HuffPo Comments Becoming As Toxic As Fox Nation

Posted: Saturday, May 5, 2012 | Posted by Chico Brisbane |
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It's official! - Public commentary at The Huffington Post has become just as toxic as it has always been at Fox Nation. This is not a sudden revelation to me, but since the $315 million dollar acquisition of HuffPO by AOL, it has been a swirling decline into the abyss of uncivil discourse. The purpose of this blog post in particular is regarding the sudden death of Rick Beebe, a Tea Party candidate for supervisor of elections in Highlands County, Florida. Mr. Beebe died this week, just moments after completing a question-and-answer session at a local restaurant. He was rushed to the hospital, but was pronounced dead at 8:34 p.m. on Tuesday, shortly after arriving.


Even before I scrolled down to the comments, I had a pretty good idea of what was waiting for me and sadly, I wasn't surprised. What I was surprised about was how the sudden death of Mr. Beebe was connected with the sudden death of Conservative blogger Andrew Brietbart and how both deaths where a good thing. I might not be as appauled if these comments where coming from some nube with a handful of followers, but they where from HuffPo "Super Users" with more than a thousand "Follwers" each, or "Fans" as HuffPo calls them.

A HuffPo commentor named Don Brown posted "Breitbart and then this...Perhaps there is a God." - Another HuffPo commentor named FromDnorth concurred by also posting "Andrew Breitbart and then this!" - Now, in fairness to other HuffPo commentors and Liberals at large, there where many comments of sadness and sympathy for Mr. Beebe's family. There is no First Amendment right to free speech here folks, but I also don't want HuffPo to launch a sensorship campaign. Like many civil HuffPo commentors, I want to try and appeal to some people that while there are suitable times for sharp and rabid discourse, the death of another human being is not among them.

Ironically, it was a HuffPo commentor named Spectator404 that got me fired up to make this blog entry. Spectator also tried to appeal to "fellow liberals" not to mock the death of another person just because we don't agree with their politics. The ironic part is that Spectator404 only has 24 followers, of which I am number 24. I have been commenting at Huffpo since 2008 and have only 53 followers myself. I could easily have many more fans and followers, but I am not willing to post the type of vitriol required.


Thank's for the inspiration Spectator404 by posting the following:

"I would like to plead with fellow liberals to recognize that, although you may have intensely hated this person's views on many issues, it is not proper to use that as an excuse to mock his death. Even Tea Party candidates, as distasteful as their views are to most of us, are fellow American citizens and are loved by their famalies and many around them for reasons other than politics."



-Chico Brisbane

 

2 COMMENTS:

  1. Anonymous said...

    2. Mr.B took the words of a Black (not a thing of privilege in the US)woman, minced her words of peace and reconciliation and transformation and got her fired from a job which celebrated her life's work - justice for all. No one wished his death. No one asked for it, but the lack of respect and torture he put that woman through, could only be relieved by a God who loved her.

     
  2. Anonymous said...

    3. President Obama looked listless in the face of a Romney onslaught in their first debate. He looked weak and ineffective. He showed the way for others to deal with him. (Oct. 3, 2012)
    The President should have stated in his closing remarks; Sir tonight i have given you enough rope to hang yourself and have documented your newest positions. I think they were insincere if not insulting. You have insulted and demeaned the people,the moderator and myself, but worse, you have demeaned yourself. Good luck. See you on the Hustings.

     

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