Daily Kos, Just STOP the INSANITY!!!!

There is a meltdown going on in this site over the Ray/Kos Debacle.  THIS INSANITY HAS TO STOP.

It is Time to Call for a STOP from all sides.  Before things become more toxic than they already are.  Remember how long the toxic stink from The Nephew lasted?  How it damaged the trust between us?  We have more important things to do.  Besides, do you really see what this site is becoming?

Allow me to offer the only solution that I see is:

1.  RAY

Ray, you wrote a diary today ("A Direct Debate Challenge,") that basically was a gesture of suicide by mob or banning.  Whether you understand the masochism in your diary or not, at this point doesn't matter.  Whether you understand the provocation in your diary or not, doesn't matter.  Whether you understand how illogical it was that you challenge Markos to a debate or not, doesn't matter.  

Yesterday you wrote a diary that many people, including myself, could stand behind.  Yet today, you destroyed all the good will you may have created yesterday.  Your diary today was the biggest 'pissing in the well' that I have seen in a long time.  

You need to stop, Ray.  Just stop.  

I believe that the time has come for you to give yourself a serious rest from Daily Kos.  I suggest Ray, that you leave the site and go find another home, find out how other communities respond to you.  If you choose to do this, I hope that you won't flame out  and will leave the door open here.  After you have calmed down, then come back and if you choose and try again.  Give feelings time to calm down.

If you really believe in your work, then that should be your prime focus.  Where can you do your best work.  Studying, learning from others, etc.  Focus on that rather than on the personality battles here.  That is a no win situation.  I hope that you do focus on your work because I think you have a lot of interesting ideas; ideas that need a lot of studying and thought, but are worthwhile.

I encourage you not to take a temporary leave of absence as a defeat, but rather as a new stage in your journey with the potential of helping your refine your ideas and yourself.

I wish you well and hope that you do what is good for you and your work.

2.  Daily Kos Community.

Man, we gotta get a grip.

People are behaving like Lord Of the Flies at times in Ray's diaries, but I have already seen the edginess spill over in other diaries as well.

People are going after blood in Ray's last diary.  As I said above, I thought Ray wrote a masochistic diary today, but that doesn't mean that some in the community need to respond with a sadistic feeding frenzy towards him.

Regardless of the provocation, the ganging up on Ray with a mob violence is really despicable.  Look at what it makes of US.  Forget about Ray.  It is making the Daily Kos members behave as animals in a jungle when they smell blood, especially of the wounded.

I think that the best thing that the community can do for Ray is simply not participate in his diaries.  Everyone needs a massive amount of time to cool off in this masochistic/sadistic impasse.  So, I am suggesting to the community to control their sadistic reactions to his masochistic provocations, in order to behave as people with self control and values.  People who other people can feel safe around.

There is a massive amount of damage that is being done to the TRUST on this site right now with the mob violence towards Ray.  Some people in the threads are commenting about this.  (If you tear Ray apart will you tear me apart?)  This site is losing some of its safety and people don't want to be around that kind of atmosphere.  What have we degenerated into where the way to solve a problem is to have a public lynching?  Walk Away.  Whether 'he deserves it" or not.  You are better than that.

Mark my words.  People will remember those who are participating in the 'takedown' of Ray, and this will infect this site for a long time to come.  Let's stop all this now.  Before it gets far, far worse.  STAY AWAY FROM RAY, rather than participate in this violence.

The impact of this violence will last for months and will infect the site for a long time to come, so stop before it becomes worse.

Please, everyone, back off.  Stop the mob behavior.  Stop the sadistic behavior.  Stop ganging up on one person.

Are these the types of behavior we support?  Are these the types of values we support?  If another group were doing this, what would we say.

There are other ways to resolve conflict.  Let's find them.

Please Stop The Insanity Now!  It starts with YOU!

UPDATE:

Pychodrew brings up a good question:

You don't have anything to say to kos? (3+ / 0-)
His call-out diary enabled a lot of the "Lord of the Flies" behavior you're objecting to.

Dear Kos,

It seemed to me that you lost your temper in your diary today.  I am not criticizing you for that because I have lost my temper many times on Daily Kos and your exasperation was clear.  For many, the value of what you had to say about the "NSA/paranoia" issue was overshadowed by how you said it and prevented what could have been a very profitable discussion about that.

More importantly, I think the tone of the diary was unfortunate from the point of view of group dynamics.  You are the leader of this group.  And whether you like it or not, or are even aware of it or not, you set up, both by your words and example, the tone of how members behave towards each other.  Your use of sarcasm and anger, I fear, will give the green light to increase this type of behavior on this site when people disagree with each other.  Polarization will be intensified for a period of time as people unleash their anger and sarcasm on each other.  That is simply how groups function.  They mimic their leader.

PhilJd makes a very helpful comparison, I think, between this situation and The Nephew, illustrating the damage to the community when it gets out of control:

The comparison with The Nephew is all-too-apt. (3+ / 0-)
As i happens, I've been thinking about that lately, for unrelated reasons, so the events are fresh in my mind. I'll take the liberty of quoting a comment I made in the immediate aftermath.

The atmosphere became so toxic, and the slightest criticism [of The Nephew] was met so quickly with so many shrill defenses, that it required real courage (as such things are measured on the anonymous Internet) to post honestly. That's antithetical to the sort of open discourse DKos has always purported to depend on...
.... There have been some apologies, including a handful of sincere ones from a few of the worst offenders, but the leaders of the pack haven't apologized at all.

Based on past behavior, they never will. They'll let others take the heat, while they just sit back collecting accolades; smug, satisfied and oh-so-respected.

Until that is "processed" and people are willing to fully own their role in this farce, I wonder whether healing can really even start.

I hope the site responds better this time around.