FREEREPUBLIC.com'S PRAGMATISM: A Recipe for Disappointment [The outsider view of FR?]

etherzone ^ | November 26, 2002 | Paul Fallavollita

[Petronski]

Thank you for your exposé in #7. Everyone should understand where the writer's coming from, and you have done us a service by citing his background. I hope this thread will last so more light can be shed on this creep's ulterior motives.

[alrea]

I don't agree with everything McCain stands for, but anyone who believes that America should be about American citizens and not about American corporations should do whatever it takes to reduce the influence of money in Washington.

Typical bullshoot envy talk; sounds like Bill Clinton is posting again...obviously forgetting that the American Citizen "is" the American Corporation. Have you heard the average size of donations to George Bush?

Clinton gave us Monica, Bin laden and massive corporate accounting crimes, but HE wanted to bring democracy back to it's routes(roots). A political Party and a corporation is an organization of citizens that enable citizens to compete with governments and journalists.

McCain is a mouthpiece for those that want bigger government and those journalists who want citizens to depend on them for information(especially around election time).

[Mo1]

All I can figure out from this article is that somebody is shitting bricks over the election.

LOL ... thanks for the summary ..

[snippy_about_it]

..pantsuits...

You mean she has more than one pair? LOL.

[dsteve3]

There is something really scarey about all of this.

I'm not a student, I don't have the sources, but didn't someone warn a long time ago about political parties in the American political system? Whigs and Tories fit in the British parlement, but it doesn't seem to work for America.

This just seems like an extension of the same thing. I couldn't understand where the author was coming from, until I found your post. And that's when I fell into the trap...

"ah, he's a Neo-Nazi - that explains his rightist slant while berating Israel..."

We are all so hooked on the labels, we don't know what content is anymore. Tell me, really, lets pretend that I've lived in a box in the South Pacific for the last three hunderd years, explain to me in detail what "right" "left" "liberal" "conservative" means? And give clear examples which demonstrate how I will know that these are not just some vague notions. I honestly have no idea. Imagine me sitting in front of you, my eyes are gleeming with curiosity - what is all of this? What really is the 'right agenda'? Is it a foot-wear issue?

I'm afraid that I genuinely don't understand the rhetoric. You will have to explain it all, without reference to these presumptive catch-phrases, in a clear and concise manner. If you can really do that, then you are probably the next messiah.

This article only entreaches my position that people and politcs are no longer interested in issues, only partesanship.

Of course, if I am jumped in the night, by people who beat me while screaming names at me, that would be an experience that could be measured. That experience, having people who don't know me personnally, but who decide they hate me because they think I belong to a group, would be concrete and definite.

I don't wish to sound alarmist, but I fear that no 'charter' can save you from the presumptions of mass appeal. If we entrench these labels to the extent that we no longer view ourselves as individuals with inalien rights, then we won't have those rights, and the fears of the mob, driven by propaganda will prevail.

That would be really scarey.

[Dakotabound]

Well, now there are two replies. Anti-semite author or not, I can't stand to see the accomplishments of the fine folks here at FR being absolutely ignored.

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they really are convinced and excited (read: deluded) that they are "piece of the action." They really believe that their online (and off-line) advocacy and organizing efforts are effecting political change.

Case in point: Second Amendment Sisters made the point that firearms owners have pretty faces and painted fingernails too, just like the MMM/Brady Bunch. CSPAN coverage of their counter rally, national press, participated in GMA "Town Meeting" at White House, appeared on national news in counterpoint to the likes of Hillary Clinton and Rosie O'Donnell, subject of documentaries last year and coming up next Mother's Day. Even lauded before and after at...Etherzone (John Bender was MC of DC rally)! Fighting for Freedom Without SAS, there would have been no effective counterpoint to "ew, I'm a girl, I hate mean old guns." Started on FreeRepublic.com

Case in point: SoreLoserman sign was created by a Freeper and perpetuated through FreeRepublic. Became the rallying cry of the 2000 election debacle. Freepers played key roles in protests around Florida, effectively shouting down Jesse "Keep Hope Alive" Jackson and leaving him shaken. Referenced here by another Etherzone regular contributor, Justin Raimondo Under the Radar. SoreLoserman sign is now in SMITHSONIAN. Started on FreeRepublic.com

Case in point: Freepers shouted AlGore out of the VP mansion: "Get out of Cheney's House!" Scared AlGore into thinking the RNC had imported busloads of operatives, nazis and various and assorted mean old european white guys to terrorize his family. Nope. Just Freepers. Making a difference in their own community, and around the world. Jeepers Freepers (Washington Times article has been moved to archives). Started and organized on FreeRepublic.com, by Freepers.

So...what was that about "tail" and "dog"? FreeRepublic may make mistakes, and not everyone is happy about the current way it is moderated. But it isn't about a "site" or a "group" or even about Etherzone, Friends of Liberty, or any particular article author. It is about getting up off your butt and doing something about things you don't like, instead of whining about how bad they are.

We can all hope that folks who read this article are made of the same cloth as others who have sacrificed and made a difference, no matter how small...or how big.

[Cachelot]

I'm afraid that I genuinely don't understand the rhetoric. You will have to explain it all, without reference to these presumptive catch-phrases, in a clear and concise manner.

Ah. Registered today. Hmmm...

Anyway, the article by Ms. Pelner is remarkably clear. If you don't understand it, I'm afraid I really can't help you much ;).

I don't wish to sound alarmist

Tell me, do you want me to dip out into a couple of other boards and fetch a few posts from our friend the neo? Want me to give you his known associates as well as his nick that was banned from FreeRepublic? Would that alarm you?

Someone you know, perhaps??

[Libertina]

For example, one Freeper exclaimed that he had no problem with fifty percent of the population of the United States becoming Latino, if only the Latinos immigrated legally to the United States
I rememberm that thread. I disagreed stongly with the poster. So did others, and different ideas were presented and BACKED UP with rational thought. It's called DISCUSSION! And I know first hand we do make a difference. What I learned from this article is that people are paying attention to us.

[patriciaruth]

Jim posted a notice recently that he was going to delete articles from DU, etc. as we had had enough left wing wacko junk being posted over here and needed a break for a while.

That may explain part of what went on.

[Cachelot]

I thought that was stupid, until I was banned shortly after posting this

You were banned for posting this? And still, you post? Clarify please - this is highly confusing :).

Oh, and who were you before?

[patriciaruth]

We all know very well that John McCain would have trounced Gore handily

Beg to differ. But I am privy to some of the insider information on McCain and his wife that the Dems would have used to soil him and turn off our church going base.

Remember how excited a lot of FReepers were when Simon "won" the primary in California. Well, Davis used a lot of half-truths to smear him and sunk his ship, and Gore and his cohorts are just as nasty as Davis and would have had better material to work with if McCain had been our candidate.

[Hillarys Gate Cult]

I don't know what was in that post you replied to but there was a unwritten rule about not posting from DU for almost a year. Reasons were that DU isn't a legitimate news source and they were trying to herald themselves as the the anti FR and want our help with web hits from people directed there by us. These are just a couple off the top of my head. With the Wellstone accusations and the elections, Jim Rob gave us some latitude on posting from there but it got to be a bit much. Some people went overboard.

[patriciaruth]

I was responding to "comment 69 removed by moderator." As it was addressed to me, it showed up in my "Posts to You, your comments."

Thanks for the additional information.

[Johnny Shear]

I don't think he said anything about "etc". I think he's only against posts from DUhhh.

[Amelia]

You were banned for posting this? And still, you post? Clarify please - this is highly confusing :).

That's the part I'm still trying to figure out!