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Is Debate Politics a good and fair representation of society overall?

Is Debate Politics a good and fair representation of society overall?

  • Yes

    Votes: 5 7.9%

  • No

    Votes: 58 92.1%
  • Total voters
    63
Phys251 said:
One of DP's single greatest weaknesses is this: To a great extent you are allowed to belittle women, people of color, LGBTs, etc. But the minute you call someone out for their racism, sexism, or homophobia, you receive swift and severe consequences.
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Comments regarding gender, ethnicity/color, orientation, etc., address tangible specifics, and as such may (or may not) be legitimate, and people who are particularly hyper-sensitive to these issues may misconstrue them as "belittling".

Comments regarding *-ism, *-phobia, etc., are individual opinions, based on little more than emotion regarding the topic and are less likely to be contributing to the discussion.

Regardless, even illegitimate comments regarding said "tangible specifics" can be articulated without resorting to emotional hyperbole and character attacks.
 
No. People who post here tend to be more passionate than the average person... probably why they post here. Now passion can take many forms. Crazy is certainly one of them.
 
radcen said:
Is Debate Politics a good and fair representation of society overall?

Yes?
No?

I'm going to purposely leave out a "Maybe" option. For this question I think people should be able to make a choice one way or another.

In some ways it would seem so. We have the whole gamut of ideologies, genders, orientations, ethnicities, and so on. But, I would say 'no' for the simple reason that the vast majority of people here are here because they care deeply about social and/or political issues. Deeply enough to actually discuss them. The majority of average society does not care that deeply, and is seemingly perfectly fine with hiding their collective heads in the sand and willfully ignoring issues that affect them directly. They are fine with letting others make critical decisions for them.

I believe that we here at DP are in the minority.
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Just so I'm sure, your question of whether we're representative of the country pertains to political awareness and participation?
 
I feel like the people on DP represent a more fringe demographic of society, myself included. I mean, the average person doesn't post on a political forum every day
 
MaggieD said:
You make a good point about why you believe DP is not a fair cross-section of society as a whole. My thoughts are the same but for a different reason: Most people don't post on internet forums. Those who do probably fall into one of just a few categories: unemployed; retired; in school. Very few posters (I don't THINK) are working stiffs.
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I work long hours. Of course, a lot of it online.
 
With respect to the OP author (because I generally like the idea for the OP), it's an impossible question to properly answer.

One would have to personally know the majority of society to know what they think and feel and desire to know whether this particular 'chat' forum was representative of society 'overall'.

Since no one here (I assume) has that knowledge...then no one here can accurately answer the question.
 
Hmmmmm ... I don't think DP could reflect society unless we had an Obama-like character leading us ...
you know ...
someone with a pen and a phone like Obama.

captain kangaroo.jpg
 
radcen said:
Is Debate Politics a good and fair representation of society overall?

Yes?
No?

I'm going to purposely leave out a "Maybe" option. For this question I think people should be able to make a choice one way or another.

In some ways it would seem so. We have the whole gamut of ideologies, genders, orientations, ethnicities, and so on. But, I would say 'no' for the simple reason that the vast majority of people here are here because they care deeply about social and/or political issues. Deeply enough to actually discuss them. The majority of average society does not care that deeply, and is seemingly perfectly fine with hiding their collective heads in the sand and willfully ignoring issues that affect them directly. They are fine with letting others make critical decisions for them.

I believe that we here at DP are in the minority.
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well that would depend.

I voted know because you didn't give any criteria.

among people i actually talk issues with DP is an EXCELLENT representation IMO. If im comparing real life people to the respected, honest and objective posters here NOT the trolls and SUPER extremists.

I only know about 2 conservative extremists and 1 lib extremist in real life and im talking just the normal level extremists. DIe hard fox fan or die hard MSNBC fan that believe those news orgs are honest lol

I dont know any religious extremist like the ones here even in the multiple churches ive been too and can say i honestly know the people not just acquaintances.
I dont know any nutball super extremist like the ones here against equal rights for gays or abortion (and mind what i said, i know people that think its wrong, im talking the nutballs)
I dont know any anti-gun super extremists like the ones i see here



If they exist in the real world they must hide it out of embarrassment.

Then there are simply the people that dont know or done care about the issues discussed here
 
LowDown said:
Eh? Push-back for their name-calling? How sad. They're used to getting off scott free; I know it must be a shock.
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I'm sorry; could you clarify? You used a lot of pronouns without specifying their antecedents.

The only reason our tires haven't been slashed, or some such, by the usual suspects is that they don't know where they are. Do we really have to go through a laundry list of acts of leftist violence against the political opponents of the left? The stuff that happens on university campuses alone would take quite a while to review. Conservatives hire body guards just to go speak at those places.
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And one of the many, many, many differences between the Left and the Right is that when liberals hear of one of their own inciting violence, we will be the first ones to call it out. By contrast, you guy have a long track record of trying to hide, justify, or occasionally even praise some acts of violence from your own group.
 
radcen said:
Comments regarding gender, ethnicity/color, orientation, etc., address tangible specifics, and as such may (or may not) be legitimate, and people who are particularly hyper-sensitive to these issues may misconstrue them as "belittling".

