The forum is a place where not all members are right-wing nuts, or every folksier is a liberal minded weenie. It's a place where everybody hates outsourcing and agrees that for example Saddam was an evil SOB even if we disagree on what has been done with him.

It's where Americans and British of every creed can wrestle one another for the honour of being the person to slit bin Laden's throat. And each of us is willing to admit we that we don't like Michael Barrymore or Graham Norton.


When it comes election time we can get awfully mean, with an unprecedented "us verse them" mentality.

There was plenty of antagonism to go around, largely because of the war in Iraq.
Particularly vengeful on the left, where people appeared bound by their hatred for George Bush and some show their allegiance to Tony Blair.

The hostility is always exacerbated by the way news stories are reported, mainly TV, and some lads and lassies here seem to take it to heart when one of the strong willed members puts their stamp of "I am right, you are wrong" on the thread.

There is nowhere better to go for a good debate than mudcat. In every green room in the country, there is a "liberal" and "conservative" at the ready, who, even if uncomfortable with those labels, are willing to be accepted as such for the sake of getting their points accepted by the other.

Internet politics now caters to the ideologues, the doctrinaire types.
Lost in the screaming is any chance for a reasoned discussion. People at home take their marching orders from links they find to their favour, then parrot what they've read on the thread.

And so it goes.

Against affirmative action? You racist! Unsupportable of the invasion of Iraq? How dare you disrespect the troops! Not for gay marriage? I knew you were a homophobic! Israel was right! the Irish were wrong!

Failure to have a firm and fixed view on any issue is seen as a sign of being uninformed, or worse, weakness. And yet, rarely is any thread as black and white as presented.

Consider the recent threads about John Prescott who shaped modern Britain today. Some agree he's a fine statesman (including myself) others were steadfast in opposition to him as deputy prime minister.   


Don't get me wrong, I'm not going soft in the aftermath of a heated
discussion with some members here. I have decided people are entitled to their views on everything. But I've never promoted myself under banners, and think we could do with a little less labelling and show a little more independence in our posts.

I stood with Blair/Prescott not because of their party affiliation or
ideology, but because I believed both are best suited to win the war on terror and have made this country one to be proud of. But it doesn't mean you can readily assume that they, or anybody else, speaks for me on all issues. No one does.

Good to see logical debate is still alive and kicking, but there will always be the odd member who howlers "I'm not giving an inch".