I would disagree. The ones who were the best at debate, when it boiled down to it, were accused of being homophobic ect. There was no polite debate on the bulk of the liberal side in this forum.
when you have to live with racism or homophobia, it's hard to be polite about it. i'm sorry, but that's 100% true. i have never, ever seen an argument about "disagreeing" with homosexuality that wasn't homophobic at it's core, and i wouldn't be doing my job if i didn't say so out of politeness.
[q]If you go back to 2002-2003 there were liberals and conservatives who in this very forum, stood up for each other when people got out of line in here.[/q]
i've gone back and read some of the threads, and i was honestly aghast at the level of homophobia back then. i have no idea how Melon kept it together. AchtungBubba ... please. had i been around then, i see no way that i could have honestly kept things polite. it would have been the wrong thing to do.
[q]And no matter how well the two posters you are referring to debated, made points, there were no people on the left in this forum jumping to defend them when the racist or homophobic accusations were thrown their way.[/q]
do you remember the countless times liberal posters went out of their way to stop and thank NBC for all of his posts? myself included? i don't see the same level of appreciation for, say, Melon on the part of the conservative kids in here.
[q]I do not believe either of them left due thoughtless arguments. I know for a fact that one of them left because of FYM. PERIOD. If they were so valued, where was the outcry when the left leaning members of this forum labeled them. Sorry, but there is a difference between conviction and racism or homophobia. I disagreed with them on some issues, but, I completely hated the way people treated them at times.[/q]
i hate the way some were treated at times as well, but when people source the Bible as their reference point for myriad different political stances, sorry, but you open yourself up to such criticism, and to me, and many others, that's not conviction, that's cowardice.
[q]It may not be your problem, or fault......but this forum, has lost because they are gone. This forum, is not even close to a free mind any more. It is not close to balanced.[/q]
i agree that this forum is not what it was in 2004/5, and i agree that we aren't as good as we used to be, but i don't think identifying a single source of blame is correct, or productive. maybe if U2 would put out an album more than once every 4 years than we'd have more traffic on this website.
[q]The remark about it would be nice to see the right criticize their own the way the left does in here , is just REDICULOUS. I find it laughable, in a forum where if you can name ten conservatives, it would be a miracle.[/q]
go read this thread again, and look at how many "liberal" posters are criticizing Olbermann.
Finance Guy and Wanderer are the posters who I see standing up for things, popular or not. I am thankful they are here to at least bring some balance.
i agree. but, as much as i generally like FG, i have yet to see him put forth a single defensible argument in regards to homosexuality.
but, obviously, that's my pet issue.
the other issue i have in here is the woe-is-me feeling of some conservatives in here. being outnumbered is one thing, being outargued is something else, and i think we've right now got the single best moderator we've ever had, and were the conservatives to show up and post in a substansive manner -- unlike the drive-bys we occasionally get, or the angry Limbaugh quotes we get as well -- and if those conservative were attacked in the manner in which you described, i feel fully confident that Yolland would call such people out on that. i wish she had been around in 2004/5 because it would have then been a much richer forum.