Damn, they banned WillyT.

[Live and Learn]

[-none]

1. WTH???!!11!!!!

By the time Bernie is sworn in, there won't be much left of DU.

[Live and Learn]

3. Exactly, I feel a mass exodus on the horizon whether Bernie wins or not.

Banning is really not necessary since most will go voluntarily.

[restorefreedom]

67. i expect to be showing myself the door soon

to go to jpr

between the gloating, the cruelty, the smearing of bernie and now jane, and unfair and biased enforcement, why bother anymore?

[Live and Learn]

70. Yep, it is disgusting. Why would I ever feel the need to see their posts again? nt

[restorefreedom]

73. i know i have seen enough

by the end of the weekend, i expect to be "moved in" over at jpr.

no need for the poison anymore. this place can become a wasteland for all i care. thats what they have decided to make it.

[BeanMusical]

94. +1

[Phlem]

14. DU has always been a centrist right leaning site. Don't

Let the name fool you. Skinner is pro Hillary.

[-none]

23. The first 4 years were more on the Liberal side.

[HooptieWagon]

29. No, Skinner was an early DLC IT guy.

He developed the first DLC/PPI website. Nothing 'underground' about DU except the name.

[Ivan Kaputski]

44. It should have been named DLCUnderground but then it would not have ...

attracted enough people to make money for the admins ...and that's the bottom line here. If this site didn't make money it would be gone.

[tblue37]

51. Look, I am a Bernie supporter, but insulting someone like that when you are in his house

is just rude.

[haikugal]

53. I'm sorry but facts are not rude.

It's well known and out in the open now.

[tblue37]

60. Actually, that is an interpretation, not verifiable "fact." The poster is claiming to fully

know what Skinner thinks and what he intends with DU.

We know for a fact that he supports Hillary, but we certainly do not know for a fact that his entire or even his main motivation for maintaining DU is profit, much less greed. I don't believe it is. No doubt he is pleased when his site makes money, but I bet it didn't at first but was nurtured nonetheless as a labor of love and as an attempt to focus resistance to the CheneyBush regime.

[haikugal]

63. I know his affiliations and I've been here 10 years...I have a working brain and I'm not

blind. The Democratic Party is corrupt and failing to address it's issues. The false narrative must be maintained at all costs. It's called manufactured consent. Over the years this website has had many purges of inconvenient voices.

We have a disagreement on the nature of reality it seems.

[BeanMusical]

93. DU is Skinner's main source of income.

Or at least it was in 2011 when he did this interview with Cenk:

At the 08:52 mark he says:

This is my full time job, it has been my full time job for 6 or 7 years.

So yes, his main motivation for maintaining DU is profit.

[-none]

45. I meant the members posting.

[dreamnightwind]

46. That's right, more here need to know that - eom

[Live and Learn]

71. Maybe it just felt that way considering the Bush theft and Iraq war.

Doesn't really matter, my eyes are open now.

[villager]

38. Not always. But the use of "Underground" now is certainly... well, bitterly hilarious, perhaps?

[Live and Learn]

4. Agree completely. The site was a haven in 2001 but now.... nt

[MelissaB]

79. Can somebody tell me why the post above was hidden?

I don't see anything wrong. What am I missing?

[Hydra]

80. You'll have to ask the jurors

And I expect more and more tame posts are going to get hides.

Skinner said no purge, but at the same time he opened the floodgates. *shakes head*

This is happening much earlier than I expected.

[BeanMusical]

95. He's killing the golden egg laying goose.

[LiberalArkie]

15. I still have not gotten used to it either, I think the secret is "activity stream"

appears to be like the latest threads.

[villager]

39. I wish I could figure out "updates" better at the other site...

I would use it more too....

[fleur-de-lisa]

5. I liked some of his posts but . . .

that Stockholm shit was getting old. He was told numerous times that our AA friends on DU found that nonsense extremely offensive, and yet he continued with it.

I don't think the Admins really had a choice. We cannot stand by, saying nothing, when minorities are disparaged on DU.

[appal_jack]

10. President Obama disagrees:

https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/the-fix/wp/2015/09/15/obama-says-liberal-college-students-should-not-be-coddled-are-we-really-surprised/

"Anybody who comes to speak to you and you disagree with, you should have an argument with them, but you shouldn’t silence them by saying you can’t come because I’m too sensitive to hear what you have to say.”

Yes, Obama was talking about colleges and not a private website, but isn't our mission here too to learn and engage?

