"Lets work together to end racism" is more constructive than "whites need to check their privilege".

[BainsBane]

101. I feel the same about the Snowden stuff

People have turned it into a debate over whether or not Snowden and Greenwald as individuals are heroes or traitors, good or evil, while issues about the NSA and civil liberties vs. national security are ignored. I don't, however, march into those threads and declare the discussion illegitimate or flamebait. I sometimes have a look but more often pass by since the discussions are pretty much all the same, complete with the same absurd insults against other members as "authoritarian." I don't give a damn about Monica Lewinsky, and I am tired of seeing thread after thread about marijuana. However, I know that I am not the only person on the planet who matters and that other people find those topics worthwhile. The fact I am fed up with those discussions is neither interesting nor useful to those discussions, so why would I go in and tell people they shouldn't be talking about what they want to just because I don't like it?

You see, it's not all about you and what you want. Other people have other interests and the site allows us to post on those topics. Trash by keyword, use ignore, whatever. But when people insist on delegitimating discussions because THEY are fed up, it indicates they see the concerns and lives of themselves as superior to those of us who care about other issues. Talk about a demonstration of privilege and entitlement.