Posts On Subjects That Invariably Turn Into Political Food Fights (jman)

Fri, 27 Jul 2012 09:02:28 GMT

Recently, Dr. of BBQ made a serious effort to post on a restaurant-related subject and asked that everyone be careful to not make it a political discussion. Of course, that request was mostly ignored.

That thread is a good example of why political threads probably shouldn't be allowed here. At least 80% of the comments contained rhetoric that was either blatantly false, or at best, misleading. Of course, that's easy to understand because most of the media has also engaged in false and misleading commentary regarding the so-called controversy. Political discussions on message boards are littered with comments that confuse opinion with fact. It's the nature of the beast. It seems that our tolerance for others' opinions is rarely a two-way street, especially when it comes to social issues.

While the thread was news-worthy and I believe that the Dr. of BBQ had no political motive in posting it, it's a good example of how reasonable people lose there ability to discuss politically charged subjects without resorting to opinions masquerading as facts. I see that the thread is still available for viewing, but has been disabled from accepting additional comments. That was probably wise because the thread wasn't going to miraculously turn non-political.

I am strongly opinionated when it comes to my politics and make every effort to not interject my political opinions into threads here at RoadFood.com. Sometimes I fail. I was very tempted to chime in on that thread but my better self won out and I decided to remain quiet.

Thanks to Dr. of BBQ in his attempt to inform.