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Comments sections on news sites.

Posted: Wed Dec 26, 2012 11:48 am
by VG_Addict
No matter WHAT site it is, the people in the comments section ALWAYS find a way to turn a tragic event, such as a hurricane or a school shooting, into a debate over global warming or gun control, respectively, which devolves into name-calling, such as "Repuglican" or "Dumbocrat". Frankly, I find this to disrespectful to the victims and their families. It's ESPECIALLY bad when said tragic event happens in a red state, as they'll say any of the following: "It's God's punishment for being racist/homophobic/stupid/whatever", "Stupid red states, leeching money from the blue states", or, my personal "favorite", "Hahaha, the red states should secede, the US would be better without them". And MAYBE, you'll see a couple of sensible posters talking about how tragic the event is, that they'll be praying for the families of the victims, and that the previous posters are being disrespectful.

Posted: Wed Dec 26, 2012 3:22 pm
by Ace Mercury
Based on the caricature that I've seen of the US politics, it's like they're sports teams. Loyalties lies not because of the causes they champion, but rather membership in a political party forms a core part of one's identity. For example, people aren't Republican because they're against gun control, but they are against gun control because they're Republican. Cogent political discourse is a rarity because people are so divided into teams rather than interested in causes.