Are we getting more radical?

[ragnarok1981]

Since the addition of adding comments to stories on the freep, detnews, and other local media outlets has become popular I have noticed that the views expressed by people there are getting more and more extreme.
During the death penalty trial over the summer people were seeming to cry out not just for blood but volunteering to kill O'Reilly themselves and to do it with really cruel methods too.
When any story about homosexuals is in the papers it will instantly turn into a free for all fight with people proclaiming their views to be right because god tells them to. The debates are seeming to get uglier and uglier and it makes me worried about the metro area and the state at large.
Michigan and Detroit were places where I always thought rational thought and discourse ruled. We were one of the first places in the world to outlaw state executions, yet now it seems that people are practically drooling in delight over the thought of killing prisoners [[some even want it just to save money and clear out the jails).
So I am wondering if anyone else is noticing that this way of thinking is becoming more prevalent around here or if it is just the online people who are just out to either proclaim their beliefs or just stir up some trouble.

[Detroitnerd]

We have seen people become less and less educated over the last 30 years. Instead of nutritious books and magazines, today people live on the junk food of crap movies, game shows, and propaganda. And people are supposed to be scared, scared, scared -- because that's the only way they won't notice they're basically being pickpocketed by the powerful. It all adds up to crazy chattering instead of intelligent discourse.

[BrushStart]

Who hasn't noticed. It's almost impossible to have an intelligent conversation with many people anymore. I blame the "brain drain" and second what Detroitnerd said.

[iheartthed]

The internet just allows the noisy fringe to be louder. Internet message boards are not really the best place to judge the sentiments of the population at large since the discussions on each board are in general dominated by a select few.

[ragnarok1981]

I am glad I am not the only one noticing it then. I am by no means an intellectual but I do consider myself a person of the world and someone open to other views but lately I feel like the only smart person in a room full of idiots. The lack of education I think is a major contributing factor and I know that this might sound racist but I think a lot of what I consider the degredation of the english language is coming from people simply not learning how to speak correctly. I find myself scratching my head trying to understand people in the inner city now a days. But also there just seems to be a lack of civility and common sense. When I was in gradeschool we were taught who to write and I do mean write and do it in a fashion that was readable. We were taught debate and how to discuss a topic and debate different view points and not resort to name calling and viscious attacks. It really does feel like the collective intelligence in the united states as a whole is being sucked out and we are being left with a whole lot of people who are letting fear guide their lives rather than rational thought.

[Crumbled_pavement]

I don't think much has changed at all. I think the internet just provides a way to express thoughts that one doesn't have to defend in person. However, I can't think of much condoned on comments to news articles that didn't actually happen at one time or the other. Maybe we are becoming more radical in our online comments but we have become more civilized in our behavior when dealing with people in the real world.

[rhythmc]

I do believe that there is not anymore radicalism than in previous times. The only difference now is that many of the people who had been radical became more mainstream as the things that they fight for tend to become part of the norm.

I do believe that some people do not understand how to debate in a civil manner. Instead, people take any dissent as being a personal attack which begets more personal attacks. If people understood that facts were the basis for an opinion and that emotion doesn't have a place, significantly fewer people would have anything to say.

[blackmath]

I do believe that there is not anymore radicalism than in previous times. The only difference now is that many of the people who had been radical became more mainstream as the things that they fight for tend to become part of the norm.

I do believe that some people do not understand how to debate in a civil manner. Instead, people take any dissent as being a personal attack which begets more personal attacks. If people understood that facts were the basis for an opinion and that emotion doesn't have a place, significantly fewer people would have anything to say.

Brilliantly stated. +1

[hamtown mike]

We were one of the first places in the world to outlaw state executions, yet now it seems that people are practically drooling in delight over the thought of killing prisoners...

Absence makes the heart grow fonder.

[MizMotown]

lol... you ever read the clickondetroit [[wdiv) comments. a bunch of racist, insensitive idiots with truly nothing better to do.

[bailey]

lol... you ever read the clickondetroit [[wdiv) comments. a bunch of racist, insensitive idiots with truly nothing better to do.

13% unemployment will do that. the combination of free time and impotent rage is pretty much the fuel that propels the teabagger express.

[Hypestyles]

if, at the federal level, if the military budget were cut in half and diverted toward education reforms, that would help..

