It’s getting really disgustingly teenagerish over there, as evidenced by what happened on my diary here. I almost left for good. I really did.
And then JamesB3, whom I respect greatly but who is not usually known for his tact, knocked some sense into me. And here’s what I figured out.
Look, DKos is a community. For those not familiar with the term, that indicates a large extended family. REALLY large. Like 50,000 people. Like any family, DKos goes through some rough patches. Sometimes even the patriarch or matriarch is unjust, wrong, unfair, stupid. Some people choose to leave the family when that happens; some don’t. I’m not one who does. Just ask my mom, who in my opinion has fallen under some of the above categories for years. I haven’t severed my ties with her, and I’m not about to sever them with Kos.
It’s a fair point that I’m a man, that it wasn’t my biggest issue that was attacked, that I can’t really empathize with those who feel personally slighted by Kos. First of all, I feel personally slighted by him too, as many of my favorite authors (Lorraine, MaryScott, etc.) were attacked. You hurt my friends, you hurt me. Second of all, I don’t know how I would feel if Kos came out and said the environment (which is my biggest cause) really didn’t matter and was getting in the way of Dems getting elected. As a matter of fact, I expect that issue to be brought up sometime soon, as “conservation” is an inherently conservative value. But would I leave Kos? Not unless I was prepared to leave the Democratic Party.
Why? Because Kos is my family. Also, because the Kos community is the soul of the Democratic Party. Now that we’ve all dispersed, there is a “Kos diaspora,” as someone here or there wisely put it. So I’ll keep coming here, a lot, for people like Lorraine and PastorDan and Booman and Militarytracy and more. But I’ll stay there too, for people like JamesB3 and Armando and Folkbum and more. Because those people matter to me too.
Let me make this clear: I’m NOT telling anyone they shouldn’t leave Kos. There are plenty of compelling reasons to go (my thread contains some of the very best ones right now). But I’m staying because I’ll hang on till past when my knuckles are white loving all the people there, and the people here too.
Sorry for the incoherence, people. I’ve been fighting these battles all day. Bear with me.