Good signs in odd places?

Over the past few months, I've noticed a change in the chatter on different places. Places that are usually the stalking grounds for right-wing and just-plain-dumb-so-it-sounds-right-wing talking points. Namely, sports forums and online games.

Before, when the chat swung into politics the mouthbreathers would loudly denounce the left in general, Democrats in particular. A typical thread would go on about the greatness of *, the weakness of the left--and woe be unto the brave liberal that would speak up. He/she would be overwhelmed by numbers.

Recently it appears the worm has turned. The pros and cons of Dem candidates are discussed (and, quite frankly, more politely than they are in GD 2004). *-lovers are usually ignored, sometimes berated. And in a specific example, while playing Call of Duty (a WWII first-person game) online, there was a player named 'GeorgeBushSucks'--and the chat (which I didn't participate in) that followed was purely about how much George Bush did, indeed, suck.

There've been anecdotes about supermarket lines and restaurants, but for whatever reason, seeing the changing tone in fan forums and shoot-em-up games makes me feel all warm and liberal inside.

It never was very political. But we almost had a break-up when a Canadian friend criticized the mistake that killed the Canadian troops in Afghanistan. (Not the fact that we were at war, just the incompetence that caused the mistake.) It actually got ugly, with the word "liberal" used as an insult.

We tacitly agreed not to discuss politics after that. (There are several born again types there.)

Lately, the discussion is turning again and again to how many of us have lost jobs. And we've railed againt Walmart and the way Safeway is treating its employees in SoCal. The person who used "liberal" as an insult has made oblique reference to maybe we should bring our troops home from Iraq. There was celebration when Saddam was caught, but nobody likes him.

So, yes...I think the mood is changing.