It seems to you - and most here - that the people who do not agree with the liberals simply have not "seen the light" quite yet.
I don't personally think this way, but I can understand how the general vibe of the thread can come across this way.
Perhaps then it would be helpful if you acknowledged that more often when it occurs.
Again, unless I missed it - acknowledging that more often and in close proximity to the post would be very helpful. I am not looking for agreement, but a little acknowledgement for taking a perfect valid position would go a long way toward inviting opposing views.
This I will cop to and agree should happen more often.
That's fine. I thought the term "thug" was a more specific term (like "gangsta"). However, pointing out his own music page, tweets, fb posts, photos - is a perfectly reasonable thing to do. I am not a racist for doing so.
No you're not. But I think it's questionable to point to the kind of music a guy likes as indicative of his moral character. I enjoy a pretty wide variety of music, including a few bands/songs that have some pretty morally questionable lyrics. I don't think it would be fair for someone to say "oh, that song is pretty violent, so I bet you'd probably be more likely to get aggressive with a cop." I just don't see the correlation that directly. And there is a lot more to my character than the music I listen to or the photos I take with my friends.
No - we differ in that you seem to have a different requirement for "moving the debate" for liberals than for non-liberals and assert your own politics too often (my opinion). If you were a user, I'm all for it. But when you wear both hats interchangeably - I feel like I'm a playing an away baseball game against the opposing team AND the umpires. Does that make sense?
I understand where you're coming from. Like I said before, I agree that sometimes I may take too much of an active role in threads and will try to temper that. And while it does put you in a bit of an unfair, or at least, unequal position to be the sole representative of your argument, I feel like if you're the sole proponent of a stance, you should expect to have to explain yourself more thoroughly.
I would also like to see this notion that liberalism is automatically "right" attitude challenged by the mods/you more often. There is no way on this earth that one side of a controversial topic is ALWAYS right on every point.
Fair enough.
Take this shooting as an example - if it turns out the forensics and numerous eyewitnesses PROVE Darren Wilson's innocence (hypothetical at this point)- there would still be a prevailing attitude that Darren Wilson murdered an innocent black teen. And there will be no call from the mods for the facts to justify such a position.
I don't think that's true. Granted, I think some people probably wouldn't buy it, but I think if an
independent investigation proved Wilson's innocence, most people would accept it, but would still be perfectly valid in questioning why the police didn't operate more transparently, and would continue to question why the police response to protests was/is so overwhelmingly disproportional and antagonistic.
Yet - I've conceded, that if the forensics prove that Darren Wilson overreacted/murdered Michael Johnson, he should be punished accordingly.
If the facts from an independent investigation show beyond a reasonable doubt that Brown was charging Wilson at the time that Wilson killed him, I will be the first to acknowledge that. If the facts point to Wilson unlawfully using lethal force, I think whether or not Wilson would be punished accordingly is a whole other can of worms, and one that comes with a history that unfortunately doesn't appear to err on the side of victims of police brutality.
Diemen, all that being said - I do appreciate you and the volunteer work you do here. Thank you. These are just some of my opinions - take them for what they are worth. I think I've proven myself to be a man that can change his mind - and if I am completely off-base here, I can probably be convinced as such.
I appreciate that, Aeon. Both your acknowledgement and your ability to change your mind.