Labels and Boxes - Democratic Underground

berni_mccoy

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Tue Jun-15-10 09:48 AM
Original message

Labels and Boxes

Edited on Tue Jun-15-10 09:51 AM by berni_mccoy

“A name is a label, and as soon as there is a label, the ideas disappear and out comes label-worship and label-bashing, and instead of living by a theme of ideas, people begin dying for labels... and the last thing the world needs is another religion.” -- Richard Bach

When I grew up in the midwest, both my parents were union workers, members of UAW. I grew up in dairy country too, so from the time I was twelve until the time I was 16, I worked on farms, hard physical labor, during the summer. Money was very tight and if I wanted anything besides 2nd generation hand-me-downs to wear, well, I had to find the money for it. My family also was a believer in serving our country, three of four children serving, myself included, my father a lifetime service member and his father a World War II veteran. Since the day I could vote, there was only one mindset: Democratic.

I've been away from this site for some time as I've seen it become hostile to Democratic members. Members who have been here a very long time. Members like myself. I'm not a centrist Democrat. I'm not a progressive Democrat. I'm not an FDR Democrat. I'm just a Democrat. I believe in the principles of the party. Protect the workers. Scrutinize the corporations. Take care of the poor and the sick. The Military is for defense. Equality for all people, men, women, religious, anti-religious, gay and straight. Expose government corruption and operate the government as intended by the Constitution: by the people for the people.

The majority of hostility toward Democratic members centers around President Obama. It should have easily been foreseen that the first African American President would bring out strong feelings. The primaries were just a foreshadowing of what would come. Now, if one defends President Obama here, they are labelled, at best, as a centrist, at worse, well, I won't get into the labels that are put on his supporters here. But we are boxed in, tight, to be sure. Many, like me, have not felt safe expressing our opinions here as we choose to expose media bias and represent factual posts to counter some of the hyperbolic attacks aimed at President Obama. Are there valid criticisms? Absolutely. I have not agreed with every decision Obama has made. I did not approve of some of his appointees and I have serious issues with his policy on illegal drugs. I've seen valid criticisms put forth by long standing members here and I am fine with them.

But this site and it's mechanics are being used to abuse long-time members who have been staunch defenders of liberal ideology. And it has been used to divide us up and box us into categories... cheerleaders, haters, centrists, extremists, you name it. Everybody has been put into some box. It's driven serious fights between good members, to the point that some are banned and others abandon DU. The Admins have acknowledged that there are probably people paid to post, disrupt and organize attacks, but there is really no way to prove it unless they in some way expose themselves. I do believe that there are people who use Democratic Underground to attack liberals. Great posts, factual posts, get unrec'd into oblivian where baseless attacks on Obama will rise to the greatest page. It's not the big items, but there are many points that get buried, and over time, could make a difference to the general attitudes and mindset here. And as long standing member after long standing member is banned or abandons DU, the external influences become increasingly larger and more potent.

Just because members defend President Obama, his policies or his methods, does not make those members centrists, corporatists or anything else. It makes them supportive of Obama and the particular issues they defend. Obama isn't perfect. But he is one thing: A Democrat. Members who defended the resulting HCR legislation are far more likely to be Democrats with chronically sick children then they are to be insurance shills. And yet, that is what I've been labelled as here, even though, if you check my history on this site, I am anything but. But it's far easier to label someone you disagree with as something that is not like you, something that is less than you, simply because you don't agree with them. Democratic members have been dehumanized here because they support Obama.

I was moved to post this because I read something a friend of mine wrote. He said:

What's not okay, however, is the growing attempts to discredit and marginalize the democratic left. We are not “whack jobs” nor any of the other insulting names that are too often used by establishment democrats and others to describe us. We are, rather, Malcolm X Democrats, Martin Luther King Democrats, and Vine Deloria Democrats, among other good things. Our time, money and votes are good enough come election season. Our dollars aren't kept in separate accounts, our time spent at campaign headquarters has as many minutes per hour as anyone's, and our votes aren't tallied on separate ballot boxes. Establishment democrats need to respect that, and to respect our humanity.

I echo this sentiment strongly. But I would add that what also is not okay is the growing attempts to discredit and marginalize any Democrat, even those who choose to continue to support President Obama. We are as hard working for progress as anyone else here. We are as committed to the same principles as anyone else. We are as left as those who choose to disagree, or worse, attack President Obama. We, like President Obama, aren't perfect. But we are Democrats.