On 3/18/2016 9:31 AM, Bob Whitmire wrote:
I share the sentiment to a point. But for me, this list long ago evolved away
from a single-issue list. I feel as though I'm among friends here, and frankly,
if all we ever talked about was cameras and zones of confusion and elements of
fill flash, I would have gone nil heard long, long ago.
What my friends think about other things-- food, cats, children, books,
physics, religion, hair gel (for those with hair) and yes, even politics--is of
interest to me.
I agree; that's most of the reason I'm still here after all these years. It's
my neighborhood hangout.
Might I be a straw man here? I didn't ask folks to eschew politics in general, only the current US Presidential
election. I could have said only partisan messages, but I figured that would have been a waste of breath. Anyone want to
prove me wrong?
But . . . (Major Caveat Alert): I see no reason why reasonable people should
devolve into food fighters at the mention of issues.
And yet, experience says that certain topics almost always rapidly head that way. Mention hot button candidates,
emotions arise, and fingers start flying without the censorship of reason and amity.
It helps me understand the world I live in to hear the opinions of others,
foreign and domestic (from my pov), particularly those who live elsewhere than
in the US.
Absolutely!
True, there are many places other than here to get into the essential elements
of the flaws in the other person's candidate. There are other places to issue
spurious insults about someone else's native land. But I don't know of any
other place where I would feel as comfortable giving and taking than here.
Within reason. Without stump speeches, etc.
Just what I thought I was asking for.
My only regret is that we have been unable to recruit and hold members of the
better sex, Tina being a glaring exception. A bit more female perspective would
be most agreeable.
But all in all, I enjoy the company here and do not feel as though subjects of
a non-photographic nature should be studiously avoided.
Nor do I.
A number of things regularly discussed here bore me. But I enjoy listening with half an ear as my friends enjoy
discussing them - in civilized tones, not trying to convert anyone. One of the things I've always enjoyed is sitting
back, half dozing, as conversations among people I care about go on around me. It started with family dinners,
particularly at holidays, where serious surfeit of food made me mostly comatose. Hearing some of the content, in and
out, but mostly the tone, of the conversations of the adults made me feel comfortable, belonging, safe.
That feeling has continued into adult life. Perhaps that's one measure of true friendship, being able to be comfortable
just slipping out of the active conversation(s) and enjoying the company wordlessly, welcome to slip back in, or not.
But let the topic move to politics, and especially candidates; voices rise,
sides are taken, the magic goes.
I would prefer not to have to dodge the brickbats, however politely disguised, that seem the inevitable content of posts
on political campaigns.
No Brickbats Please Moose
--
What if the Hokey Pokey *IS* what it's all about?
|