[WARNING] Political rant!

[sparkfrost]

I was going to make an angry post about therightfangirl and how they come off as a bunch of deluded, whiny, privileged brats, but I decided that I just don't care enough.

Actually, that's a lie. I do care enough, and here is why: the members of that community give conservatives a bad name. Comparing Michelle Obama to Sasquatch is not clever. Blaming anyone but Palin on her decision to quit is not "defending your icon" it is disenfranchising a woman who made a (arguably poor and ill-advised) choice to step down from her political position. Insulting Obama's children and then turning around and bashing "the liberal media" for attacking Palin's family is hypocritical. Also showing a double-standard is attacking someone who reasonably and thoughtfully points out different interpretations of Bible-verses based on different translations of Aramaic and Hebrew, but insisting that Umbridge in Harry Potter is a liberal and anyone who disagrees with you is a fucking moron or a stupid liberal idiot. I can and will go on about their despicable behavior:

-Calling yourself a Christian but rejoicing that Dr. Tiller will "rot in hell"
-Being pissy that his murderer was called a religious zealot, then turning around and condemning the entirety of the Islamic religion and culture as murderous, Western-hating infidels
-Rejoicing that Proposition 8 passed and getting pissed off when people call you a bigot
-Saying that your religion trumps people's rights to "Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness"
-Defending Sanford and saying that his infidelity should have remained a personal matter while insisting that Clinton should have been thrown out of office
-Blaming the "liberal media" for harping on Adam Lambert's sexuality when Bill O'Rielly was the first to bring it up

I could go on, but since those bullet points are just from posts through the end of May, the entire list would take up too many journal entries.

I went to check out that community yesterday because of a secret on fandomsecrets that mentioned it. I was curious, I wanted to see what a "fan community for conservative fangirls" was like. I personally want my fandom space to be friendly, but also full of discussion and hopefully thought provoking as well. That is why I checked out the comm in the first place, I wanted to see how conservative fangirls acted in their own safe space. What I found was a cesspool of hate and misinformation* with one in every 40 entries being remotely fandom-related. Anyone who spoke from a fiscally (not socially) conservative perspective or even someone willing to listen to the other side was either immediately shot down or accused of being a troll. It was bullshit. I wish I had never clicked on the link. It is an angry community full of hatred, bigotry and bile.

I almost didn't write this post because I was worried about the reactions from conservatives on my friends list. The several that I know are conservative are reasonable, well-spoken, and intelligent people, and I respect their opinions while disagreeing with them. I think that is what made me so angry about that community- I'm used to civil discourse with people that hold different opinions from me, and I'm also used to seeing them write about their opinions in well-researched posts. There was none of that reason in the community, and it scares and angers me that people can be so convinced that they are right without putting any effort into researching what they believe in.

I am well aware that some of you may choose to de-friend me over this post. I'd rather you talked to me in the comments or by PM, but I won't be angry if you choose not to.


*One post accused liberals of "ratting out" Sanford, blamed everyone from the liberal media to the South Carolina Democrats, and had about 30 comments agreeing with everything in the post. When one commenter pointed out that the people who had brought Sanford's affair to light were the Republican Lt. Governor and the Republican State's Attorney General, both political rivals, and gave a brief history of Sanford's battle with his own party the OP responded with "Oh, wow, this would have been good to know before I posted, LOL!". It is called research, you ignorant bitch, try it out sometime!

Comments

[thesilentpoet.livejournal.com]

Wow, just wow. That's... there's reasons I rarely discuss politics.

(I tend to consider my views more moderate than anything else. Socio-economic issues, I tend to lean more towards the left, while I'm more right in the fiscal ones. Of course, there is grey in both.)

[sparkfrost.livejournal.com]

I try to avoid political discussion on my journal because its such a loaded topic, but after reading through that community I couldn't hold it in.

(And yes to grey areas! Socially I'm liberal, fiscally I'm more conservative. Not everything is absolute or extreme!)

[xsnarkasaurus.livejournal.com]

When I am not responding on my phone, I will be more verbose. I just wanted to say that yoyu are completely right with this post, and I love you and am proud to call yoyu my friend

[sparkfrost.livejournal.com]

I love you too, and thank you. I look forward to reading the more verbose comment!

