Clinton, Obama and McCain

[pirates]

There have been numerous threads in the Water Cooler about Senator Hillary Clinton, Senator Barack Obama and Senator John McCain. Every political thread has gone to absolute crap. There are a few members who try to keep the topic on politics. Unfortunately, there are many other members that believe they must exploit and spread misinformation every chance they get.

If you just take a look at the water cooler section, you'd clearly see people trying to spread a muslim smear on Senator Obama. Every topic about Senator Clinton shows blatant misogyny and plain hatred towards the Clinton family. It's as if there can never be a thread on real issues challenging the American people. It shows not only ignorance, jealousy, and lack of morals (which should be partly to blame on their parents) but stupidity as well.

There has been times I've actually been so enraged that I've chimed in. It's so obvious that this forum is predominantly a male message board. Many of those males, who are so uneducated, feel as if it's their duty to post their blatant lies and twisted views on life.

I challenge you to go to the thread on "Obama or Clinton" and see how productive that thread is. See how disgusting individuals thrive on using "Hussein" as some political ploy. See how people say such atrocious statements about Senator Clinton. If Martin Luther King Jr or Eleanor Roosevelt could see what's going on right now they'd be appalled. I won't say any names but those whose hearts are filled with hatred should be embarrassed of themselves. I'm not saying that everyone voicing their opinion on that thread or any thread on politics is misinformed but the trolls tend to gravitate to those type of threads.

I believe there should be someone who would routinely check the water cooler section. This isn't the first time I've seen sexism in that section of the forum. Look at the thread "I need to vent about women." There needs to be harsher penalties on this forum for such topics because it does not portray the achievements we've made in American history. Those who manipulate, distort and politicize things we can't control should be ashamed themselves. Their parents obviously did not teach them any morals or values. The members that have already crossed the line shouldn't be penalized but if they continue to do so then I believe they should be held responsible for their actions.

[Arkadin]

as always it's a fine line.
certainly outright violations should be dealt with, but as far as a thread like the one
"I need to vent about women" I personally would hope that IF there are any posts that truly violate forum rules, then the INDIVIDUAL POSTERS should obviously suffer consequences instead of making some absurd rule like
"no posting of threads of this type."
That type of thing is NOT what we need imo.

[Rob71]

There were a few posters spreading hatred and off topic attacks at McCain also. It's just a sad fact that if you get a group of people together and begin discussing politics this is going to happen. The only way to stop it is to ban political discussion, and that defeats the purpose of a water cooler thread.

[pirates]

Originally Posted by Rob71

There were a few posters spreading hatred and off topic attacks at McCain also. It's just a sad fact that if you get a group of people together and begin discussing politics this is going to happen. The only way to stop it is to ban political discussion, and that defeats the purpose of a water cooler thread.

Of course there are posters attacking Senator McCain as well. I've just seen more on Senator Obama and Senator Clinton. Even though McCain is not my cup of tea, I respect his dedication to this country and his sacrifices. You won't ever see me attack him on his age, religion, race, gender, middle name or any other factors that he can't control. It seems as if those factors are fair game when it comes to Senator Obama or Senator Clinton.

I won't say any names but one ill-informed member stated that they won't vote for Senator Obama because his middle name is "Hussein." Do you not find that ridiculous? There are so many issues going on in the world and a man's middle name should not be the deciding factor in which direction our country goes. Do people really think that he's going to destroy America? He's a christian, not a muslim, and people use that muslim smear to advance their opinion. I don't agree with it and there are so many hard working muslims in America and they've been unfairly portrayed as some evil force. How you think they feel? Do people not realize that Irish, Italians and Germans were once blacklisted in America? I criticize the candidates on their policies, their judgement and their plans. I won't ever stoop down to such pathetic attacks. I love all political parties. They all contribute to our country in one way or another.

I see your point, Arkadin. I would only recommend banning politics if the political threads continues to go downhill. I feel that discussing politics could be very healthy and can inform others on different viewpoints. I just don't agree with a lot of the tactics some members have taken. It's not anything our founding fathers would be proud of. I think that penalizing posters who continue to violate and disrespect others is the best idea but someone needs to keep an eye on those threads. They quickly turn from good to horrendous in the matter of minutes.

[GamerGuyX]

lol I like how the OP doesn't mention anything about McCain in her original post.

[pirates]

Originally Posted by GamerGuyX

lol I like how the OP doesn't mention anything about McCain in her original post.

Thank you for your very productive and groundbreaking post on the troubling subject at hand.

[vinnie97]

Clinton's reputation precedes her...the hate is earned. I'm glad her campaign is nearly sunk.