If WillyT was wrong about Stockholm Syndrome among the AA community, a simple counter-argument should suffice.

I find his ban absurd.

-app

[fleur-de-lisa]

12. Willy was told numerous times that his comments were offensive.

AAs and whites on DU asked him to stop with the Stockholm crap. There was a lot of discussion the last time he posted that nonsense and yet he continued. I don't think that should be tolerated on a Democratic message board.

[snagglepuss]

19. No hillbot was banned for the countless offensive smears that Bernie supporters

are racist and sexist. Claiming a group suffers stockholm syndrome is nothing compared to accusing Berners to be racists and sexists.

[fleur-de-lisa]

22. Yes, some of the crap they threw at Bernie was horrible

and certain Hillary supporters probably should have been banned. I don't disagree with you on that.

But I will never condone racism on DU. Never. And I believe Willy's posts about Stockholm Syndrome were racist.

I will not choose between supporting Bernie and denouncing racism. I will continue to do both. And I am quite sure that Bernie would agree that racism has no place in his campaign.

[snagglepuss]

28. Frankly that is a steaming pile of poop. Someone opined that a GROUP of people

have a syndrome. The Stockholm Syndrome is not some sort of fucking deficiency it is simply what happens to sane people under stress, that is, defending those who actually hold them hostage.

The syndrome is simply a natural rx to a specific situation. Hillbots are simply distorting what the syndrome is, redefining it as a mental deficiency. You also seem to have no understanding about it means.

Its fucking pathetic. If Hillary were to be elected, what she will do for Blacks is to show favor to a handful of Black leaders but when she finalizes TPP and TIPP, Blacks and 90% other Hillary supporters will have a very rude awakening when they see the profound negative impacts of these trade deals.

[fleur-de-lisa]

31. I stand by what I wrote regardless of your insults.

And I will not continue this conversation with you if you cannot behave like an adult.

[snagglepuss]

40. Stating a fact is not an insult. You buying into the notion that the Stockholm

Syndrome is a racist notion shows you that you clearly don't know what it is.

[Jenny_92808]

86. +1

Agree 100%

[CreekDog]

66. You can be offensive in general you can't be racist

It's not that complicated.

[snagglepuss]

69. Nothing is offensive about the term Stockholm Syndrome, the poutrage is contrived just

something else to smear Bernie supporters. The term describes a natural reaction that has been observed when people identify and form emotional bonds with people who are actually their captors. What's offensive about that?

[CreekDog]

75. Applied to a race of people, yes there is

Are you white?

[rhett o rick]

85. You don't have to be racist, you just have to be "deemed" a racist. It's a witch hunt for

progressives. Well you guys are getting your wish. Progressives are leaving in droves. You won't have anyone to bully but yourselves.

[blackspade]

74. +1

[jillan]

41. There is a hill supporter that posts the absolute

Most hateful posts ripping apart Bernie by calling him the worlds biggest racist day after day after day. And there is another one of her supporters that does the same just not as frequently.

I have found those two beyond offensive with their hatred towards Bernie that I have decided there can only be one explanation- antisemitism.

Wonder if those two are still here and able to spew their hateful rants? Since they support her they're probably allowed to get away with that .

[Kip Humphrey]

49. that would be very ironic considering Skinner's rules.

[dchill]

54. Yeah, well, the irony is so thick around here...

that you couldn't cut it with a knife.

(That's not a threat, it's a figure of speech.)

[dragonfly301]

55. Is it the same person who wrote this on another blog?

I cannot stand him. His fans are racists who run around calling blacks racist and wonder why we hate him and them. I don't even LIKE Hillary but I will vote for her just so his fans can feel the sne BERN that they have been passing out. Look at the racist comments here. I did not know jews hated us blacks so much. Good to know. I will return it in kind. There are so few of them It's a wonder they have the gall to think about being racist against blacks.

http://www.dailykos.com/comments/1497565/60168982#comment_60168982

Anti-semitism is alive and thriving at progressive blogs.

[Kittycat]

62. WTF?

That person is here? Or that is just someone out there in webland?

[dragonfly301]

64. yes that lovely person just rec'd a get out of jail free card

if you look at the link - it's the person who wrote the diary.

[Kittycat]

65. I missed the name at the top.

Only saw Wolf and the quote. That's the poster I put back on hide here. Definitely makes sense. Shame that Skinner lets one stand, but not the other.

