ATS is lacking political balance

a reply to: schuyler

Are you denying it?

a reply to: Assassin82

a reply to: watchitburn

Or has the left just gone off the deep end?

No the left has just gone.... because for the most part the site has become intolerable.

This thread could very well be moved to the trash bin before I even get a chance to finish writing up this reply to what I do have to commend as a very brave thread.

Now I do believe that ATS has deliberately been taken over by elements of the alt-right movement since about 2016. I think ATS was always going to be a prime site for target, a popular conspiracy site that already held views that alined with the alt-right movement. I have personally seen posts on sites like StormFront that explicitly talk about targeting ATS for takeover, this gets really deep and and talked about appearing as a moderate member but how to incite anger and sympathy for far-right ideologies. I even saw entries talking about how to become a mod. There was another member about a few years ago who once told me that he had actually signed up to some of these sites and claimed that other members of these sites were directly discussing how to achieve this. Taking over the worlds most popular conspiracy site, does seem like a pretty decent and achievable goal for some of these smaller sites and I believe they have achieved this to an extent.

I mean if you want to you can go back through and look at members from years ago who basically no longer post, they have been driven away with the toxic ideology that has taken over this site. Hell even SkepticOverLord I don't think has actually signed on in months.....

Thus I believe ATS is now an effective echo chamber for the alt-right, when threads using Britebart and RT as a principle source are treated like gospel. I get told I have an obsession with Trump by many members because I write a thread about him roughly once a month....yet others who write positive threads about him get a free pass I have TDS but if I call them a bigot or whatever its like av just killed a puppy.

Which brings me onto where the real problem is, what's a the very heart of this thread the lack of political balance. Writing a post that is critical of Trump on ATS is like heading over to pro-life forum and writing a thread about how amazing abortions are, or posting threads about how creationism is BS on a creationist forum. It is automatically incredibly toxic, its very difficult to keep a cool head and its amazingly frustrating to have well thought out arguments belittled with stupid posts about "TDS". I know that there are some members who dont even bother reading my threads, they literally just see the alien in the suit and get triggered so I get something like "trash thread" before they have even read it, then they all pat each other on the back with "yeah second"...."ohhh yeah what that guy said"...."ahh what about.." as their echo chamber delivers the desired effect.

Left leaning members on ATS are essentially bullied. That I honestly think is the one word that best sums it up as evocative as it might be.

Sigh....I remember a time when ATS was so much more respectful, a time when you could say I disagree with you because of x, y, z and ohhh looky here are some sources to back up my claims followed by a polite well, I disagree but we can agree to disagree. Sure there were accusations of being a "Shill" occasionally but the mods were pretty good at stamping out disrespectful discussion.

I often wonder if there is really any point in continuing to invest quite so much time into ATS as I do.

What I find odd is that many prominent and vocal left leaning members went dark immediately after the 2016 election. I'm talking members that were mods...members that had a lot of time invested in this forum

originally posted by: ker2010
a reply to: Assassin82

I don't think OP is looking for a safe space, rather they're looking for honest and enriching discussion.

But I think your post was super helpful to the discussion, and I imagine it will get no less than 15 stars.

a reply to: CriticalStinker

Only way you can make that situation worse is telling them to calm down

Something some husbands never seem to learn....

originally posted by: Sillyolme
a reply to: watchitburn

Or has the left just gone off the deep end?

No the left has just gone.... because for the most part the site has become intolerable.

Odd considering the left is suppose to be so tolerant of others.

originally posted by: Sillyolme
a reply to: CriticalStinker

Only way you can make that situation worse is telling them to calm down

Something some husbands never seem to learn....

Or the reason why some mean don't become husbands

a reply to: Assassin82

I wrote to try and get some of the regular contributors to open their minds to differing opinions, stop using biased news sources and dig into the information to see if it checks out factually before you post an emotionally based response to it.

Facts seem to be opinionated these days it seems.

By now we have to assume that most of the American media infrastructure is infected with Russian bots and partisan politics. I'm almost certain this site has had some Russian bots disseminating information but I wouldn't know how to prove it.

Yet you ask about "facts".

Until this basic portion of the discussion is dealt with, the rest will not be repaired.

originally posted by: AugustusMasonicus

originally posted by: Bluntone22
I prefer the term "unhinged"

I was being polite, you know how wackos get when you call them wackos.

The problem with wackos...is that they're so wacko...they don't know they're wackos.

originally posted by: Sillyolme
a reply to: watchitburn

Or has the left just gone off the deep end?

No the left has just gone.... because for the most part the site has become intolerable.

Unchallenged slowly becomes Authoritarian 😎

And just for clarity's sake, being a Trump supporter or being anti-left doesn't necessarily make you right leaning.

If anything, the Left is to blame for their constant whining and pettiness and their inability to defend their position intelligently when questioned. It doesn't help that it usually ends in an emotional outburst that borderlines on unhinged.

There's this saying,

If you can't stand the heat.... you know the rest.

Pretty sure that's what's happening here.

Your children are obnoxious, spoilt and brats. They throw tantrums, tell lies, and want more cookies before dinner even after they are told it will spoil their appetite.

read as: I hate all children Boo Hiss.

/qed

originally posted by: Xcalibur254
Notice how no one is really disagreeing with you. They're just trying to shift the blame on to the Left.

Meanwhile a frightening percentage of ATS' membership bends over backwards to defend the actions of Nazis. But they want us to think that the only reason ATS seems like a Right Wing site is because the Left went so far Left.

Ha! Not a chance.

I used to be Left, but I actually was made aware of the left disrupting things badly initially on ATS. So It opened my eyes. Four years ago the left was not like it has been for the last couple of years. I am no longer associated with the left, even at the local level they have gone way overboard and are shoving their beliefs down the throats of the locals. In our communities it is also getting way more polarized.

a reply to: vinifalou

Yeah you got it...thats why they left...
rolls eyes...

a reply to: CriticalStinker

The site has a pretty heavy lean (politically), that is my observation as well, and I'm an independent.

I see it as the left went too far as others have stated. I've always been right in the middle when it comes to policy, hence my name, but the left has now moved so far that I can't identify on much at all with them. I've been called a Nazi and alt-right by people I used to agree with politically on this site.

originally posted by: CosmicAwakening
a reply to: Assassin82

I think political topics swing to the right because most of the people here are logical and realize that despite both sides being poop, the left is ultra corrupt at this point in time. Facts are facts and those threads are just bring those to light. If you have a lefty story that is true, by all means post it.

the left is ultra corrupt at this point in time

But it has nothing to do with statements like this right?

originally posted by: IAMTAT

originally posted by: AugustusMasonicus

originally posted by: Bluntone22
I prefer the term "unhinged"

I was being polite, you know how wackos get when you call them wackos.

The problem with wackos...is that they're so wacko...they don't know they're wackos.

We should give people the proper tour around here.

originally posted by: xuenchen
a reply to: rickymouse

Kinda like the Senate Nuclear Option for confirming judges 😎

The left must be eating way too much veggies, following the stupid FAD nutrition they believe is correct. They are becoming delusional.