[lillbet.livejournal.com]

I was curious and clicked on the linky and now I have to go punch something.

Will you excuse me?

[sparkfrost.livejournal.com]

You are most certainly excused! Try not to bruise your hand.

[mwestbelle.livejournal.com]

It sometimes feels like internet!conservatives are honestly trying to sound as crazy as possible :( Bleh. I don't talk about politics online because I know that 95% of my flist doesn't agree with me, and I honestly don't understand the point of a "conservative" fangirl community. I don't think my politics has a hell of a lot to do with my fandom, and. Idk, it would be nice to have a little more balance (more people being less crazy, preferably), but now that it's not a major political season, it's kind of a nonissue. I disagree with most of my RL friends politically, and that's never been an issue.

...this is long!

[sparkfrost.livejournal.com]

I just think it sucks that radical "conservatives" ruin the label for rational people.

I can see politics have some impact on fandom, but I don't think it should have a large place in it. Which is what made me so curious about the comm in the first place- what would a fandom community with political influences look like? Apparently "batshit crazy" is the answer.

[soleta-nf.livejournal.com]

I would have been curious, too. Thank you for doing the research for us! I will stay clear of that community.

[sparkfrost.livejournal.com]

You're very welcome! My boyfriend thinks I'm crazy for reading that comm, considering that it resulted in many hours of rage, but I have to be well-versed in the idiocy before I can rant about it.

[soleta-nf.livejournal.com]

It's important to rant once in a while and to know what is out there. "Know Thy Enemy" or know the internet's stupidity, and all that. It makes you a more well-informed person. And now we all know what self-described conservative fangirls get up to on the internet!

[ernestinewalker.livejournal.com]

I just hate it when people are ig'nant, regardless of political leaning or flavour Blow-Pop. And it seems like Internet!Rabids tend to be As Ig'nant As Possible (aiap) for the sake of being able to scream over each other and get all noticed and shit.
I break it down like this-
Your Opinion: cool
My Opinion: separately but equally cool
Your Ignorance: Not Cool
Your Refusal to Admit Said Ignorance: Especially Not Cool
Your Nurturing of Said Ignorance, Even in the Face of Multiple References to Disputing FACTS (not opinions, FACTS): Fucking Ridiculous
Supporting Any Opinion with "Well, Jesus Told Me So,": Seriously? You want me to not only believe that Jesus talked to you specifically, but that he wants you to go kill gay people? Oh, ok. Good luck with that. Asshole.

[sparkfrost.livejournal.com]

I agree with everything you said.

[taught-to-dream.livejournal.com]

I read your post, told myself that I didn't want to click on the community and see the bullshit for myself, and went back to watching tv. ...for about 2 minutes and then I clicked on the community. *headdesk*
I don't know how people can live in hate and ignorance. Everyone's entitled to form their own opinions and I'll gladly respect others' opinions, but dear God do some research before you talk shit. D:

[sparkfrost.livejournal.com]

I hope your head isn't too sore. :) And yes! Research! Just look into what you believe, and if you still believe it, fine! But don't spew hate based on ignorance! (I mean, preferably don't spew hate at all, but I think you know what I mean)

[greybeta.livejournal.com]

I overheard this in church one time: "God caused storms all over America because Obama was pressuring Israel to give up some of the Holy Land." o_O

[sparkfrost.livejournal.com]

Jesus just ain't down with that shit.

Seriously, people's willingness to hate everyone else in the world because 'God told me to!' is downright terrifying.

[silverdragon729.livejournal.com]

I don't understand why you think anyone would defriend you over this. Conservative pieces of shit, like Ann Coulter and Rush Limbaugh, give conservatives a bad name and encourage other people to do the same.

Sarah Palin is an awful, awful woman. I would vote for Huckabee over her, and that's saying something, because fuck Huckabee as well. I remember a time (that's a lie, I'm too young) when my party stood for something besides whining and being out of touch with reality. I hope they get their shit together and soon.

