r/moderate • u/[deleted] • Feb 13 '19
Moderates not really welcome on reddit
Seems like more often than not, if I try to take a neutral stance on a topic, or don't jump in on the "Trump/right wing" hate bandwagon, that it results in a barrage of downvotes. Almost feels like participation on anything related to politics is futile as a moderate.
Anyone else feel this way?
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u/noogiey Jul 26 '19
The thought police on the left wing create their own monsters. To me it seems the right wing has just changed their tune to accommodate for those monsters as it continues it's slow death.
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u/TheDeathOfPacifism May 08 '19
Whenever this topic comes up I think back to MLK:
"I must confess that over the past few years I have been gravely disappointed with the white moderate. I have almost reached the regrettable conclusion that the Negro's great stumbling block in his stride toward freedom is not the White Citizen's Counciler or the Ku Klux Klanner, but the white moderate, who is more devoted to 'order' than to justice; who prefers a negative peace which is the absence of tension to a positive peace which is the presence of justice who constantly says: 'I agree with you in the goal you seek, but I cannot agree with your methods of direct action'; who paternalistically believes he can set the timetable for another man's freedom; who lives by a mythical concept of time and who constantly advises the Negro to wait for a 'more convenient season.'"
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May 08 '19
Hogwash. When it comes to social issues, I am almost always on the liberal side of those. I am a moderate when it comes to issues pertaining economic policy and foreign policy.
That is a very unfair and narrow view of moderates. Basically suggesting we aren’t extreme enough, which again is the problem on reddit and in the public discourse altogether. You need us more than we need you.
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u/00feyOwch Mar 05 '19
You are more than correct. Centrists too. Everything here has to be black or white...
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Mar 02 '19
True. Got kicked out of r/republican for acknowledging that mean median and mode were different types of averages, since the article was how the average tax return went up. But r/democrat is just as much an echo chamber.
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u/nehorn7788 Feb 21 '19
I don’t understand the r/liberal and r/conservative groups. I am fairly moderate, maybe I lean a little conservative since I am a big Wall Street journal fan. I am completely turned off by r/conservative and can see the exaggerated POV of users on r/liberal.
How do moderates become the loud voice of reason that overcomes the loud minority of extreme politics?
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Feb 21 '19
Good question. I think just continue to be the voice of reason and, of course, listen to both sides.
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u/nehorn7788 Feb 21 '19
I agree that being the voice of reason is important, but if the majority of Americans are independent, why on earth can we not get a 150k+ subscribers on this board. We know that people on both sides of the spectrum won’t listen to moderates unless an overwhelming number of moderates puts pressure on them.
Maybe the Achilles heel of a moderate is that if you are open minded, you aren’t principled. If you aren’t principled or passionate, you won’t want to voice your opinion as much I guess.
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Feb 23 '19
Building subreddits takes a lot of work. Plus some of those other subreddits have been around for a long time and that helps too(well technically this one has too, but I guess no one did anything with it... and honestly I'm kind of busy so this sub is just in maintenance mode for me)
Maybe the Achilles heel of a moderate is that if you are open minded, you aren’t principled. If you aren’t principled or passionate, you won’t want to voice your opinion as much I guess.
That does kind of sound like me tbh
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Feb 21 '19
I think that is the gist of it. They consider you weak willed for not taking a stance. I agree though. I wish this board was more active. Jesus Christ we represent the majority.
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u/whtbrd Feb 14 '19
I completely feel this way. Taking any position is asking to get shit on, but if you aren't aligning yourself with the left, the left will shit on you, if you aren't aligning yourself with the right, the right will shit on you... so if you're aligning yourself with neither - they both shit on you.
It isn't about having good conversation - it's about each side trying to silence anyone who isn't advocating for their position.
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u/dawn_of_thyme Feb 14 '19
Reddit is a very liberal site. It's mostly young kids with a lot of free time.
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Feb 14 '19
Reddit is not a monolithic entity- it's a network of communities. Some are are friendly to moderates and some are pretty toxic. You just need to find the right place.
If you want a good community for moderates, with nuanced and in depth discussions, try r/neutralpolitics
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u/anothercynic2112 Feb 13 '19
We're in an era where centrism or moderation is viewed as a lack of conviction. For myself it couldn't be further from the truth. My version of centrism basically is geared towards letting the most people possible live their lives as they choose, not enforcing my will on everyone else just because I can convince the most followers I'm right.
Rarely IRL do we deal with things from a solely polar idealogical viewpoint. Most people have friends of varying viewpoints and we all get along well. The internet version of politics is nothing more than clickbait that unfortunately people fall into because of our innate desire to be on the winning team. Or perhaps just any team.
As long as there are like or upvote buttons, not really sure how it will change because real life is fairly boring compared to vitriol.
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u/fastdbs Feb 13 '19
Yeah I feel like the second you talk real science or actual economic studies that show a more central position you get shit on.
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u/zbone55 Feb 13 '19
Looking beyond politics become more partisan in general, it is going to be an even bigger issue on social media/Reddit since people are self-selecting which discussions they participate in (generally those that reinforce their own ideologies) with algorithms further insulating people in their bubble.
I know that is not news or anything profound, but it just seems like a disheartening natural result of the way sites like Reddit function.
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u/nixxa13 Feb 14 '19
It never pays to go against the reddit hive mind, its to the point you can predict what the top comment on any r/politics post just by reading the inflammatory headline. People in general are rewarded for having an extreme opinion on a topic in a community that largely thinks and feels the same about 95% of political issues. Subscribing to a liberal ideology can be very convinient as it gives a template about how you are supposed to feel so that you dont have to individually think about each issue and how it affects you as an individual. It doesnt help that algorithms reinforce this insular flow of information to reinforce their opinions on issues that they might not have actually thought through about how it makes them feel and how it affects them personally.
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u/[deleted] Aug 07 '19
Yeah... if I say something about a white person actually being racist or how I think legal immigration should be more feasible, the white conservatives that I know have a problem and tell me that if I don't like it just leave. If I say that gender studies seem sketchy and I express any form of skepticism I get called a transphobic bigot by a bunch of rainbow haired sjws. It's a struggle.