Whiteness, NSA Spying and the Irony of Racial Privilege

[freshwest]

23. Yes, on a daily basis I question being here, haven't been here long, despite my post count.

I joined DU2 after the election in 2010, in a state of total disgust. It was after 10 years of being online in political forums.

At MSN during the election of 2000, a group was founded, even before the SCOTUS finished their selection, that contended Gore had won Florida, and the vote was being suppressed. I recall the Black Caucus being the only ones with enough nerve to contest the count.

I went through all the Bush era there to keep my sanity, which was how I'd chanced upon the first group, using a search engine because of being furious at what was going on in the news, and needed to find kindred spirits.

I stayed through all of the attempts to purge Obama supporters in 2008 by PUMAs. I found them to be my first reason for never voting for Hillary, but since then I've realized supporters do not always support the ideals of their candidate, or they would not fall for the outrage media machine, examples of which we see daily.

When the legislative numbers changed in Washington under the brief leadership of Pelosi, we posted daily reports of what was affecting our numbers and when we would achieve a filibuster proof majority.

That was a very brief time, and the GOP propaganda against every single New Deal type program Obama was trying to get passed, was intense. The total obstruction, not only at the federal level, but the state level, explained a number of things not happening. Still, Obama did great things of rhe sort I hadn't seen since Carter's energy initiatives. No one seems to know it.

It was good, even after Obama won, and I posted all his initatives and follow ups there daily. Then came the beginning of the Tea Party, composed of Paulites and those still intensely angry at the Bush wars, who in desperation went to the CT sites that had gone after Bush seeking solutions. But they then went after Obama and Democrats. I later found out the pundits and sites were JBS, Koch thus Tea Party conjobs.

There came a period of fighting with the Baggers, with their racist and misogynist crap, then trying to reach out to Democrats who didn't think Obama had done enough, and hadn't been that active anywhere but online.

In the summer before losing majority in 2010, who were going to sit out the election, ceding control to the Teabaggers over things they soon forgot, except for memes easily debunked, but which they won't give up and keep repeating as gospel. When they are debunked, they don't answer, and go to spread their ignorance (or lies) to the next thread.

After 2010 on the other website, things went downhill fast. It was really disgusting. Then the really serious trolling began of mixed boards that bordered on criminal, and some of them passed that line. Shock pictures, visual and verbal attacks on women and minorities, all directed at driving away thinkers who wanted to find the reasons for deeply held beliefs on both sides, and particularly women and liberals, off the boards.

When you come to a place to talk, and are emotionally assaulted in such a way you cannot block it out in a thread, you get anxious, unwilling to open a thread for comments, and see what was inserted that was against website TOS.

At any rate, the con's purpose was accomplished, and both international and domestic posters left the cesspool that it had become. There was no talking out ideas anymore.

It was done to make people feel physically ill, and DU3 has done that for me and others on many days. I've explained to JAG and other long time posters, that it was bad for my physical health, to read the bile. It's not a game, it's serious and those who garner the most recs and get on the home page know that their hate will get in the google most posted page.

A few black posters I did not know have PM'd me over the years, glad to see my support for the ideals of Obama and progressives, but say they cannot post here anymore. I just chanced upon this thread while googling to express what I feel to someone. Glad you found time to get back to me.