General Discussion
In reply to the discussion: What we have here ... [View all]OneGrassRoot
(22,920 posts)(nadin, this response is prompted by the interactions above and the myriad other threads here, not by your OP. Just FYI.)
Now, I admit that, even though I am a long-time DUer, I haven't quite grasped who's who regarding "sides" and cliques here. Maybe it's because I don't want to; I've always been more focused on content shared. When arguments ensue specifically talking about sides here within DU, I lose interest because it becomes more of a personality conflict than anything.
Rational discourse when we disagree is hard to be found.
I suppose that's natural with any family or community; personal animosity is the underpinning of a lot of disagreements.
So much of the interaction at DU, in my humble opinion, has become part of the same white noise we see everywhere nowadays.
If you don't feel you're part of a "side" and don't lean toward one way of thinking over another but approach each issue with fresh eyes, so to speak, you're not alone. Right now, I feel very much alone and alienated on DU (not whining, just a factual statement), and wish the family squabbles could be set aside so we could find the common ground that MUST exist and can be built upon.
It's harder and harder to weed through the personal BS and attacks (not to mention the twitter-like personal broadcasting posts) in order to glean helpful information -- and DU has always been a GREAT source of helpful information and content.