Partisan Politics in Discussions

L

Latrade

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One issue that has annoyed me for a while, but came to a head with the Presidential Election thread is how partisan politics ends up dominating the discussion.

In most cases the threads are started (whether it be elections, issues, etc) by posters of no political alligence looking for independenet views/discussions. However, just like the presidential thread, they usually deteriorate into a spin machine from party faithful people.

In the end, the presidential thread here (and elsewhere) proved as useful and reliable as the televised debates.

Without limiting discussion, is there anyway we could address this voluntarily? It'd be fine to say ignore the partisan posts, but the party-line bickering can get so bad, you have to wade through tens of posts to get to independent analysis/views.

I know if I were to comment on a thread in the main section in an area in promoting a business or service, I would have to declare an interest (or not). Would that work here?

Or am I just alone in being sick of trying to wade through party spin to make a reasoned judgement and end up drowning in a myopic morass?
 
I thought ity was pretty tedious in the presidential election discussion alright. i had hoped that people would pick the person that they felt was best, but it was again turned into party political drivel. I don't see it changing because we now have FG/Labour supporters fearing that their team are going to be a shambles in the hot seat and there are also FF's that want to see the new boys fail so that they can take a turn at 'I told you so'.
 
Latrade said:
However, just like the presidential thread, they usually deteriorate into a spin machine from party faithful people.
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As opposed to a spin machine from those who are a bit more subtle but no less determined about their allegiances. I've never made a secret of my allegiance to the Labour Party, and many posters here are happy to use that as a reason to discount my views on anything and everything.

It is very easy for others to be less overt about their party allegiances, but no less determined about spinning a particular message.
 
Complainer said:
It is very easy for others to be less overt about their party allegiances, but no less determined about spinning a particular message.
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But is that not the very point, make the discussion about the message that you believe in and not about the party that is peddling it. If it a contributor has an opinion, voice it because they believe in it and not because it is the Labour way or Frankfurt....... or....

Political party allegiance is only one factor that biases people. Nationality, religion, location, life stage and employment status equally frame an individual's perspective.

We see it more with the posts about 'moral police' when someone dares to question the reasons for financial difficulty.

It is a broader issue of getting people to play the ball and not the player.
 
There are two posters who spring to mind here; Complainer and Deiseblue. Both are Labour Party supporters. I respect both posters for being open about their loyalties though I wouldn't consider that they both toe the party line equally.
 
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