MetaTalk

There is no problem with individuals expressing views critical of Sanders, Stein, Snowden, Greenwald etc. The problem is when an echo chamber develops making pro-establishment-ism the only acceptable position and vehemently jumping on views to the contrary with more emotion than reason. It seems to me that MeFi 2016 has become such an echo chamber. This is no doubt due to the very real threat posed by Donald Trump and the Republican Party, and the consequent necessity of a Clinton win, but has developed to the point where it has the effect of recursively self-amplifying a pro-establishment position and silencing more radical/anarchist/antifa or otherwise anti-establishment views.
posted by splitpeasoup on Oct 14, 2016 - 554 comments

You know, I get as sick as anybody over every minor story about the U.S. presidential election getting posted to the Blue, and I know the mods are trying to keep the quality of posts up, but it [i]still[/i] surprised me to go there tonight and find NO DISCUSSION of what history could very well define as THE important turning point in this election: John McCain's not knowing how many houses he owns. This on the heels of his definition of $5 million as defining "rich". Could no one draft a decent FPP about it, or has it been decided that this story isn't going on the Blue no matter what? If so, one has to wonder: why?
posted by spock on Aug 21, 2008 - 321 comments

Should I have learned a lesson from this? [more inside]
posted by timsteil on Feb 19, 2008 - 41 comments

Yeah, assassinations are hard to be unemotional about, but can we start acting reasonable? [more inside]
posted by Weebot on Dec 27, 2007 - 259 comments

I have a problem with people making posts here that are blatantly inaccurate just for the sake of making a political point. [more inside]
posted by puke & cry on Dec 20, 2007 - 80 comments

hama7's getting grief for nothing.
posted by cgc373 on Feb 1, 2007 - 151 comments

Is there a section of MetaFilter that allows political discussion?

The only two comments I've posted were deleted. The first was archived because I used the same link as another person, but I had a completely opposite take. That was my point in using that same link. My post was political and critical of the Bush administration's actions in the New Orleans flood.

The one I posted today asked if the Bush administration is the most corrupt in government in our history or simply the most corrupt in modern times. I posted a link that explored that very question. Six quick comments, then boom The thought was silenced.

There was a mention, I presume by the editor, of the axe to grind filter being two doors down. I wasn't sure if there really is a place where political discussion is welcome, or if this was a way of saying political discussion isn't proper policy here.
posted by BillyElmore on Mar 6, 2006 - 111 comments

Hildegarde, please clarify. Am I, or anyone else in this thread a "homophobic fuck"?
posted by angrybeaver on Jan 12, 2006 - 84 comments

Who's "trolling" now? Don't we have enough vituperative political "debates" around here without somebody singling out and baiting certain individuals by name?
posted by davy on Sep 20, 2005 - 348 comments

"Criminal incompetence is probably not an impeachable offense, but something has to be done about Bush." Please keep your politics out of Ask Metafilter questions. (And another.) It tends to attract the wrong kind of answers.
posted by smackfu on Sep 2, 2005 - 25 comments

uh, what neverending ax grinding? More inside.
posted by If I Had An Anus on Jun 28, 2005 - 57 comments

Death to Reporters! • The Vindication of Eason Jordan! • Pre-emptive strike! • Why do you hate America so much? • Looks like Nicola Calipari's death is another great opportunity for sneering, soulless political point-scoring. Why was the only semi-respectful treatment of the story the only one to get deleted?
posted by dhoyt on Mar 5, 2005 - 3 comments

I am new. There is a lot of MetaTalk about politics.

Apparently, "The quickest way to get a label you'll never be able to shake here is to engage in political threads."

For a long time, I couldn't figure out why people freaked out so much about mentions of politics, but I've been reading this thread, and I'm almost three-quarters through, finally, and it looks like the consensus is: MetaFilter is not a soapbox, and your primary subject should be links, not opinions.

That's cool with me, I'm just curious if I've got it properly nailed down.
posted by blacklite on Nov 28, 2004 - 270 comments

Consistency in standards, and the lack thereof. Since the election, MeFi has gotten a lot calmer, and a lot more readable. Much of these is surely do to the deletion of highly partisan comments and threads, but it seems like some people aren't getting the message. Snarky FPPs like this provoke obnoxious replies like part 3 of this.

Is there a viable way to confine this crap to the political threads?
posted by mosch on Nov 26, 2004 - 20 comments

Can we please separate political passion from blood lust?
posted by Chanther on Oct 27, 2004 - 74 comments

Bush is Hitler. Well, I'm glad that's settled.

The post includes scintillating links to the front page of foxnews.com and to a NY Times editorial. The comments include "you never should have been born", "prayer breakfasts take us closer to forced reeducation camps for gays", (this comment met with lots of approval) "you're an idiot" and "Bush is Hitler"(the phrase "a normal Christian guy on a power trip" is a reference to an earlier comment by skallas that Hitler was just a normal Christian guy on a power trip). There’s nothing redeeming here. Will you delete this please, Matt?
posted by gd779 on Oct 18, 2004 - 72 comments

ParisParamus, cut it out. Please. Your hateful spewing on AskMe does not help anyone. You're not "bucking the lefty trend", you're just being a jerk, and polluting an otherwise useful resource. If you really feel the need for release, please be considerate, and try to keep it in the blue. Everyone else, stop feeding the troll. Please.
posted by majcher on Aug 19, 2004 - 113 comments

This is probably pointless, so here goes nothing:

"Instead of South vs North, this time it will be Right vs Left.

Sounds good to me. I doubt the world will shed too many tears if these narrow-minded, short-sighted, self-serving fools start getting special deliveries in their mailboxes. What's that? You mean you didn't order the bouquet of plastique and nails?"

This is repugnant. I agree with Civil_Disobedient's politics more often than not, but this is beyond the pale.
posted by Irontom on Mar 15, 2004 - 43 comments

Blatant front-page troll.
posted by nicwolff on Jan 19, 2004 - 34 comments

Can we please keep politics off AskMetaFilter?
posted by timeistight on Jan 18, 2004 - 29 comments

Are you a MeFi Lefty or a MeFi Righty? I honestly don't get what comments like this one are getting at, or what they would prefer to see happen here. The lack of specificity in most of these complaints doesn't help. I see good and bad arguments getting called out regularly, regardless of where they fall on the political spectrum. What am I missing?
posted by mediareport on Sep 15, 2002 - 60 comments

Hi, Jack. Just because it's "another Coulter thread" doesn't mean raysmj ought to piss all over it with his off-topic opinions on proper journalistic style. How many other threads have been similarly derailed by snarks on the writing style or site design of the linked page?
posted by mcwetboy on Sep 5, 2002 - 63 comments

Bushtard? I'm not a fan of Bush, but this is really getting old. Any suggestions for how to discourage this method of posting?
posted by jheiz on Jan 11, 2002 - 7 comments

Isn't this kind of post better suited to FreeRepublic?
posted by holgate on Oct 26, 2001 - 11 comments