conservatives get labelled as “liberal” and “RINOs” and so forth by the extreme right-wing contingent. They can’t really win. ---
**Author:** ![gracer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/8e7dd6/32.png) [@gracer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gracer)\ **Post date:** [January 9, 2013, 5:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-so-many-liberals-here/646552/42 "2013-01-09T17:32:22Z")
> [@Shakester](#): > > Ha! Maybe it seems “liberal” to Americans. This was my first thought too. Liberal?! This is the only place I ever hear any conservative voices. Compared to everyone I know, this board is pretty right-wing conservative & traditional. ---
**Author:** ![Shakester](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/shakester/32/437_2.png) [@Shakester](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shakester)\ **Post date:** [January 9, 2013, 5:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-so-many-liberals-here/646552/43 "2013-01-09T17:39:45Z")
> [@gracer](#): > > This was my first thought too. Liberal?! This is the only place I ever hear any conservative voices. Compared to everyone I know, this board is pretty right-wing conservative & traditional. By the standards of this board, my 83 year old mother would be a leftist. Seriously, one of the things this board makes obvious is just how far to the right everything is skewed in the US. ---
**Author:** ![MacCat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/maccat/32/216_2.png) [@MacCat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MacCat)\ **Post date:** [January 9, 2013, 5:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-so-many-liberals-here/646552/44 "2013-01-09T17:41:39Z")
> [@Gyrate](#): > > The problem is that not all US conservatives believe the above but the ones that do are the most fervent and vocal, particularly on the internet. And the moderate, rational conservatives get labelled as “liberal” and “RINOs” and so forth by the extreme right-wing contingent. They can’t really win. In reality, The term “Conservative” has been co-opted and perverted by those more properly termed reactionary. They are very far from (small c) conservative. And they are the very ones that have perverted the term Liberal to a pejorative. ---
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [January 9, 2013, 5:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-so-many-liberals-here/646552/45 "2013-01-09T17:47:31Z")
Do people start threads on conservative-slanted boards wondering if it’s a problem that they slant that way? ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [January 9, 2013, 5:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-so-many-liberals-here/646552/46 "2013-01-09T17:49:15Z")
> [@olivesmarch4th](#): > > I would guess that most of the internet skews liberal. Am I wrong? That’s more or less true. Conservative does carry the connotation of slow to adapt. Conservatives listen to radio, Liberals read blogs. But this board is more small “L” libertarian, but yes, it does skew to the left. This is why one of the most heated debates here is Gun control. Liberal vs libertarians more than Liberals vs Conservatives. Mind you we still have a solid vocal Conservative minority. ---
**Author:** ![Red\_Wiggler](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/red_wiggler/32/13190_2.png) [@Red\_Wiggler](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Red_Wiggler)\ **Post date:** [January 9, 2013, 5:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-so-many-liberals-here/646552/47 "2013-01-09T17:50:22Z")
I think this place is generally progressive, although there is a hard core minority of nanny staters here who want to make everything illegal. Mixed boards are best. This one’s not bad at all. ---
**Author:** ![gracer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/8e7dd6/32.png) [@gracer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gracer)\ **Post date:** [January 9, 2013, 5:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-so-many-liberals-here/646552/48 "2013-01-09T17:57:56Z")
> [@Shakester](#): > > By the standards of this board, my 83 year old mother would be a leftist. Seriously, one of the things this board makes obvious is just how far to the right everything is skewed in the US. Ha, I literally thought about adding my conservative, upper-middle class English grandfather to all the conservative voices I ever hear, but then thought that, actually, he was a crazy hippy socialist compared to the SMDB. Crazy stuff, like thinking that the NHS is a good thing. ---
**Author:** ![Tangent](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tangent/32/3098_2.png) [@Tangent](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tangent)\ **Post date:** [January 9, 2013, 6:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-so-many-liberals-here/646552/49 "2013-01-09T18:05:37Z")
“Reality has a well-known liberal bias.” [/obligatory Stephen Colbert quote] ---
**Author:** ![VinylTurnip](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/b2d939/32.png) [@VinylTurnip](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/VinylTurnip)\ **Post date:** [January 9, 2013, 6:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-so-many-liberals-here/646552/50 "2013-01-09T18:25:34Z")
> [@Clothahump](#): > > The few conservatives left on this board, for the most part, are somewhat amused by this. It’s like watching chimps jack each other off, then throw shit at other monkeys in the zoo. I say somewhat, because it does get boring after a while. Almost thirteen years and you haven’t gotten your fill of monkey-jacking and shit-flinging. Time to admit you’re no dispassionate observer— you’re a die-hard fan. Oh, and you’ve got a little something on your face. ---
**Author:** ![John\_DiFool](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_difool/32/19543_2.png) [@John\_DiFool](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_DiFool)\ **Post date:** [January 9, 2013, 6:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-so-many-liberals-here/646552/51 "2013-01-09T18:30:53Z")
> [@Gyrate](#): > > The problem is that not all US conservatives believe the above but the ones that do are the most fervent and vocal, particularly on the internet. And the moderate, rational conservatives get labelled as “liberal” and “RINOs” and so forth by the extreme right-wing contingent. They can’t really win. Not speaking for him necessarily, but as an example of this, **Senor Beef** has declared on more than one occasion here that he’s still just as moderately right of center as he’s always been, but the GOP moved way to his right at warp speed, making him look liberal by comparison. He actually is often at the forefront of calling right wing bullshit for what it is, so if you were a more casual reader of the board you might not pick up on his true center and might think he is as liberal as say **Der Trihs**. ---
