[2006alum]

Your comment, ".  .  .  . I've generally found that OT political threads that generally get posted here are by right-of-center folks" suggests to me that what you think is center really is not.

There is a large segment of this board that very much enjoyed Stupac2's insults to ferrari - and he remains here to snipe and dismiss posters with whom he disagrees.  Garvin's anger, I think, is simply an expression of pent up frustration with the unfairness of the outcome.

To be clear, I didn't enjoy either side of the stupac2/ferrari debate. I loathed it. I've advocated all along to remove the politics discussions because they often end up going to an ugly place. And as I already said, I'm much closer to the "crazy kids these days and their sensitivities" position than the "trigger warnings must be mandatory" position. But that's beside the point.

The point is: when was the last OT thread that was a link to an article talking about how Trump will ruin America, overpolicing in black communities is racist and unjust, or how criticisms of Hillary are just veiled misogyny? It just seems like almost every OT politics post is an article about a leftist cause, and the poster adds their two cents about how ridiculous that cause is. Then a number of other posters jump on and agree. Eventually someone like stupac2 challenges that quasi-consensus, and then it goes south.

In short, it doesn't feel like a thoughtful debate, it feels like a group of people agreeing with each other that they dislike a particular view expressed elsewhere, and once the match of someone who disagrees with them strikes, the whole thread blows.

3. This 2016 Presidential election is going to tear this country apart.  These sports boards are going to be about the only place you can go to have discussions that provide an escape from all the ugliness that is going to ensue.  A zero tolerance policy is required to make sure these boards remain untarnished by political vitriol.

Could not agree more. I'm already sick of this election and it's barely begun, and focusing on the awesomeness of Stanford is a nice little haven from the madness of the world.

[2006alum]

Your comment, ".  .  .  . I've generally found that OT political threads that generally get posted here are by right-of-center folks" suggests to me that what you think is center really is not.

There is a large segment of this board that very much enjoyed Stupac2's insults to ferrari - and he remains here to snipe and dismiss posters with whom he disagrees.  Garvin's anger, I think, is simply an expression of pent up frustration with the unfairness of the outcome.

To be clear, I didn't enjoy either side of the stupac2/ferrari debate. I loathed it. I've advocated all along to remove the politics discussions because they often end up going to an ugly place. And as I already said, I'm much closer to the "crazy kids these days and their sensitivities" position than the "trigger warnings must be mandatory" position. But that's beside the point.

The point is: when was the last OT thread that was a link to an article talking about how Trump will ruin America, overpolicing in black communities is racist and unjust, or how criticisms of Hillary are just veiled misogyny? It just seems like almost every OT politics post is an article about a leftist cause, and the poster adds their two cents about how ridiculous that cause is. Then a number of other posters jump on and agree. Eventually someone like stupac2 challenges that quasi-consensus, and then it goes south.

In short, it doesn't feel like a thoughtful debate, it feels like a group of people agreeing with each other that they dislike a particular view expressed elsewhere, and once the match of someone who disagrees with them strikes, the whole thread blows.

3. This 2016 Presidential election is going to tear this country apart.  These sports boards are going to be about the only place you can go to have discussions that provide an escape from all the ugliness that is going to ensue.  A zero tolerance policy is required to make sure these boards remain untarnished by political vitriol.

Could not agree more. I'm already sick of this election and it's barely begun, and focusing on the awesomeness of Stanford is a nice little haven from the madness of the world.