Everything from “Over There” belongs “Here!”

found this on Daily Kos..
http://www.dailykos.com/story/2011/02/16/945768/-UPDATED:-The-HB-Gary-Email-That-Should-Concern-Us-All
yipes!

A few good hours of back-and-forth on the Wisconsin thread (which should have been, but wasn’t, the main) — then all of a sudden, wham! lockdown, with 400+ pending comments.

Somebody’s insane.

I’d like to share the reasons I’ve chosen not to leave HP thus far.

I had been observing what was happening there for about a year, and for a long time I didn’t know if it was “just me” or if other people had also noticed the change in tone, the unfair, slanted reporting, the increase in censorship, arbitrary deletions, artificial popularity contests, etc. It was a relief to learn that others had picked up on these problems as well. I’m not on Facebook and don’t have many outlets on which to discuss this stuff. For awhile, I was hoping HP would be professional enough to put up a permanent user thread, in the spirit of customer service, where people could openly address their likes and dislikes about the site, their preferences, etc. I suggested it a couple of times before it hit me that it was pointless to try, because there seems to be an unyielding, autocratic, iron fist in control. That was a distressing realization.

So I am very grateful to the person who told me about PlanetPOV. Everything about this place seems worthwhile and positive — the content, the tone, the openness. People seem so much more relaxed and real. And we can finally talk openly about what’s been going on over there.

But I never took HP personally enough to feel sufficiently hurt and angry to “break up” with it, as if it were a relationship. There were two basic things that attracted to me to HP:

1) The opportunity to discuss politics — and strategy — with other progressives. The MSM (except, recently, MSNBC) and all the powers-that-be ignore us, and we need each other if we’re ever to have any hope of returning America to something approximating democracy.

2) HP has a HUGE audience to read our points of view and our ideas. I believe strongly in the power of words and ideas as a means of reaching and influencing others. I believe that hundreds, or even thousands, of articulate progressive voices on a very popular, well-read site can make a REAL political difference. We can counter the MSM lies. We can debate Righties, undo their arguments, and make some of them reconsider their views. We can undo some of the Faux News brainwashing. We can help those in the middle to think with more knowledge and insight.

Basically, I see HP as a tool to reach the minds of my fellow Americans. It’s no longer a “pleasant” tool; there are so many trolls now, so much stupidity and nastiness floating about, insane moderation, etc. At this point it almost feels like entering a war zone and lobbing a few truth bombs about. But I think it still makes a difference — a small difference, maybe, but a real one. If every day I can make even one person think, I consider that success. If by chance my insights are picked up by someone with better connections, a louder megaphone, that’s a success, too. I try to encourage and support other good progressive voices out there through faving, fanning, and supportive comments. I don’t want us to be lone voices. Together, we exert influence.

I don’t want this country to go to hell. I don’t want our children and grandchildren to have to live under some kind of corporate oligarchy. I don’t want humanity to lose the promise of democracy. And I don’t want my life to be meaningless. I want to do my part to change things for the better. We’re all going to be dead some day, and this world will go on without us. But if we try, maybe we can help it choose a better, more sustainable, more humane path. I believe we can.

Some of the strong commenters are still there at HP, and when they show up, it’s an incredible comfort. It feels like — I don’t know, comrades? — good guys fighting the good fight. It almost feels like a duty to me.

As for HP’s future…if it continues along this negative path, then I hope it gets public notice that causes it to lose credibility and clout. And I hope a REAL progressive news source of similar scale comes along to replace it.

In the meantime, I’ll keep on fighting out there. Until, I guess, they ban me.