**Author:** ![Der\_Trihs](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/der_trihs/32/233_2.png) [@Der\_Trihs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Der_Trihs)\ **Post date:** [January 9, 2013, 6:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-so-many-liberals-here/646552/52 "2013-01-09T18:43:29Z")
> [@Danger-Mouse](#): > > Not sure what media your referring to, the media is embarrassingly liberal. American media is overwhelmingly center right wing. Corporatist, basically; unsurprisingly since the mainstream media organizations are giant corporations. The idea that it’s liberal is just a longstanding right wing propaganda line and has nothing to do with reality. > [@Doctor\_Jackson](#): > > People, as a rule, tend to move to a more conservative ideology as they age. That [appears](http://news.discovery.com/human/voter-conservative-aging-liberal-120119.html) to be a myth. ---
**Author:** ![lavenderviolet](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/cdc98d/32.png) [@lavenderviolet](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lavenderviolet)\ **Post date:** [January 9, 2013, 6:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-so-many-liberals-here/646552/53 "2013-01-09T18:43:40Z")
I think the biggest factor is the “founder effect” of starting off with a population slanted to Dems. Not only is the Dope originally from an alt newspaper, but it was based out of CHICAGO, which is a very Democratic town. I think when you start off with a population that leans one way, it becomes a reinforcing snowball. because most people don’t want to hang out in a place where they are the minority and everyone just wants to argue with them. So, the conservatives don’t tend to want to hang out here. On the other hand, I could show you a message board of anesthesiologists I visit where there is a very strong conservative slant and most liberals probably wouldn’t stay long for the same reason. I don’t think this board is especially young demographically. My observation based on what i’ve seen posted and the polls I’ve seen over the years here is that most Dopers are somewhere around 35-55 years old. When I picture the prototypical Doper, I picture an overweight middle-aged white person from the midwest, honestly. ---
**Author:** ![JerrySTL](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/e274bd/32.png) [@JerrySTL](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JerrySTL)\ **Post date:** [January 9, 2013, 6:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-so-many-liberals-here/646552/54 "2013-01-09T18:46:20Z")
Conservative are too busy actually working? ---
**Author:** ![Der\_Trihs](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/der_trihs/32/233_2.png) [@Der\_Trihs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Der_Trihs)\ **Post date:** [January 9, 2013, 6:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-so-many-liberals-here/646552/55 "2013-01-09T18:46:28Z")
> [@lavenderviolet](#): > > I think the biggest factor is the “founder effect” of starting off with a population slanted to Dems. That still wouldn’t make this a liberal board, since the Democrats _aren’t_ liberal. This board isn’t all that liberal, but it _does_ lean left of the Democrats. ---
**Author:** ![Lord\_Il\_Palazzo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/b9e5f3/32.png) [@Lord\_Il\_Palazzo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lord_Il_Palazzo)\ **Post date:** [January 9, 2013, 6:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-so-many-liberals-here/646552/56 "2013-01-09T18:47:48Z")
My guess is that people gravitate toward groups where they feel like the fit in. If a conservative comes here and gets into political discussions, he’ll be surrounded by people who disagree with him and (politics being politics and the internet being the internet) they will tend to disagree strongly. If a liberal comes here and gets into political discussions, he’s met with mostly people who share similar beliefs and viewpoints. Naturally, the liberal will be more likely to feel like he fits into the existing community and stay. Also, this board tends to put a lot of pride in its collective intelligence (see the first reply in this thread and the “fighting ignorance” tagline, for example) which I would guess intensifies this effect. Someone whose opinions already set him apart from the crowd is implicitly given the message (intentionally or not) that they are less intelligent than this group they disagree with making them even less inclined to stay while someone who does agree gets to feel smarter for belonging to a group that prides itself so much on its intelligence and is more likely to stay because of the positive feedback. ---
**Author:** ![Der\_Trihs](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/der_trihs/32/233_2.png) [@Der\_Trihs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Der_Trihs)\ **Post date:** [January 9, 2013, 6:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-so-many-liberals-here/646552/57 "2013-01-09T18:48:44Z")
> [@JerrySTL](#): > > Conservative are too busy actually working? That nonsense. Conservatives are especially hard working, nor are liberals lazy. In reality it’s mostly the left that supports the right with its tax money while the right whines about lazy left wingers. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Second\_Stone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/bbe5ce/32.png) [@The\_Second\_Stone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Second_Stone)\ **Post date:** [January 9, 2013, 6:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-so-many-liberals-here/646552/58 "2013-01-09T18:50:29Z")
So when the revolution comes the tea baggers can find us all so easily and put us up against the wall. They aren’t the brightest lot. ---
**Author:** ![Tamerlane](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tamerlane/32/7602_2.png) [@Tamerlane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tamerlane)\ **Post date:** [January 9, 2013, 6:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-so-many-liberals-here/646552/59 "2013-01-09T18:54:21Z")
> [@lavenderviolet](#): > > When I picture the prototypical Doper, I picture an overweight middle-aged white person from the midwest, honestly. Hah! You’re way off! Wayyyy off!!! I’m in the west. ---
**Author:** ![Procrustus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/procrustus/32/2994_2.png) [@Procrustus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Procrustus)\ **Post date:** [January 9, 2013, 7:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-so-many-liberals-here/646552/60 "2013-01-09T19:00:43Z")
> [@](#): > > Originally Posted by Clothahump View Post > The few conservatives left on this board, for the most part, are somewhat amused by this. It’s like watching chimps jack each other off, then throw shit at other monkeys in the zoo. I say somewhat, because it does get boring after a while. Do chimps really jack each other off? Very kind of them if they do. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-so-many-liberals-here/646552.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-so-many-liberals-here/646552.md?page=4)