A time for everything

Dear all:

About a year ago, I became an avid reader of SF Indymedia. To be honest, I read Indybay for the same reasons I occasionally listen to KPFA - That is, while I tend not to agree with most of what is said, it is always good to hear the opposing view, allowing me to alter or crystalize my opinion depending on how good a case the "other side" makes.

I enjoyed Indymedia for that, I really did. As New York was ablaze, it was good to hear from rational people who actually asked the question "Why did this happen?" Frankly, upon hearing those voices in the wilderness, I altered my opinion, and I now strongly believe that the United States, as the most powerful nation on earth, has an obligation to accelerate development and relieve poverty just as much as it has an obligation to uproot potential threats to humanity and American citizens.

But I digress. What I'm trying to say is that Indybay was once informative, compelling, and challenging. Unforunately, over the course of the last several months, the site has degenerated to the equivalent of the following:

- A ListServ for "Direct Actions"

- An anarchist's plastic.com, a site where no media is made but rather postings from other sites are compiled. Those stories that are posted seem to be posted for their "shock value" and nothing more

- A place where hate speech is not only allowed but encouraged, whether that speech comes in the veiled form of anti-jew, i mean uuuh anti-zionism AND the vitriolic redneck language of "go back to Afghanistan, you f#*kin' camel jockey"

- A troll's paradise, a site where are always a thousand people who can be counted on to "take the bait"

- A place where thoughtful dissent is discouraged and with unconstructive and profane flames and even threats, squelching the notion that someone "on the other side" like me might have something enlightening to say.

It has been a fun year. I always looked forward to the latest Nessie conspiracy theory, the nationalist pro-palestinian Rene, the ever-irritating but sometimes right JoJo and Smashy, and countless others.

Nonetheless, it is time to go. The site has been overrun by forces on the fringe of what was always a fringe site. These people, who come from both the "left" and the "right" have met where National Socialism meets traditional Socialism. A scary thing indeed.

Before I go, I'd like to give a quick observation, with the hope that you will use it to re-energize your community...

It seems to me that the reason why most of you became "progressives" in the first place was out of a sense of optimism in the potential of humanity. You believe, as I do, that humans are capable of outstanding works of goodness.

The ability to see humanity in its potential is an incredibly powerful virtue. However, this same virtue can produce deadly vices. For example, an individual could be so convinced that his or her normative view of human progress that that same individual would be willing to commit unspeakable acts for the sake of that vision. This is the sin of Hitler, and every totalitarian leader for that matter.

My advice to you is to not get caught up in all of that. Keep a constructive dialogue between all of those who are willing to continually question, reevaluate, and reshape our political and economic system. Use this site as a bastion of ideas, and the ideas that make it through to the entire Indybay community will be the strongest ones, ones worthy of bringing to the masses without fear of being lost in all the noise that is today's society.

Most of all, don't excuse obvious sins of omission and commission, even if those sins are perpitrated by people who agree with you. If you tolerate the stupidity of threats or hate of any kind, you have allowed intolerance to win. Don't be fooled by moral relativism of any kind - there are such things as vices that cannot be excused by anyone, no matter how oppressed or elite that person's background might be.

With that, I bid you all a (somewhat) fond farewell, and I wish you luck in evolving this site into something that is a credit to the potential in each of us.

- The Original Z