Comments regarding *-ism, *-phobia, etc., are individual opinions, based on little more than emotion regarding the topic and are less likely to be contributing to the discussion.

Regardless, even illegitimate comments regarding said "tangible specifics" can be articulated without resorting to emotional hyperbole and character attacks.
Click to expand...

Racism, sexism, homophobia, etc. are not just signs of flawed character: They are harmful attitudes that deserve to be called out. So many people who spout these views prove to be spectacularly emotionally weak when this happens. Let me assure you, the most virulent anti-racist, anti-sexist, or anti-homophobe comment that does not incite violence cannot in any way, shape, or form compare to the real harm and the real damage that such thoughts and deeds perpetrate.
 
Phys251 said:
Racism, sexism, homophobia, etc. are not just signs of flawed character: They are harmful attitudes that deserve to be called out. So many people who spout these views prove to be spectacularly emotionally weak when this happens. Let me assure you, the most virulent anti-racist, anti-sexist, or anti-homophobe comment that does not incite violence cannot in any way, shape, or form compare to the real harm and the real damage that such thoughts and deeds perpetrate.
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You missed the point. When expressing opinion/conclusion, *HOW* you do it is critical if you don't want to be called on it.
 
The number of libertarians in here is staggering in comparison with the voting population. This in turn causes the libertarian to rely on an almost Marxist outlook, claiming society suffers from "false consciousness" in all but name.
 
LowDown said:
Deprived of the ability to stop discussions by calling people racist, sexist, bigoted, homophobic, etc., left wingers are at a loss for how to proceed here. They seem to resent free speech from their political opponents quite a bit, so you get all sorts of false and irrational characterizations.

Conservatives and libertarians have learned to keep quiet in certain groups else they get their cars keyed or their tires slashed.
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Ah yes, those poor, persecuted conservatives. :roll:
 
There are way more libertarians as a percentage of members on here than there is in the general population. I think most people that do keep up with current events are far more nuanced in their views than the average DP member.
 
The internet is a fair and honest representation of society. It allows for us to speak without filter. Something few of us do in normal life.
 
CRUE CAB said:
The internet is a fair and honest representation of society. It allows for us to speak without filter. Something few of us do in normal life.
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I'm not sure that's a good thing. But it's not a random group. A certain type chooses this format. Unlikely representative.
 
Never base your perceptions of the world off social websites and forums.
 
AGENT J said:
well that would depend.

I voted know because you didn't give any criteria.

among people i actually talk issues with DP is an EXCELLENT representation IMO. If im comparing real life people to the respected, honest and objective posters here NOT the trolls and SUPER extremists.

I only know about 2 conservative extremists and 1 lib extremist in real life and im talking just the normal level extremists. DIe hard fox fan or die hard MSNBC fan that believe those news orgs are honest lol

I dont know any religious extremist like the ones here even in the multiple churches ive been too and can say i honestly know the people not just acquaintances.
I dont know any nutball super extremist like the ones here against equal rights for gays or abortion (and mind what i said, i know people that think its wrong, im talking the nutballs)
I dont know any anti-gun super extremists like the ones i see here



If they exist in the real world they must hide it out of embarrassment.

Then there are simply the people that dont know or done care about the issues discussed here
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in general to double down on what i said id say my friends and people i encounter everyday are very much like the mix here and a mix of

captain courtesy
Gina
Goshin
Bodhisattva
StillBallin
Serenity
Maggie
Cardinal
RiskyTicket
Wiseone
lizzie
Josie
Tacomancer
jetboogie
Clax1911
LaMidrighter
YourStar
Roguenuke

and many more that i just cant think of but in general its a good mix and very much like real people in the real world
 
radcen said:
Is Debate Politics a good and fair representation of society overall?
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There was a poll thread a while back about personality types. The results indicated that introverts are very over represented here at DP.

I'm not saying it was a very methodical and scientifically relevant poll, I'm just saying...

It sort of gives a snapshot.
 
radcen said:
Is Debate Politics a good and fair representation of society overall?

Yes?
No?

I'm going to purposely leave out a "Maybe" option. For this question I think people should be able to make a choice one way or another.

In some ways it would seem so. We have the whole gamut of ideologies, genders, orientations, ethnicities, and so on. But, I would say 'no' for the simple reason that the vast majority of people here are here because they care deeply about social and/or political issues. Deeply enough to actually discuss them. The majority of average society does not care that deeply, and is seemingly perfectly fine with hiding their collective heads in the sand and willfully ignoring issues that affect them directly. They are fine with letting others make critical decisions for them.

I believe that we here at DP are in the minority.
Click to expand...
No, and DP doesn't pretend to be, either. This is a hobbiest website, not an objective journalist publicist.
 
radcen said:
Is Debate Politics a good and fair representation of society overall?

Yes?
No?

I
I believe that we here at DP are in the minority.
Click to expand...

Do you think that it is even remotely possible that DP foumers are a bunch of extremists?
 
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