The Wizards Board Politics Thread - Read Me

[bealwithit]

It's my favorite thread! I see nothing wrong with it. Anyone who gets legit heated over an internet argument needs to reevaluate.

[dckingsfan]

I've read the politics thread. I vehemently disagree with some of the content in there, but I've made my peace with it. While the conversation in there is...lively, I haven't noticed many (any?) instances of people changing their minds of positions.

Interesting - I have had a couple of positions I have changed on... at least one time I spent a lot of time arguing on the issue (on the contrarian view).

But I suppose you are right from reading the back and forth - it seems like the positions don't usually change. But from time to time they do seem to temper.

[popper]

Max kudos to the mods on wiz forums. I've been impressed and addicted for the past six years. Frankly, if the other teams were aware of the politics thread I imagine it would be swamped even more than it already is. Count me in on adding a Redskins thread because the alternatives are terrible.

[long suffrin' boulez fan]

How about an all other D.C. Sports team thread. Slurs, Mystx, Nats, Caps, DC United...heck, Kastles?

It's this group of folks I want to hang out with, not just a group of guys who follow other teams in common.

I've been on this board, what, 12-13 years? When the Slurs get hot, let's talk here. When Elena Della Donne dunks, let's praise her here.

C'mon mods, please let it happen.

[payitforward]

Thanks, Pine, I appreciate it. I don't question my ability to give as good as I get on the politics thread. & I like mixing it up.

But my apology to nate stands. What I didn't recognize was his sense -- if I remember his words right or close to right -- of being one against everyone (or nearly) on the thread. That sense usually leads to more extreme ways of expressing one's opinion. Reacting to those in turn does nothing but lower the level of the discussion.

Instead, in that situation, the high order bit is to try to mitigate a person's sense of isolation. The last day or so in the politics thread SFAM has given us (me) some valuable examples of how you do that. & guess what, right away the level of the discussion rises!

In other words, I'm ticked off at myself. But... I'll get over it!

[AFM]

Thanks, Pine, I appreciate it. I don't question my ability to give as good as I get on the politics thread. & I like mixing it up.

But my apology to nate stands. What I didn't recognize was his sense -- if I remember his words right or close to right -- of being one against everyone (or nearly) on the thread. That sense usually leads to more extreme ways of expressing one's opinion. Reacting to those in turn does nothing but lower the level of the discussion.

Instead, in that situation, the high order bit is to try to mitigate a person's sense of isolation. The last day or so in the politics thread SFAM has given us (me) some valuable examples of how you do that. & guess what, right away the level of the discussion rises!

In other words, I'm ticked off at myself. But... I'll get over it!

I apologize for bringing this all up in the Trade thread Friday. That's my bad. If that's what spawned this thread.
You're one of my favorite posters here, even if you're insufferable.

Long Live RealGM!!!!

[NatP4]

It's my favorite thread! I see nothing wrong with it. Anyone who gets legit heated over an internet argument needs to reevaluate.

important

[verbal8]

I've read the politics thread. I vehemently disagree with some of the content in there, but I've made my peace with it. While the conversation in there is...lively, I haven't noticed many (any?) instances of people changing their minds of positions. That may not be fair (I certainly haven't read every post in there), but I read too many instances of people contorting their logic (and evidence) to support their positions, rather than the other way around. Kinda like what fans do in the rest of the forum. When facts are met with "yeah, but still," I tend to get disinterested. But again, I simply choose to ignore it, for the most part.

I don't think political discussions very often change people's minds in any medium. I think the effect tends to be mostly on the poster. The process of putting things into writing and possibly having them challenged usually results in a more thought out position.

[payitforward]

Thanks, Pine, I appreciate it. I don't question my ability to give as good as I get on the politics thread. & I like mixing it up.

But my apology to nate stands. What I didn't recognize was his sense -- if I remember his words right or close to right -- of being one against everyone (or nearly) on the thread. That sense usually leads to more extreme ways of expressing one's opinion. Reacting to those in turn does nothing but lower the level of the discussion.

Instead, in that situation, the high order bit is to try to mitigate a person's sense of isolation. The last day or so in the politics thread SFAM has given us (me) some valuable examples of how you do that. & guess what, right away the level of the discussion rises!

In other words, I'm ticked off at myself. But... I'll get over it!

I apologize for bringing this all up in the Trade thread Friday. That's my bad. If that's what spawned this thread.
You're one of my favorite posters here, even if you're insufferable.

Long Live RealGM!!!!

No, I'd already written Pine.

...Well, I guess if it hadn't come up Friday it might have stayed between me & Pine. But that doesn't put any responsibility on you.

"Insufferable" -- in my experience, when people do dumb things, it's quite often just by way of being themselves -- but to an extreme.

You're one of my favorite posters too, AFM. But don't get a big head* -- everyone who reads this post is one of my favorite posters.

* like mine.

[sfam]

I too would support the Redskins thread. If you're going to have a politics thread, you might as well have one on a local sports team.

And I definitely agree with not logging in to the politics thread if its not for you. That certainly happened to me a number of months back. I pretty much stopped coming to the board because of it. Its good advice to just not go to the thread if you're in that mindset. More recently I've been trying the politics board again - we'll see how long that lasts.

Stick around. I'm enjoying your contribution.

One thing I like about the Wizards political thread is how many people have highly informed opinions partially because of Washington: they grew up in Washington connected to politics or government, or they came here because of politics or government. Policy people, political junkies, finance and development people, economists, etc. all throwing out pros and cons not merely as bullet points from an article but as pieces of personal experience too. There are also people posting with lesser connections to government--entrepreneurs, medical professionals, engineers, etc.--often offering an outsider's perspective of the negatives of dealing with the government.

Sure, it gets heated and nasty sometimes, and the level of argument and support occasionally gets weak or fuzzy, but I'll easily take it over the comment section of virtually any news site. And no matter how heated it gets, AFM always seems to pull it back from the brink. I generally like the politics thread, including the people and opinions with which I (sometimes strenuously) disagree.

A couple that my wife and I are friends with, old friends and neighbors too (we talk regularly) have views that line up very well with Nate's views. We rarely agree on politics, and boy, do we let each other know that. Still, we both occasionally concede points, because we actually listen to each other. I considered it a minor victory when I got one of them to admit, regarding Trump, "Well, he is a little unsavory." Politics aside, they are "salt of the earth" people, and I've seen them go the extra mile to assist every kind of person.

I want to echo Monte's comment to sfam. Your recent postings on the politics board has been really enjoyable to read. Not necessarily because of any specific policy stance you've taken. But you write and reason well and it's nice to see a new, active voice to the mix.

I appreciate the kind words! This has been a great outlet for me while doing my job searching. For potential possibilities of going back to State, USAID or DoD (I am leaning well against that due to the flux and potential drop in funding to development space), I can't tweet publicly at all about political views aside from sharing news stories. I obviously have thoughts on this that I shared prior to the election, and am happy that forum gives me one.

EDIT: For clarity for those that don't know, the not tweeting political views has nothing at all to do with Trump. That would be the case if I wanted to go back as a nonpolitical appointee regardless who was President. I never tweeting anything political while working for those Departments.

[JWizmentality]

Fake concern is FakeNews.