[Kittycat]

59. They are. When the flood gates to hell were opened back up

I had to put one of them back on ignore. It's a great tool, but it should only be necessary for people that annoy you, not for people that MIRT should really clean up.

In regards to the OP. I will have to say, while there were posts of Willys worthy of support, I think he went off the rails, and dug in with this issue. I can't support what he was doing, and if he crossed the point of return without apology, I guess that's all that was left to be done.

I will add that I don't believe the Clinton's were ever true to disadvantaged communities as evidenced by the disparity of impact through policy. But there is a right way and a what the fuck? Way of discussing and sharing the facts, without assigning labels or offending entire races or regions of people.

[Betty Karlson]

91. Expressing that sentiment got me banned from the A-A group.

Clinton will not allow any dissent whatsoever, if her supporters are an indication of her disposition. Only sycophant praise, please.

[MuseRider]

27. I agree.

I love Willy BUT those were offensive posts to a lot of people and when you do that and they tell you how offensive it is you should have the kindness of heart to stop. It wasn't people taking offense because it was against Hillary and it was not taking offense just to take offense, it was serious and it was truly offensive to them.

Not only that but I totally disagree with the whole idea, I don't care who else agrees with it. I think the AA community is as diverse as any other and completely competent making up their own minds.

This would be offensive in any circumstance but to use ideas like this just because they are voting for someone else is horrible. Love ya Willy but that stuff was very bad.

[Ken Burch]

68. It's likely that Willy cost us thousands of AA votes.

I've been suspicious of his motives for awhile now. Knowing how badly the Stockholm thing was hurting us, he kept it up for months and months and months. And then he doubles down on it when we're already in a tough situation(and when we probably lost Illinois and Missouri on the AA vote).

I know some people in the group here liked the guy...but it's hard to see how his presence here was helping the campaign.

[Scootaloo]

77. I agree

[TBF]

6. Does anyone have the link? nt

[appalachiablue]

9. This must be it.

http://www.democraticunderground.com/12511520728

[TBF]

11. Thank you -

saw it in another thread as well.

[noamnety]

21. One of the replies is ... remarkable.

"I thought there would be no more race baiting. ... Easy to see why minorities don't vote for Bernie"

--------------
Other people see what I'm seeing there, right???

[Autumn]

24. Send me a link to that one and I will send you a link to another one that dropped my jaw

to the floor but then I realized from her posts that should have been clear from the beginning.

[nc4bo]

8. Damn. nt

[Hiraeth]

13. All people have the right/choice to be offended. Some are offended by one thing others are offended

by something else. Some are more easily offended than others. In real life, I have seen and participated in very productive conversations/enlightening discussions that were started by an offensive comment. As always, it is not so much WHAT is said as HOW it is said.

Good bye, WillyT .... you made some interesting posts while you were here and for that I thank you for your contributions to DU.
Go in peace and be well.

[Punkingal]

16. WillyT posted a lot of informative articles...

But he shouldn't have posted the Stockholm Syndrome stuff again, knowing how upset people were with it.

[DamnYankeeInHouston]

17. So democraticunderground wants to be part of the establishment problem.

Time for a site that is truly democratic. Another$100 to Bernie. He's the solution.

[Live and Learn]

18. +1000 nt

[Hell Hath No Fury]

20. I've known Willy IRL for 13+ years -

This is a very sad day for me personally and for this site. He's over ta JackpineRadicals for anyone wants to keep in touch with him.

[Live and Learn]

25. Yep, and Willy is no racist, period! nt

[revbones]

34. Yeah, her favorite for me

is replying with "pobrecito" which in common usage translates to "poor little bastard". She ignorantly assumes saying it that way allows her to skate by on her childish insults.

http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=pobrecito

I agree she's one of the worst and most ignorant offenders.

[Live and Learn]

35. Of course, look up the site on wikipedia. Quite illuminating. nt

[HooptieWagon]

32. How many times has she done timout?

Pretty clear to me who the shit-stirrers are. It's not the Sanders crowd. I think DU donations will suffer, and many of those who aren't purged will leave voluntarily. DU's days may be numbered.

[revbones]

37. I've only been around a couple of months and saw her get it twice that I noticed.

She's basically bragging about WillyT here after her multiple posts about it: http://www.democraticunderground.com/118745760

[jillan]

42. Nothing WillyT has ever posted is worth then the filth

And hatred coming from that particular poster. Me thinks The wrong member of du got banned

[floriduck]

47. Absobravelutely.

[SoapBox]

78. Spot on.

I'm still catching up on this...

