peasapie left 😞

Pretty sure a lot of people would leave because it seems if you voted for Trump there are only extremely nasty and hate filled things said to you---it is though people do not have the right to support whoever they want to.  I never say such horrible things said to people as were said to those that are Trump supporters.  If people leave, it is probably because they do not wish to be verbally abused for their right to choose for themselves.

The political posts can be overwhelming. I mentioned on another thread that my FB feed is full of trumper rightwing propaganda. Many of the craft groups are over run with political fighting. It’s very fatiguing. I’m limiting myself to UK groups and few others not based in the US.

Although I’m not a member, I’m enjoying scroll through Reddit subreddits about crafting, baking, photography and other off-beat subjects. Sadly, i recently read that some subreddits will become paywalled in the near future.

You are definitely not alone. I feel the same way. We had a lot of crappy turmoil in our family quite a while ago and for years every time my phone rang my heard stopped. I was ALWAYS waiting for bad news, were they hospitalized or in jail this time? Who was hurt? It feels the same. My anxiety is thru the roof and I have no way for it to stop. 

(((hugs to all who are feeling this))) I hope we survive.

I am like Lurkingpea in that this is the only place I talk about politics. Other than with SO, I don’t talk politics with friends and acquaintances. It is just not something we do. We also don’t talk about religion. So I do appreciate all of you who fill me in on things. But it can still be overwhelming.

I agree with Lurkingpea. My DH and I are mostly aligned, although I’m further left than he is. Virtually all of his friends are Trumplicans though so he feels kind of caught in the middle between me and them. He has known them for decades and likes them as people but he isn’t really informed enough (and doesn’t really choose to get into it much) to make a solid stand refuting the BS that they spew. He tolerates my rants when FF does or says something that’s really off the rails and it’s reported on in the news.

I don’t really have any local friends IRL anymore that I can go have lunch or craft with, or talk about any of this. I work alone most days so stopping in here is how I can touch base with the rest of the world. Facebook has become a real cesspool (not that I used it for anything other than baking and craft groups, but still). I appreciate the snippets and quotes I read here and the links to articles I might not have seen otherwise, and I really appreciate the gift article links that some of the Peas post because there are too many good news sources to have subscriptions to all of them to get a wider scope f the issues of the day. I also really appreciate the non-U.S. Peas when they chime in because they have a unique outside view of all of this and can give those of us in the thick of it a different perspective.

This exactly.

This^. Not that I post a lot anyway, but I definitely don’t come around as much.

I agree very much with what you said about the value of authenticity in posters.

I was here in 2008 - believe it or not, I was more right-leaning at that time. The behavior of some of the right wing peas (and Rs in general, with birtherism and general racism) at that time was one of the things that put me off of voting for Republicans ever again. It was ugly.

I don’t recall whether there were more or fewer political posts at that time. I do recall a lot of very nasty threads about a lot of different subjects. Pile-ons were common and people were run off for things as innocuous as using a crock pot liner. Those things don’t happen so much any more.

I will probably strongly regret saying this, but I find the periodic assertions that political posts are driving people away to be hurtful. I’ve been here 20 years. I’m neurodivergent, with definite autistic traits (no diagnosis because it’s expensive) and politics are a special interest of mine. If you know anything about neurodivergent special interests, it’s … intense. It’s an interest I generally mask in real life to get along with others. This is one place I can be myself and discuss things like that with like-minded people who - to your point - I know to be real, actual people and not bots. I value that greatly. I don’t feel that should be vilified or that my interests are any less important than the others expressed here. I make an effort to contribute positively to non-political posts as well because I value the people here, though in very fraught times like these I probably don’t do as good a job of it.

And then a post like this comes up and it hurts. And if I push back against the politics label, which feels very “othering” to me, someone decides to do something stupid like label all the posts politics - and I’m told that is to mess with me because I complained about it. And that frankly feels like bullying.

It is not my intention to drive anyone away. I wish people could just read the posts they like and ignore the ones they don’t. That seems very simple *to me,* but clearly it isn’t. I don’t desire to make anyone discuss politics who doesn’t want to do so. But it feels, every time a post like this comes up, that a majority of peas feel that just labeling us is insufficient and wish the political posters would just go away. That hurts.

I’m not writing this expecting sympathy or attention. Just being open and honest. Again, will probably regret it. I just deeply appreciate having a place where I can discuss my interests openly with like-minded people and don’t want to lose it. But I also don’t want to drive others away. Not sure what to do.