[DetroitPlanner]

lol... you ever read the clickondetroit [[wdiv) comments. a bunch of racist, insensitive idiots with truly nothing better to do.

I don't bother reading any of that stuff anymore, nor the Freep comments as I agree with you. I don't think that we have any more idiots out there, just @$$holes who hide behind screen names.

[Gistok]

The internet just allows the noisy fringe to be louder. Internet message boards are not really the best place to judge the sentiments of the population at large since the discussions on each board are in general dominated by a select few.

... and a lot of that noisy fringe comes from their computer in their parents basement....

[menckensghost]

... and a lot of that noisy fringe comes from their computer in their parents basement....

This is an over-simplification to the extreme. The 24 hour news cycle plus internet access in the majority of homes has given rise to crackpot bullshit everywhere. The fact that I am writing this now is proof enough. Most people are extremely stupid. That is a fact.

[Islandman]

I blame the anonymity of the internet. Most of these jackasses wouldn't dare utter their nonsense in person.

[401don]

There is a lot of "me against the world" coming out in internet comments. People who perceive themselves as not successful [[i.e as a loser) - unemployed, underemployed or even lousy in sports - want to lash out against anyone who is successful or even holds a different viewpoint and there's no place easier to do that than replying to an internet article.
On the other hand, I remember taking my 85 yr old mother to the mall and being embarrassed by the word f*ck in every conversation when we passed a teenager. When I finally asked her if it bothered her she said, "It used to but at least they always hold the door open for me. A lot of old people don't do that." So all is not lost I guess.

[Relayer76]

if, at the federal level, if the military budget were cut in half and diverted toward education reforms, that would help..

True. And if the media actually put people on the air who are informed, open to discussion and courteous rather than Rush Limbaugh and Ann Coulter that would help too. Ann Coulter's speaking engagement in Ottawa was met by a large crowd of protesters. "Telling people off" in lieu of debate has been made fashionable by the right wing media and it is very detrimental to democracy.

[Crumbled_pavement]

True. And if the media actually put people on the air who are informed, open to discussion and courteous rather than Rush Limbaugh and Ann Coulter that would help too. Ann Coulter's speaking engagement in Ottawa was met by a large crowd of protesters. "Telling people off" in lieu of debate has been made fashionable by the right wing media and it is very detrimental to democracy.

Part of that is due to the short attention span Americans have these days. If you're not shocking someone every few minutes then they lose interest. When I was a kid people went to the movies and watched the movie. Sure there was talking during the movie, but for the most part people watched the movie. Now people have to have a cellphone talking to 20 of their friends or texting or playing video games. The movie hardly keeps their attention. Any talk show that is courteous and delves into the mechanics of a problem is going to get turned off and on will come Jerry Springer. He keeps people's attention, unfortunately.

[Danny]

The Tea-Party Republican lefties are getting more RADICAL than the Bolshevik and the Melshevik Party combined. Trying to create a full Repubican/corporate based U.S. Government that would eliminate immigration policies, [[as in closing the the golden door on all illegals completely.) Abolish the Social Security Act of 1935, The Health Care Reform Act of 2010 [[ as in Obamacare). Exclude the Food Stamp Act of 1935 and Wefare Act of 1935. Making America a better place for the rich and famous.

WORD FROM THE STREET PROPHET

As the thesis and the antithesis are being annilated to become the synthesis.

Neda, I miss you so.

[gnome]

As the thesis and the antithesis are being annilated to become the synthesis.

I'm gonna have to chew on this awhile, but it sure does sound interesting.

[rb336]

Who hasn't noticed. It's almost impossible to have an intelligent conversation with many people anymore. I blame the "brain drain" and second what Detroitnerd said.

Then it must be a nationwide brain drain, as the same trends of hatefulness [[yes, usually in the name of god or false patriotism) are found in every city I've visited, on every newspaper website I've visited etc. etc.

[skyl4rk]

Idiocracy
Society is in a downward spiral

[Crumbled_pavement]

Idiocracy

One of my favorite movies. This movie is a personal classic!

[Gistok]

This is an over-simplification to the extreme. The 24 hour news cycle plus internet access in the majority of homes has given rise to crackpot bullshit everywhere. The fact that I am writing this now is proof enough. Most people are extremely stupid. That is a fact.

Personally I avoid "mea culpa"....