DU is a WORSE site because of this person...hard to even believe that Skinner let's them stay.

[CreekDog]

89. You have 4 hides in 90 days, what are you talking about?

[HooptieWagon]

92. Ask the Hillarians with 6, 7, 9, and 12, yes 12 hides.

Some pretty busy beavers there.

[Maedhros]

33. Meh. Getting banned from DU is pretty damned low on my list of possible tragedies.

On the same level as "dropping an egg on the kitchen floor" or "breaking my pencil lead."

[Live and Learn]

36. Exactly. nt

[RoccoR5955]

48. For those of you who decided to hide

the comment with the word "garkies" in it, I suggest you look up the word in Urban Dictionary.
According to Urban Dictionary, A Garky is a crazy, weird, strange person. I would imagine that "garkies" is the plural.
Why do you look for racism in something that might not be racism?
Can we have a little more thought around here before we ban posts and people?
Thanks.

[kcr]

50. Right. It just so happened to rhyme. And was just used like this: "No __ allowed"

In a post supporting someone banned for racism. Imploring people to leave the website they were banned, and joining another one in protest.

[haikugal]

57. You have a very active fantasy life no doubt.

[RoccoR5955]

72. Can't answer the question, so

you come up with a personal attack?
What kind of feces is that?

[haikugal]

56. Because it's easier than discussing policy or actions taken.

It's very neocon/neoliberal authoritarian. Ugly to say the least.

[Jenny_92808]

88. I have seen the word garkies used on reddit

Political meaning "Ollie Garky" (Oligarchy). Garky is an old surname, btw.

So I would interpret garkies (when used in political discussions) as meaning a crazy, weird, strange persons for the oligarchs.

http://www.democraticunderground.com/?com=greatest_threads

[truedelphi]

52. The Board has come full circle.

In the aftermath of November 2000, it came into existence to protest the illegal win of George W the first time around.

But it started to morph early on.

I remember, circa late 2004, early 2005, when some of us voting activists started complaining about things that happened in the Kerry concession/Bush re-election, and how the trolls were set upon those of us who knew the election had been stolen.

Meanwhile the Top Brass at the Democratic Party did not want to hear about election machinery flipping votes. And they were peculiarly silent about the issue of gerrymandering, as well.

So now both Illinois and Missouri get handed over to Hillary despite the awesome predictions of the voting place polls that showed voters exiting the polling places had chosen Bernie!

[haikugal]

58. Yep. Pretty clear to those with free minds.

[Hydra]

82. You are correct

I wasn't here much before 2006, but there was a change in the air when Bush went to war and the Establishment Dems were supporting it. That came straight down to this board later as I was researching the torture and found people pushing back at me. In a similar way, my advocacy against poverty got a strong amount of pushback at times as well.

The only thing I've seen to adequately explain it is the incorrect view that the US is more than 50% RW. The people advocating and defending republican policies simply feel like we are a weird minority they haven't gotten around to killing off yet.

[Dont call me Shirley]

61. WTF.....

[Babel_17]

76. "He's in a better place"

[TheFarS1de]

81. This place has gone to the race baiters and labellers

Those who decry it the most while openly practicing it themselves . Time to seek better democratic forums , this place is in full meltdown . This is all they can do , not debate only silence .

[ljm2002]

83. No surprise...

...he was one of the more prolific Bernie supporters here, is anyone really surprised they found a reason to ban him?

This site ain't what it used to be, that's for sure.

It's been an "interesting" political season. Seems like both parties are experiencing big rifts. Not sure I'll even be a Democrat going forward, even though I have registered as a Democrat now for 40+ years -- the Democratic party ain't what it used to be either.

One thing I am sure of, though. DU won't see another penny from me. They lost me for good with the latest maneuvers, making sure the site's front page does not reflect the views of the majority of the site's members, and letting the most toxic of the timed-out members back en masse so they can play their mind games with impunity.

[rhett o rick]

84. And Skinner opened the cells and said no more suspensions. Also, you might lose jury

privileges without explanation. The Progressives here see what's happening. The Clinton bullies have been give a green light. At least three Progressives left today with more indicating to soon follow. Looks like they will get their Clinton fans only club.
What they don't realize is that they won't have anyone to bully if we leave.

[Jenny_92808]

87. Is he banned

permanently?

[Duckfan]

90. I only have one thing to say on this topic...

which is generally not a topic I get involved in: