Are we creating a Culture of Disappointment at DU?

It feels like the prevailing mood here is disappointment. We always seem to be disappointed in something. Sometimes it’s our Party, other times the MSM. Usually both.

Often the disappointment is directed at our own community. I can’t exclude myself from this category. Some people might have noticed my own, often expressed disappointment at the behavior some DUers whenever homosexuality becomes the topic du-jour.

Others here have been disappointed by the ‘lies’ and ‘spin’ by supporters of one (D) candidate or another.

We could probably sit here till the sun comes up listing all the myriad disappointments, but that doesn’t sound like much fun. It’s also really negative and I wonder if it’s not the reason we regularly lose popular members of the community.

Doesn’t anyone else get tired of it? What can we do to change it. Should we even try?

I know things are pretty ugly right now. Not to mention downright scary in some instances. But does having a culture of disappointment (if we do have that) help?

I’m not sure we’ll ever be able to stop being disappointed, but I wonder if there is a way to address our unhappiness in more positive ways.

Thoughts? Comments? *crickets*?

As long as that festers, of course people will be broadly disappointed; each and every minor disappointment is simply piled on top of that one. It's not just an internal struggle. There's that big externality as well.

Even if it was the war that was causing it, I still wonder if an overriding feeling of disappointment is helpful. That having been said, I don't know if we could change the culture here.

I agree with the point you are making and it's why I seldom visit here anymore.

...I think there's little to be done other than making a sustained effort to bring as much good news as possible, also to try and rein in the bitchslapping.

I think a lot of the disappointment in fellow DU members that's been expressed recently (and I'm aware there's been a lot) mostly stems from one of the regular DU unfortunate habits (of which we are all guilty from time to time) of posting fast to try and keep up with the huge volume, it limits things. People do pay attention to longer, more carefully phrased posts. I think some posters get disappointed not because other posters disagree with them but because they feel their views are simply being dismissed without being listened to.

The only way around that is to just take more time and try and express yourself the long way round, but not everyone wants to. I really do wish people would drop the "bite me" one-liners. They just don't help anything.

You also gave me an idea! :)

I wonder if people would be interested in contributing to a Weekly Good News Roundup thread?

and your OP's pretty damned good, too.

What do you think about doing it every Friday?

The Friday good news wrap-up, or whatever. I really like the idea of some positivity.

(even though that's exactly what I'm doing :D) but I've got something positive and thought-provoking over here:

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=389&topic_id=1729749&mesg_id=1729749

Every week, Tuesday at noon.

We would probably need a few days to come up with good news since the media isn't really into it. But, we could ferret it out ourselves. I would be up for a few feel good stories. But let's not forget our pet owners here - they're always posting pics of their furry babies and those always bring us big smiles and lots of "aw-w-w's". The Lounge often makes us laugh with silliness and its posters sometimes tell about the good stuff going on in their lives.

Let's do it!

That would be great. There are good things happening - they get lost in the hot-button mix here. And Fridays would be a great day for that...

....enjoy.

This was inevitable. You can cheer yourself up immensely simply by avoiding all mainstream news. It is specifically designed to lower the morale of the left.

Democrats (even DUers) will rally behind our nominee, the GOP will be stomped into the dirt, and we will win back the Whitehouse. :woohoo:

Unfortunately, our glass has been knocked over rather consistently for years. It's next to impossible to be optimistic when the next presidential election is apt to be stolen as easily as the last.

I was hoping (although not really confident) that the Dems would take heart from their victory in both houses of Congress and start making some bold and necessary initiatives, especially with regard to the war and Constitutional rights.

But noooo---giving a distinct impression of cowardice and/or corruption.

If I were Majority (Majority, m-a-j-o-r-i-t-y)Leader in either house, I'd gather the troops and say,

"We are going to stand united against the war and against further erosions of our political freedoms, just like we stood united on saving Social Security. You will vote against all funding for the war except that which funds troop withdrawal. You will vote against all further erosions of our civil liberties. You will not vote for any tax cuts for the rich. You will not vote for any cuts to programs that benefit ordinary Americans. We may not have enough votes to press forward with our own legislation, but we have enough to block the Republican agenda, and that's what we were elected for. If you vote with the Republicans, we will consider you a traitor to our principles, and we will fund a primary challenger for you."

But even that was too daring for them, I guess. :grr:

vitrol here in some of the threads at DU.

(Just to clarify Lydia--I'm not pointing the finger at you--LOL. I'm just saying)!

It's hard to operate from a place of hope and being positive when we've had our hopes dashed so many times. But anger, hatred, and vitrol don't solve problems. We have to remain clear and keep our eyes on the prize.

is a cushy corporate lobbying job after they're out of office. :-(

Voting against the war might jeopardize their job prospects with military contractors.

and no one noticed. in that time i mangaed to fall in love, meet people who thought about other things than Bush and the evil neo-cons, and re-charge the batteries...I am not strong enough to stomach a nomination battle...I back the winner...may the best one step forward...fix the direction of this country.

I've been dealing with family health problems and other stuff over the past few months, but I realized that you weren't posting as much anymore. Wondered if you had all you could take.

And welcome back to DU! :hi:

However, my disgust and disdain and contempt and loathing and deep-seated anger for events and certain people does not detract from my ability to enjoy life.

Disappointed people post about their disappointment. Sometimes the information in those posts or just empathy makes other people who read them feel disappointed as well. It would be a stretch to call that "creating a culture of disappointment."

... That leads rather quickly to a bad climate.

I dunno, who cares? I like it here. I'm on a bit of a posting bender as of late but I love to lurk and look in on the various forums. We Dems are an interesting, although often cranky lot.

We're floating in a slough with a dumbass in the White House - there is much to be disappointed about. It's just the mood we're in. There's much to look forward to - a Dem in the White House, the troops coming home. What a sweet day that will be.

For whatever reason, winning back control of Congress seemed to make some people around here believe that the only thing that would get in the way of Congress stopping the war would be impeaching Bush and Cheney simultaneously, to great fanfare. So yes, if you start with that set of expectations obviously you're going to be disappointed.

Those were modest expectations, and they disappointed me even there.

They have the votes to BLOCK Bush/Cheney initiatives, and instead, they're going along with them.

Bunch of scaredy cats.

That's just inaccurate.

If they're not scared, then they must be corrupt.

I don't believe for one minute that it's "strategic." They need to fire their strategists for making such stupid suggestions (and fire themselves for being so gullible.)

I'll stick with mine. They're certainly not corrup.

And Congressional dems are not going along with everything that bush proposes.

voted for FISA. As a former prosecutor, she knew exactly what that meant.

and voting for gutting the Bill of Rights with things like the FISA Act, and not bothering to vote to tell Bush he can't attack Iran without Congressional permission?

The Democratic Party is infested with quislings.

and bush doesn't need Congressional Authority to attack Iran. As for my Senator, he's fighting to restore Habeus rights to all, he's fighting against FISA, and he's for defunding the war. Same for my other Senator.

Ken Salazar voted for the Military Commissions Act that gutted habeas Corpus, he voted for the FISA revision, he voted to give Bush that $100B for the Iraq war.

About the only thing good I can say about him is that he hasn't defected to the Republicans like his predecessor, Ben Nighthorse Campbell did.

That's why they aren't blocking the initiatives they aren't blocking.

What's wrong with those alleged Democrats who are going along with Bush's initiatives?

How can any moral, thinking person go along with Bush's initiatives?

What good is it to have a majority if your majority includes people who support the other side?

Those lame excuses don't hold water anymore.

:grr:

...you are referring to the actions of the former majority party in strong-arming its members into voting for the leadership's position, I would suggest that those tactics have a lot to do with the former majority party's current minority status. So I'd think twice about going down the road of using threats of political violence to keep the rank and file in line.

From one whose played in the online world for way too long...and been around this place for quite a while, one constant is how people will tap things on a keyboard and hit send before that they wouldn't say face-to-face. Little iritations become flame wars, things that only matter to some in the community become big issues and people get frustrated and angry on here. This can give the impression of a larger issue or problem than it is.

The problem is when people confuse a discussion board with something more. It's easy to read the rants and get caught up in the personalities and flame wars to come away with bad feelings or depression. I for one will never let that happen. When the crap on DU gets too deep (like it did toward the end of last week), I click to other sites...limit what I see or say here.

There's a large, wonderful world outside of DU...and a lot of both opportunities and other forums that can challenge and help in a positive way...rather than to spin one's wheels with ideals that have little chance of meeting reality.

Yes, times are very difficult now and will remain that way until this regime is removed...and even then a new set of frustrations will set in. Instead of allowing the negative to consume, find positive ways to channel the angst and anger.

Cheers...

I was 20 years old, an undergraduate at UC San Diego working two low-paying jobs and trying to finish my college education:

US dollar at record low levels.

Global unemployment.

US auto makers shamed by Japanese manufacturers.

Oil spills, oil wars, and looming environmental disaster.

Climate change, strange weather.

Disco still sucks.

Middle East mired in crisis with occasional moments of hope.

Earthquakes.

Che Guevara hats and apologists abound.

Crisis in Europe.

Crisis in Africa.

Droughts and fires somewhere.

Technological breakthroughs causing moral panic.

Same shit, different decade.

The culture of DU is largely driven by the mindset of its members, many of whom are young adults who feel disenfranchised or that they are being treated unfairly in some way; that they are about to inherit a colossal mess created by the previous generation and just missed some kind of Golden Age.

People take the time to log on to DU to air their complaints and disappoints about Democrats or the Democratic Party a lot more than they do when they are content with how something's going.

That seems to be a part of human nature though--speaking up when something's not right, but otherwise being quiet.

Perhaps we should take the time to speak up here when we are encouraged or happy with the way something is going or with something a Dem candidate said?

:thumbsup:

If the economy wasn't in the toilet or people weren't dying in Iraq then maybe. But this cloud only gets darker.

can you imagine life without DU?

I think some of the complaining is immature behavior based on expectations that every Democrat, or at least most Democratic politicians, will agree with every nuance of the poster.

We see that in posts that bemoan...

"if they don't pull all the troops from Iraq..."
"if they don't go for impeachment..."
"if they don't refuse to confirm the Supreme Court nominee..."
"if they don't refuse to fund the war..."

This is addition to the sniping against the less favored Democratic candidates.

We're talking about the future of the U.S., its international reputation, and massive violations of the Constitution.

I didn't realize that standing up for the Constitution was "immature behavior."

But I'm not at all surprised at your position.

It's hard to feel like a winner, when even when you "win", the D.C. Dems roll over and let the war go on.

They rode an anti-war, anti-Bush wave and failed to make proper use of it. Crimes against the American people and war crimes being committed in our name are being brushed off for political reasons.

Disappointment is actually too weak a word to describe the despair some of us life long Democrats feel. I have voted Democrat since I was 18 and have NEVER voted for any other party. It is amazing to me that I am actually thinking about a third party candidate. I don't want to. But the Dems seem to have had the stuffing taken out of them. Maybe it was the anthrax to Dashle and Leahy. Maybe it was the DC sniper, or watchiing an administration with no limits allowing over 1000 Americans to die in New Orleans without lifting a finger until several agonizing days had passed. I don't know. Maybe the Dems can't play ball because, in the end, they have limits to what they are willing to do and the Bush administration has no limits.

when you are working for the highest goals
events can be very dissappointing

ask MLK Jr.
it does not mean we give up

I expected more from GD this morning

by that nasty little kid & his minions of censorship :wow:

People actually held out hope that * would not be inaugurated and also that * would be going down to to {insert choice of scandal). I think the optimism finally turned into anger. I've been pessimistic all along so I'm pretty much unchanged, maybe just a lot more bitter and detached.

you know, it starts to take its toll. more so here, i imagine. it's definitely not easy to sustain the level of outrage i felt after the scotus decision in 2000 or the march to war in 2003 or or the 2004 election, but it's not always easy to keep a rosy outlook and du is a great place to commiserate. i really don't see what the problem with that is. i think it's because this community (in general) is full of positive, energetic, optimistic people that there's always a lot of bitching going on. it's been SEVEN LONG YEARS of treason and reprehensible actions of public figures, that takes its toll on sentient, thoughtful, progressive minded people and they need a place to vent it.

all that crap being said, however, i do love the idea of a "good news" forum or something of the like.

thanks!

:thumbsup:

it's just a website among many.
DU's best resource is probably LBN, but GD is also cool. You can fight if you want. As a long-time union guy, I can say that DU is sometimes to the Left of some of my personal opinions on policy but for the most part seems a pretty good fit for the stuff I believe in.
Someone else posted a cool .gif of a seatbelt warning of ugly posts up ahead, there in the Twilight Zone...
I'm a total n00b, but a Culture of Disappointment, while a great turn of phrase, is something best left for the GOP to clutch at as their highest achievement in governance. That's actually the most perfect description of what Bush has created through his 'administration'.
A Culture of Disappointment. You should copyright it ASAP.

...disappoints me.