Well, congratulations, DU...

[albino65]

72. In my humble opinion

I have not been here very long, nor have I posted very many things. However, that doesn't make my opinions less worthy. I found DU quite by accident, googling for a forum that was more informative and less loony. I was impressed that there are news articles from many sources and a lively discussion about those articles. I like it so much, that I spend far too much time here.

I have noticed that there is a cliquish vibe at DU. Some of you travel in the same circles and support one another. If someone questions someone in the clique, then you circle the herd like buffaloes to fend off a perceived attack. This is especially true of the gun enthusiasts (notice I didn't say nuts), the Obama bashers, and the ACA bashers. The first group is understandable. You have to be aggressive to justify an untenable opinion to yourself. The last two seem to be of the glass half empty people of the world. Sometimes they will say something egregious that sets me off and I have to answer. That's my failing. A lot of times I bite my lip and move on to a different article.

The angry, vituperative post in question hit me the wrong way. Even though I understood the deep frustration from which it came, I really didn't like the context of the post. I tried to put the poster on ignore, but it doesn't work. So, I just try to read who the poster is when I look at a discussion and decide if I should read it.

If DU is meant to be a club with varying degrees of membership, perhaps the groups or forums should be set up to indicate a person's level of experience and prohibit the less erudite among us from participating. Just because you have been here for years and years, or have a national persona, it doesn't make your opinions sacrosanct.