- Joined
- Jul 5, 2005
- Messages
- 8,682
- Reaction score
- 262
- Location
- Philadelphia,PA
- Gender
- Male
- Political Leaning
- Slightly Conservative
To get the personal info out of the way...I'm a System Analyst for a well known company. I work the overnight shift, but not in the "operator" or "help desk" position most think of when knowing about IT departments.
As I've stated previously on this forum, I've been a professional wrestler from 19 to 22(36 now), then went to school to get my degree...Looking back, I should've done that right out of high school. I use to be a monster on the softball field, but a car crash in 2001 put me out of commission.
I come from another forum in which, like galenrox's experience, was filled with groupthink that destroyed anyone not in lockstep with certain views. Although I agreed with the views themselves for the most part, it was pretty much one big circlejerk. Coincidentally, someone linked to a Debate Politics poll and when I first came here, I saw that the political affiliations were much more balanced...so I stayed. You don't learn anything if everyone sits around and agrees with each other all day.
A lot of people see things on the surface and respond accordingly...I usually don't do that...I look for the underlying reasoning why decisions were made, and most of the time, it's not what we're being told(or it's out there, but not being reported).
Most people here have an idea where I stand on most things, but I'll throw them out to make them clear...
I am a moderate Conservative, and I know I'm a moderate because I've been called both a "Liberal" AND a "Neocon"...Tells you more about those who judge me than me actually...One sad factor that will never disappear on political forums is that certain individuals gulp down whatever they want to believe and filter out anything against their beliefs...Makes for horrible debate. A lot of people are also under the impression that the terms "Liberal" and "Conservative" are all-encompassing...like there's some sort of handbook with 150 viewpoints that MUST be adhered to at all times.
Another thing that turns me off is the non-stop virtual rocks thrown by both sides believing that a certain negative incident by one member of a certain party is a reflection of every single person in that party....It makes themselves feel like they're on a "better team" by making the "opponant" look worse...Disingenuous at best...
Although no one here thinks this place should be strictly moderated to a point where the debates are flat and lacking personal style, we also pride ourselves in that we do not let ourselves become like so many other forums...where debates turn into verbal brawls and legitimate discussion becomes moot...Sadly, some people don't know of any other way to debate...
I usually get crapped on for pointing out the discrepancies and inconsistancies in others' posts, but that's alright...It's a battle to get people to see that not everyone here takes things at face value, and most have an agenda to push and believe they have all of the answers...
As you can probably tell, I don't do "PC" very well...:2wave:
As I've stated previously on this forum, I've been a professional wrestler from 19 to 22(36 now), then went to school to get my degree...Looking back, I should've done that right out of high school. I use to be a monster on the softball field, but a car crash in 2001 put me out of commission.
I come from another forum in which, like galenrox's experience, was filled with groupthink that destroyed anyone not in lockstep with certain views. Although I agreed with the views themselves for the most part, it was pretty much one big circlejerk. Coincidentally, someone linked to a Debate Politics poll and when I first came here, I saw that the political affiliations were much more balanced...so I stayed. You don't learn anything if everyone sits around and agrees with each other all day.
A lot of people see things on the surface and respond accordingly...I usually don't do that...I look for the underlying reasoning why decisions were made, and most of the time, it's not what we're being told(or it's out there, but not being reported).
Most people here have an idea where I stand on most things, but I'll throw them out to make them clear...
I am a moderate Conservative, and I know I'm a moderate because I've been called both a "Liberal" AND a "Neocon"...Tells you more about those who judge me than me actually...One sad factor that will never disappear on political forums is that certain individuals gulp down whatever they want to believe and filter out anything against their beliefs...Makes for horrible debate. A lot of people are also under the impression that the terms "Liberal" and "Conservative" are all-encompassing...like there's some sort of handbook with 150 viewpoints that MUST be adhered to at all times.
Another thing that turns me off is the non-stop virtual rocks thrown by both sides believing that a certain negative incident by one member of a certain party is a reflection of every single person in that party....It makes themselves feel like they're on a "better team" by making the "opponant" look worse...Disingenuous at best...
Although no one here thinks this place should be strictly moderated to a point where the debates are flat and lacking personal style, we also pride ourselves in that we do not let ourselves become like so many other forums...where debates turn into verbal brawls and legitimate discussion becomes moot...Sadly, some people don't know of any other way to debate...
I usually get crapped on for pointing out the discrepancies and inconsistancies in others' posts, but that's alright...It's a battle to get people to see that not everyone here takes things at face value, and most have an agenda to push and believe they have all of the answers...
As you can probably tell, I don't do "PC" very well...:2wave:
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