I do want conservatives on here

TarSpiel said:
Aaw, nice.

Interesting that you call yourself "daddy" to a bunch of strangers. Sit back on this couch here and tell me about your own father...was he a strong authority figure? Did he wear bronzer? Did he have bizarre hair and golf a lot? Was he fat?
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All I know is from what my mom told me and that was that he was never late with the milk delivery and I resemble him. So based off of me I'd say he was a kind and gentle sole, about 6' 4" / 230 with a head full of sandy blond hair and massive hands and feet. Apparently he was also very popular with other moms in the neighborhood and spent a lot of time playing with all the kids in the neighborhood.
 
Completely agree. I'd love to have good, legitimate conservative vs. liberal policy discussion. We haven't been able to do that for the last 8 years on the ZZLP. I'm not an affiliated Republican anymore, and I'm certainly more liberal in most of my ideological viewpoints than I was growing up, but I think that I am still more conservative ideologically than not. There are tons of more liberal-leaning people on the ZZLP who are way, way smarter than me and not only do I welcome the opportunity to learn from them, it would be fun to simply be able to debate and discuss policy points around things like taxation, immigration, spending, role of government, etc. without it turning into the usual trollfest/flamefest. In the last few months or so I completely gave up on trying to have reasonable discussions on the ZZLP and just decided to troll the trolls. I'm glad that this new board gives everyone- myself especially- a fresh start.
 
Conservative voices and striking a balance are important, for sure. I would even wager that many of us may have been Republican or would have identified as conservative before Trump was elected. I certainly would have.

I'm confounded by the appeal of Trump to so many, although I can somewhat empathize with some of the frustration of those who embrace him. It's the folks who have - rightly or wrongly - felt crapped on for years and years by "the system" and have the sense that it will never change.

Whether I am right or wrong, and though each situation is complicated and unique, I believe they are mistaken to feel this way. Our democracy, flawed as it is, is all we've got. People shouldn't want to roll the dice and take the chance on enabling those who would burn it to the ground to do just that. They should instead do their best to roll up their sleeves and do some organizing and work within the boundaries of our system to change it. It's not easy, but it is how you start shaping things the way you want them.

When it comes to a balanced conversation though, I cannot abide the nonsense that many of the Trump supporters seem to come with, often misinformation from right-wing media that is blatantly false and easily disproved. Trump lies literally all the time about anything and everything. And amazingly, he's applauded and lionized by his base because they don't care and it's about sticking it to the system and the catch-all "dems" or "lefties." It's difficult to have a conversation if we cannot agree on the basics but I also feel that we can't give up. Take a break occasionally, but don't give up.

Not all opinions are equally valid and not all opinions are equally worthy of consideration. But it's still important to engage and let it take its course, on the off-chance we'll find some common ground. It's a 50/50 country right now (or a 46/46 country if you follow the polls), and regardless of what side you occupy, the other half ain't relocating.
 
TarSpiel said:
CallMeTyler said:
I like alternative viewpoints. I don't like alternative facts.
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CallMeTyler said:
I like alternative viewpoints. I don't like alternative facts.
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Aaw, nice.

Interesting that you call yourself "daddy" to a bunch of strangers. Sit back on this couch here and tell me about your own father...was he a strong authority figure? Did he wear bronzer? Did he have bizarre hair and golf a lot? Was he fat?
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CallMeTyler said:
I like alternative viewpoints. I don't like alternative facts.
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I am also very much in favor of having conservative voices here, but not the trolls who are just here to pwn the libs or do the "drive-by" poasting. FFS, I used to be one of you (conservatives of the 90s and before). I suppose we're all occasionally guilty of bucketing each other into "MAGA" or "Libdem" camps, but for those who think the Ziz-P or the populace here is too far left, you should visit the comments section at sorryantivaxer.com, a site I found by accident during the pandemic and where I used to get most of the political cartoons I'd post under the "funnies" thread. That place is too lefty even for me....people wishing death on folks and such. No thanks. Saying, "well, that's a shame, but maybe karma/FAaFO" is quite distinct from "die, mofo" in my book.

And sincerely, I am sorry to the Trump supporters to whom I've been snarky over the years. Well, not all of you, but most of you. It's not necessarily something I regret but I am also not necessarily proud of behaving that way either. Having to constantly refute and to disprove the endless fountain of right-wing alternate reality factoids - and daily at that - grows exhausting, and that eventually weighs on one's patience, like vegans who are inevitably asked "where do you get your protein" or something. That also comes with my own personal story of being in family from the Midwest who are nearly all Trumpers; even some with a few advanced degrees. I'm one of only a small handful of those in my family who attended college and the dual nature of loving them and being in disbelief of their worldview has taken its toll on me over 9 years. That is my problem, of course, and I pledge to do better.

So conservatives or Trumpers, please be patient with us - me - and we - I - will do likewise. New board, new "leaf" as it were.
 
aGDevil2k said:
Conservatives, fine. Trolls just to cause issues? Nah
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Agreed. As long as they understand this is a left-leaning (okay, left-heavy) board and behave themselves. What the IC mods allowed since the night of the debate and the subsequent invasion of Tar Pit trolls was ridiculous.

And just to be fair, I had a hand in that chaos as well because I lashed out at a lot of folks instead of engaging them in debate.

So, this is a new board, and I’m going to do my best to keep discussion with my ideological opponents civil and emotion-free for the betterment of everyone here.

I’m not saying saying I won’t try my best to embarrass these people for their terrible beliefs, but it will be fact-based and I’ll keep the personal attacks out of it.
 
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