Thread: Liberal "tolerance" and "compassion" on display

Headline article : Cheney says he may have to have heart transplant

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/us_cheney...pphu-container

Short article ... but read some of the comments following. The same posters who decried the "Conservatives" who "preached violence" "passed the hater-ade" causing the Arizona shootings are in not-so-rare form here... Comments about Cheney needing a heart prior to transplant are soome of the kinder ones.

The hate is coming fast and furious from both sides these days. The sad thing is that it's a minority from both the right and the left that are behaving like this and it's coloring the entire group. I keep hearing "the liberals" and "the conservatives" act in such and such a way as if everyone were of the same opinion.
Half of those idiots that posted comments on that article wouldn't have the balls to say those things in real life. The anonymity of the internet allows people to stir the pot just for entertainment.

Originally Posted by speedygirl

The hate is coming fast and furious from both sides these days. The sad thing is that it's a minority from both the right and the left that are behaving like this and it's coloring the entire group. I keep hearing "the liberals" and "the conservatives" act in such and such a way as if everyone were of the same opinion.
Half of those idiots that posted comments on that article wouldn't have the balls to say those things in real life. The anonymity of the internet allows people to stir the pot just for entertainment.

I agree with this. I am not going to pretend for one minute that I like Cheney because I never have and never will because of his stand on plastic guns. I do however, wish him well.

Originally Posted by speedygirl

The hate is coming fast and furious from both sides these days. The sad thing is that it's a minority from both the right and the left that are behaving like this and it's coloring the entire group. I keep hearing "the liberals" and "the conservatives" act in such and such a way as if everyone were of the same opinion.
Half of those idiots that posted comments on that article wouldn't have the balls to say those things in real life. The anonymity of the internet allows people to stir the pot just for entertainment.

John Gabriel's "Greater Internet F&ckwad Theory"
John Gabriel's "Greater Internet F&ckwad Theory" was posted in the Penny Arcade strip published March 19, 2004. It regards unsociable tendencies exhibited by gamers while playing online multiplayer games such as Unreal Tournament and Call of Duty. In this hypothesis, Mike Krahulik suggests that, given both anonymity and an audience, an otherwise regular person can become a "total f&ckwad," meaning a very disagreeable person with an irreverent mode of speech. New York University adjunct professor Clay Shirky, who studies social and economic effects of Internet technologies, explains: "There’s a large crowd and you can act out in front of it without paying any personal price to your reputation,” which "creates conditions most likely to draw out the typical Internet user’s worst impulses."
In an Advocate article about online homophobia, this theory was used to account for behavior on online forums where one can remain anonymous in front of an audience: for instance, posting comments on popular YouTube videos.

There is a difference between not liking someone, thinking they are a jerk, disagreeing with their politics... and some of the vile comments being made. I can even understand the obvious jokes about a politician having a "heart" for a transplant... but the venom behind some of the statements - after all the calls for assorted pols head on a pike for their comments which "lead" to the AZ shootings while asserting a need for civility between the parties?? The same posters who were the ones so critical are now the ones being so poisonous.

PS Cheney isn't my fave pol eigther....