I am sorry that you feel that way here. I very much try to give my opinion without being ‘nasty’.  I am not sure that I would go as far as the majority of people verbally abusing anyone.  There are certainly posters that are harsh and have a much different tone in their post than others.  But the nice thing about an online forum and the written word is that it is much easier to avoid or pick and choose what you want to read and participate in, at least more so than in real life.

Unfortunately nastiness is everywhere and doesn’t seem to be getting much better. Oh man you should see some of the comments and nastiness from many of the more right places that I read to get multiple perspectives that allows comments or has forums.  That right there can be some wicked verbal abuse. It seems to be everywhere and unless people can just let it go and know that there will probably be some nastiness anywhere you go I am not sure what you can do other than than fragment into even more undiversified segments, which exacerbates the issues even more

So I guess my take away is that I am sorry that you don’t feel comfort here but the majority of the people posting do not call people names or get extremely nasty. If you have been here long enough or read enough, you probably know the posting styles of  many of the prolific posters. It is your option to engage with those people or ignore them and it is much easier to do that online.  Most here may very VERY much disagree with you and will tell you so but do not personally call people names. But I will admit there are very few MAGA or Trump supporter that post or openly support Trump, so take that as you may.  🤷🏻‍♀️.

Sorry I have no magic fix or words. But good luck, I hope you can find someplace where you enjoy the interaction and posting.  IMO, It has intensified because we are early in the mist of a change in government and it is being done in a way that many do not feel is legal. Many feel it does not follow the Constitution and what the USA stands. Many feel it is being done at such a rapid pace and so haphazardly it is causing chaos and fear that should not be happening. Many feel it is not being done ethically or appropriately. So they are loud and are letting people know that…much like the MAGA supporters and Trump have been the last 4 years.

I get that the political types posts are a LOT. But I appreciate them so much. It is so hard to weed the chaff from the facts. Facebook used to be mostly factual, but it is now filled with trash from the right. I am about ready to delete FB. But I come here to get the actual facts about what president musk and his puppet trump are up to these days. I'd be for a separate political board and get rid of the political tag. But I also sort of get why people don't want that.

I hope peasapie comes back after a break.

Here is my take on the political threads. And this comes from a typical non-poster most of the time.

I enjoy being able to go to one place and see the things that are going on with a discussion, whether it be low key, middle of the road, or heated. I get more here than I get anywhere else. In fact, I can’t keep up with all the MSM anymore. I read the headlines from some news sites and that is it. I do not watch any news on television. I barely catch the local weather because I am just tired of the same old BS that is on. I live in a purple state – Texas. I am in a heavily republican county but close to Houston.
I am one of those that is caught in the middle situations. I am widowed without children, retired, receive survivors VA benefits and SS. I hope I have enough stashed away to sustain myself which I don’t draw on unless I have too. I have prepared for this administration the best I can. With all the tariffs, taxes, prices rising, people being laid off and some being asked to come back, and crap flying back and forth, I just hope I will come out of this okay.

I have rolled my eyes enough and walked off from listening to how the tariffs are going to make things better from friends and neighbors. I have one neighbor who is instant that other countries let people out of jails and asylums then transported those here and taken our jobs. I told her I hope you can afford avocados next week, cause without those crazy people picking crops in the US, we would have to import them at a higher price and your avocado tree died a few years ago.

So, with all this being said, I read political threads, I might skip over parts, research what is being posted, or I can agree to disagree without getting into a complex situation. I am still getting more on this board than I get elsewhere.

On a lighter note, someone please tell this damn Texas weather to make up its mind, so I can get outside and do things I really enjoy like my garden and flower beds. I need fresh air to drive out all the political ups and downs that are going on around me.

Tell me about it. Here in Kansas, the kids were a half week last week (Conferences) but they cancelled the half day, then they cancelled through today because of the snow and super cold temps. We'll see if they go tomorrow. The poor teachers..

I’m right there with you.
I can not control most of what is going on now. So I’m sort of blinders on & focusing on what thing I can do anything about. I get up, I go do my job to the best of my ability, I try to keep in touch with people. I take care of my own.

I want to stay informed, but damned if there isn’t new shitstorn every other hour. I’ve actually come to dread Fridays as a huge bunch of the shit gets dropped on Fridays. I want to k ow what’s going on, just in case there is something I can do, but it’s so overwhelming.

No one will come out of this the same.

I'm sorry to hear that. I really am having to limit political posts and news in general for my own well being.