High Tide

I've entitled this HIGH TIDE, because the water is rising and will either drowned us or wash away what was built.

On February 27, 2007, after much internal debate, I posted the following on the DU:

My decision to take a break from the DU wasn't easy. I've been with the DU since 2001. I had been posting on a couple of other boards, but the sense of unity drew me to the DU and I signed up.

I've made a few friends there, and there are many more there whose posts I love to read. There have been some rough times, over the years - but even then there still was the unity and comradre of all of us being in the fight together.

For whatever reason, the unity is gone, and it's now been broken up into 3 camps. The Hillary Camp, the Obama Camp and the rest of us that just try to duck the flames. Early on, I stayed out of GDP even before it became the official battle ground for the primaries. I kept to LBN, GD and the lounge.

In the 7 years on the DU, I've only put 4 people on ignore. 3 of them turned out to be freepers, the other still posts on the DU. I've hidden more threads than I can count in the past couple of months than I have in all the time I've been on the DU.My participation in the DU has been slowly shrinking. I find myself thinking two three four time before I post, and then reviewing it to see if it will draw flames or not before I even hit the post button. Wasn't that way before. There was a time where I felt comfortable venturing into any of the forums and groups on the DU and not have to dance around land mines or duck the flame throwers.

I often wonder if we've been secretly replaced by freepers - a political version of invasion of the body snatchers.

The straw that broke my back happened on Monday, in LBN of all places. There was a story about Edwards joining up with the Iraq/recession organization. I wrote that I wonder if Edwards and Obama had discussed this at all the previous week when Obama went to meet with Edwards. Innocent speculation. I was immediately attacked and accused of trying to promote Obama and steal Edwards' thunder.

I responded to the attack in a calm way, gave the link to the story about Obama meeting with Edwards and restated that I was just speculating. Did no good, still was attacked.

It was then that I realized even the LBN wasn't safe. GD had already been infiltrated and loaded with land mines. So that leaves where? The Lounge? I didn't join DU to spend my time in the lounge. Whatever the DU was before, it's not that anymore.

One person wants to make the names of people who recommend threads public, while another is tracking down people who he deems as being obnoxious. GDP is limited to starting 3 posts per day. People are tombstoned in record numbers. The only thing missing is to have an officially sanctioned platoon of storm troopers.

Unofficially there are roaming packs of rabid hyenas ripping apart anyone who disagrees.Yes, it's fear driving the verbal vivisections. Fear the democrats will once again snatch defeat from the jaws of victory.

Sadly the worst offenders on the DU can't see it.As far as calming down once the Dems have a candidate- that may last until the third party supporters show up.

The DU has been ripped apart. In a microcosmic sense, it's a reflection of our entire country, and we have no "uniter" to rally around. In a few weeks, I may come back. But for now I felt it was best for a self-imposed exile rather than risking being tombstoned , that in itself speaks volumes as to how bad things really are on the DU.

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*Note: Approximately 5 hours after posting this on the DU, the thread was locked by the moderators.