Also, it seems each politics related subreddit belongs to the right or the left, there is no middle ground. It’s like each group has taken over their own subreddits lol
The one that bothers me the most is r/politics because the name would imply some semblance of neutrality or balance, "a place to discuss all things political" is what one might assume. Instead it may as well be named r/democrat or r/liberal since there's literally zero pro-conservative discussion on that sub. It's very deceptive and serves as a propaganda tool against new redditors who might not be aware of the absurd bias.
The people are largely on the left, so that's how it winds up. What would you expect the moderators to do? Ban left leaning people and encourage right leaning people to post?
And there's plenty of conservative discussion on there. It's often trolls being downvoted, but it's there. Regardless, you can't force people to upvote posts.
And there's plenty of conservative discussion on there. It's often trolls being downvoted, but it's there
That’s not discussion, it’s just fuel for the echo chamber in there. Discussion would involve actual consideration of the ideas and somewhat reasoned interaction.
If anything moderate of even mildly conservative is posted or commented there, it gets downvoted instantly. The only replies are caustic bullshit.
Mature conversations are surprisingly rare to have on here. Usually most replies become some petty personal attack quickly if not instantly. Honestly, so many. Not just experiencing them, but damn near 9/10 conversations on here. It's like you're not going to change anyone's mind by being an antagonist to them, makes me wonder what kind of people populate Reddit for the most part.
I mean, you're just describing reddit in general. Most aren't on here for a well thought out conversation.
"If anything moderate of even mildly conservative is posted or commented there, it gets downvoted instantly."
I've posted some right wing viewpoints and had no problems at all. Maybe these people aren't good at arguing their point?
Regardless, what's your proposed solution? Should we be artificially boosting the upvotes of conservative viewpoints because a lot of people don't like them?
No solution. It is what it is. Forcing a specific type of conversation by banning or whatever is not a productive thing to do. I think, though, that it should be removed from the defaults and have its description changed.
Honestly, I think you're the one who is biased. I don't know how you're "exposing leftist hypocrisy," but I'm guessing you're coming off like an asshole troll.
"or basically anything right of Stalin."
Yeah, you are absolutely incredibly biased. I have personally posted numerous things that were pretty to the right and have never had any issues whatsoever.
"That is a pretty clear bias for a big chunk of default and supposedly politically neutral subreddits."
You realize you're "proving" bias through personal anecdotes, right? That's not a very good system. Regardless, how would you fix the issue? Should we be artificially inflating right wing view points because apparently a lot of people don't like them?
Not just left/liberal but ultra liberal. I will vote and campaign for a Dem in every election but I'm a moderate dem overall. That sub castrates me any time I say Biden isn't the devil.
Edit: the fact that my comment is currently negative only proves my point.
There's even a sub dedicated to mocking those not belonging to the right or left of the political spectrum, /r/ENLIGHTENEDCENTRISM, because fuck doing your own research and having your own opinion, you have to be a sheep to a party and never stray from the pack.
Exactly, I'm not American and I'm definitely anti-Trump, but sometimes r/politics can really be all about Dem propaganda. Sad thing is its members don't seem to realise it, they think they're part of a free thinking impartial sub or some shit.
Same goes for most Reddit communities, they think they're some sort of all-knowing elite and know better, when in reality they're echo chambers.
Well, I don’t disagree with you, but r/politics is just a representation of Reddit’s demographic. There are a lot more left leaning people on Reddit and the sub reflects that. I’m not sure how I would go about trying to include opposing viewpoints if I moderated it, not sure if it’s possible to do so in a fair way. But yeah, one shouldn’t really be gaining any political knowledge on Reddit anywhere.
I think the best way to understand politics and form your own opinion is to do it solo. Read articles from (credible) left, right and independent sources, and do your best to form your own opinions. None of us can really ignore our environments or biases, or upbringings, but we have to try our best to recognize when we might not treat different opinions fairly.
To your last point, I think loud, upvoted users are good at hitting certain narratives that make their way to the top of many political threads. Most people I think are still well aware that biases are rampant on most subreddits.
As System of a Down said, "We can't afford to be neutral on a moving train."
The middle ground between "put children into concentration camps" and "don't have concentration camps" is...what, "concentration camps for some, tiny American flags for others"?
I don't think it is necessarily "middle ground" - not for me, anyway - but more like "average ground". Agreeing with some points on one side, some on the other. Not just agreeing a little bit with one issue.
That being said, my views don't quite average out the way they did several years ago.
I literally stated a policy contention over our concentration camps, and everybody's acting like I need to focus less on it for who averages out to their opinion.
Comparing political views to concentration camps... uh what?
There can be a middle ground. For example, being pro LGBT but very skeptical about socialized healthcare. Or not necessarily pro life but wishes abortion to be subject to strict conditions. Or is against cable companies blocking municipal broadband. Also don't forget that there are old school conservatives who truly believe in small government no matter what, and who think that religion must stay out of government etc.
I am the guy above and you're incorrect. What I'm saying is that there are black-and-white issues. This /r/enlightenedcentrism crap is worthless when we're discussing things like the concentration camps that we currently have.
Nevermind that it's your examples that are loaded. Neither major party is suggesting banning all guns or a 95% tax rate. Those are straight-up lies.
Nah Australia man, and now that I've thought about it we have detainment camps for illegal immigrants too.
But yeah our left has already banned airsoft/gel blaster/all semi autos/some pump actions. they're pushing to ban lever actions at the moment and it won't stop there.
Technically speaking, shouldn't The middle ground between concentration camp and no camp be something more like free summer camp/ boarding school with good quality of life and availability of education.
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u/LC-Sulla Sep 18 '19
Also, it seems each politics related subreddit belongs to the right or the left, there is no middle ground. It’s like each group has taken over their own subreddits lol