General Discussion
In reply to the discussion: The Beat Goes On [View all]Hekate
(90,642 posts)As others have noted, it was an anchor to sanity in so many ways. I was active in the anti-war movement in my medium sized town, but our local news stations never reported on us -- and for all I knew, we were the only people in the nation marching and protesting.
Then I joined DU. I learned about PNAC. Electronic voting. Depleted uranium. Protests everywhere.
Early on I read the WaPo article that claimed "a few hundred" protestors marched in DC -- then amended it to several thousand -- and kept amending it upward and upward. DUers were there with their cameras and posted photos here, and people like me from all across the country emailed the WaPo in outrage at their dismissive lie.
We mattered. We forced the media to notice us, in my town and all across the country.
DU was my first online experience, and remains the only. It's not my only news source, but often and often I read subject lines & posts here that show up in mainstream news in the days following.
Health and happiness to you, Waterman.