Red vs. Blue: A Plague on Both Your Houses

I’m an independent liberal, one who _used_ to read Daily Kos, well, daily. I used to read conservative websites like Little Green Footballs and shake my head, thinking _what vitriol! How hateful!_ Now I think the same thing about many of the entries on Daily Kos as well. What happened? I’m not sure–perhaps a shift in my perception, perhaps a shift in the collective personality at Daily Kos, probably a little bit of both. I am sure of one thing though: Daily Kos is just the mirror image of conservative diary communities like Little Green Footballs and Free Republic.

Why do I think this? Both are full of _ad hominem_ attacks, attempted character assasinations, rabid infighting and their users frequently demonize anyone who harbors a dissenting opinion. The star members of the community bully others into marching lockstep with the accepted beliefs. Switch around a few words, play opposites with some of the opinions, these sites could all be the same!

Sites like these are frequently bad for all of us. Sure, sometimes there’s some great posts on Daily Kos, usually the science posts or financial diaries. Most of the entries and comments don’t challenge anyone to think outside partisan lines, however, and they present a warped view of reality and they encourage immature partisan behavior.

So if they’re that bad, why read any of them? I’ve joined a twelve step to shake the habit: I’m weaning myself off of Daily Kos, finding that my fix is less than necessary every time I come back. I’m hoping that I’ll get my coin sometime this decade. I’ll stick to reading the national and international news and reading local blogs. I can form my opinions without Kos’ or Armando’s help or “encouragement.”