Hatred and Online Political Discussion

[DoctorStrangelove]

Hate appears to be a very common expression among bloggers of all political persuasion. as anthropologist Peter Wood, notes:

‘Perhaps the dominant form of political blogging in general (Left and Right) is a sassy, hyperarticulate belittling of one’s opponents. The blogger’s rhetorical stance is one of self-confident control over the facts and sneering disregard for the intelligence and honesty of those he criticizes.’

I have two questions:

Do you find Wood's comment to be an overstatement or do you find the belittling of one's opponents to be quite common in discussion forums?

Is there less hatred expressed in liberal blogs and discussion groups than in conservative online forums?

[butterfly77]

1. Hate is everywhere...

just like love...

[tularetom]

2. I feel that Wood suffers from cranio-rectal inversion

and that he is totally full of shit. Furthermore I hate him.

But no, I don't feel that belittling of one's opponent to be common in online forums.

[BOSSHOG]

3. Find me guilty

I find it incredibly difficult to not disregard the honesty or intelligence of anyone who continues to support george bush. How can one not belittle those who wanted to spend millions of dollars keeping teri schiavo alive, who wave the flag and say they support the troops and yet continue to back their continued slaughter for no apparent reason except they are too damned proud to admit they have been wrong for four years now; that evolution is a fraud; that bill clinton murdered vince foster. The list goes on and on. I have no confidence I control the facts. A fact is a fact. George Bush lied which has resulted in hundreds of thousands of deaths and his supporters (whose honesty and intelligence I disregard) hold him in high esteem. What greater argument?

[Warpy]

7. He campaigned like a moderate and then lucked out

with a terrible attack. As people rallied around the putz, I kept repeating "Good people can be wrong, good people can be wrong, good people.." It got me through the next miserable four years.

Then things started to happen: the intrusion into the Schiavo case, the publication of the Downing Street minutes, the outing of Plame, the tracing of the anthrax mailings to Ft. Detrick, and worst of all, the aftermath of Katrina. Good people all over the country started to realize they'd been afraid of the wrong thing, that the true anti American attack was happening right in their own back yard, not directed from across the planet.

The 24% (probably 5% lower) that are left are divided among the corrupt, the delusional and the stupid. There still might be a few good people among those last two groups, but they don't get any quarter from me when I'm discussing the colossal disaster their party has brought upon this country, not for the last six years but for the last thirty eight.

I strive to eliminate the "you" word from my posts, which helps to eliminate ad hominem attacks that only push these people into even more of a defensive position. As the delusional address reality and the stupid are educated and only the corrupt are left, this could change.

In the meantime, I'd still rather see these people than be these people, so I generally ignore them unless they get in my face. Then I educate them without mercy.

[fasttense]

4. Forums that cater to both repukes and Democratic opinions

tend to be filled with belittlement of one's opponents. Forums dedicated to only one opinion tend to have less of that tactic. AOL boards frequently overflow with name calling and insults. I try not to do it but I sometimes cheer when others do it.

[wyldwolf]

6. eh! I disagree a little

Look at any long DU thread. When you see "name deleted" - that means someone resorted to name calling and insults.

[wyldwolf]

5. There was an op-ed about crude bloggers last summer.

I found it rather enjoyable because I experience it daily.

[damntexdem]

8. We have a better class of hate.

I like our hate much better.

[SteppingRazor]

9. I just don't see the problem of being intolerant of intolerance.

:shrug:

If someone's a homophobic/racist/sexist bigot, why shouldn't I be dismissive of their opinions?

[Jed Dilligan]

10. Anonymity means less civility

Even before the internet, you need go no further than the nearest restroom and read the wall for a demonstration of that fact.

"Hate" is a loaded word because there is legislation against it. Conservatives would LOVE to turn the intended protection for minorities, gays, transgenders, et al. into a way to prosecute us for criticizing them.

The problem is, we never seem to physically attack white conservatives. They never actually have a chance to charge us with hate crimes because there is no crime in the first place. Yet a white conservative homophobe assaults one of us every day. Probably more often: I don't know the figures.