[sparkfrost.livejournal.com]

I guess I was just worried that people would see "conservative" and jump to the conclusion that I was dissing everyone.

Yeah, I'm not a fan of Palin at all. She may be charismatic, but she is frighteningly ignorant and entitled, which is not a good combination for a politician. I, too, remember a GOP that stood for (and acted toward) fiscal conservatism and small government! It'd be awesome if the party could get back to that...

[channonyarrow.livejournal.com]

Yeah, but it's exactly the same cesspool of hate as in cf_hardcore and ...well, okay, feminist_rage is just a cesspool. I theoretically agree with points in both sides, but the actual execution and the ways in which things are said is absolutely, utterly, completely repulsive.

The more I spend time on the internet, the more I think things shouldn't happen in so-called safe spaces; what it seems to make safe is vile behaviour from people who wouldn't dare say those things in public. Whether or not someone genuinely believes those things, it's the equivalent of your post - you modify the tone to make it something that people approach reasonably rather than something that just screams hatefulness all over the place from jump street.

[sparkfrost.livejournal.com]

There was an interesting article on Cracked.com about how trolls are destroying the internet, and the reason that people feel alright with saying horrible things is because its not an actual person on the other side of the computer screen, its just words on a page. With no accountability everyone turns into an asshole, and that comm as well as those you named are perfect examples.

I hope that my post doesn't come across as screaming hate- I'm really angry, but I went over the post many times, trying to make sure it wasn't alienating or condescending or vicious. So uh, I hope I did ok with that.

[channonyarrow.livejournal.com]

No, I do think your post comes off as thoughtful and mature. You disagree with their comm, but you present it reasonably, which I think the "safe space" places don't.

I actually agree with that Cracked article. It's too easy to forget that the people reading you are actually people. And the other side of no accountability is that it's so much easier and faster to get a reaction if you say something vile (whether your audience agrees with it or not) that it provides validation. I can walk into any comm on LJ and start shouting "TROLL IN THE DUNGEON" and know that pretty quickly, someone's going to be paying attention to me.

[sparkfrost.livejournal.com]

Ok, I was definitely trying not to come off like they do, its good to know it worked.

I agree with Cracked as well. Anonymity and the desire for attention make a fairly horrible combination, and tend to result in the worst wank and flamewars.

[badlydrawnjeff.livejournal.com]

Extremists suck.

[sparkfrost.livejournal.com]

Indeed.

[cariadwyn.livejournal.com]

I worked several years in DC and I got to see both sides of the Political isle and the only difference I see between them is the D or R on the name plate.

They are all politicians they all have hidden agendas they all bow down to one group or another. Politics in this country truly has gone to the rich. I hate to say it but the is how it is. I vote but for the record I feel most of the votes in this country are wasted.

[sparkfrost.livejournal.com]

I'm not even really talking about politicians, but how people align themselves, and more specifically, how they choose to demonstrate their beliefs.

I am glad that you vote, I think it is one of the requirements of being a citizen that, no matter what you feel about the electoral process, that you should at least get out and vote.

[panicandpromise.livejournal.com]

Finally here! =)

I agree with everything you have said. Completely. I generally dislike discussing politics because of people like this...they just make me so angry!

[sparkfrost.livejournal.com]

Thank you for reading it!

I try to avoid actual political posts, but this community and the attitudes of its members really infuriated me, and I feel like I would have been angry at myself if I hadn't said anything.

[thedelusionist.livejournal.com]

I agree with you 100 per cent. Being conservative wouldn't be so bad if you didn't have to associate yourself with a bunch of right wing a-holes.

[sparkfrost.livejournal.com]

Yeah, pretty much! I almost feel bad for saying that, but then I read communities like that and somehow the bad feeling just fades away...

[kyrie1618.livejournal.com]

I like you. :)

I wish I could say something intelligent right now, but... yeah, that's all I got.

My apologies for being so quiet for so many months. I'm coming back to LJ! Just not 100%, not just yet. But I had to comment, because I kinda think your post rocks.

[sparkfrost.livejournal.com]

Thank you! :D

Hey, no worries. I've disappeared from LJ before, its good to know you're coming back. Hope everything in real life is ok!