'Nance Greggs Fan Club'

[NanceGreggs]

82. I am incredibly moved by this, bigtree.

Thank you so much for the kind words – and thanks to all who have posted their kind words, as well.

I remember our skirmishes during the 2008 primaries. We were often on completely different sides of an issue – but it never got personal, and we never lost sight of the fact that in the great scheme of things, we were all (Obama supporters, Edwards supporters, Hill supporters, etc.) on the same side – the side of the Democratic Party, the side of wanting to see a fellow Democrat in the White House.

Just as an example of how things were then, three of the posters who I got into the most vehement arguments with during that time PM’d me – and I them – constantly. We’d say things like, “Good shot! I felt that one!”, or, “Have you read my reply to your last post? That’s gonna leave a mark!” We joked about each other’s barbs, we laughed at each other, as well as at ourselves. It was understood by the vast majority of DUers that after the dust settled, we would all put our differences aside and get behind the nominee, whoever he or she turned out to be.

It is you, bigtree, who personifies what DU used to be all about. It was a place where posters could disagree with each other’s viewpoints without accusing each other of being “authoritarians, DINOs, ConservaDems, Third Wayers, mindless cheerleaders” – and all of the other meaningless terms that now get thrown around here on a daily basis. It is people like YOU who made this site what it was in its best of days – someone who understood that labelling those who held an opinion different than your own with such terms had only one aim: to be divisive – ironically so on a website founded on the premise of Democrats, despite their differences, banding together for the common good.

It is posters like YOU who reminded us all that differences of opinion were not only to be expected under the “Big Tent”, but that it was that diversity of opinion that distinguished us from our opponents on the other side of the aisle.

So here’s to you, bigtree – and all of those many posters who, like you, understand that disagreeing with someone else’s perspective should not be seen an opportunity for name-calling, but as a starting point for open, honest, and mutually respectful discussion.

My heartfelt thanks to everyone who has contributed to this thread. I am truly grateful to each and every one of you for seeing me through such incredibly kind eyes.