tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35825016.post116069072254541601..comments2023-05-10T05:23:09.142-04:00Comments on Progressive Fitchburg: Why does "Save Fitchburg" attract crazy people?The Unicowhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04937583594693344553noreply@blogger.comBlogger3125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35825016.post-1160842526886670702006-10-14T12:15:00.000-04:002006-10-14T12:15:00.000-04:00susan,Thanks for the welcome. I'll give it a coupl...susan,<BR/><BR/>Thanks for the welcome. I'll give it a couple of months (per their requirement) and join LeftyBlogs. Sounds like a good place.<BR/><BR/>Agreed about the Signal:Noise ratio at SF. With lurkers like us there though, I do have to wonder how many other progressives might wander through there only to find the level of discourse unwelcoming. Good motivation not to stop what I'm doing, I suppose.<BR/><BR/>70's lincoln,<BR/>In agreement as well, though if I'm not mistaken Jason has expressed he personally prefers Patrick over Healey. On the other hand, he posts hit-squad emails from pro-Healey groups in their entirety with very little criticism.<BR/><BR/>The oversimplification is certainly rampant, which is pretty typical of right-leaning blogs (and politics in general). I'll try to avoid such things here.The Unicowhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04937583594693344553noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35825016.post-1160773360659482322006-10-13T17:02:00.000-04:002006-10-13T17:02:00.000-04:00Despite his protestations to the contrary, Jason's...Despite his protestations to the contrary, Jason's apparent political leanings are decidedly to the right. I've only been reading <I>Save Fitchburg</I> for six months or so, but in that time he's never advocated for a single social justice issue or spoken favorably of a progressive candidate or cause. <BR/><BR/><I>Save Fitchburg</I> amounts to a near-daily bitch session on the state of affairs in the city, which explains why it is so popular with the perennially negative townies. <BR/><BR/>This is fine, of course - and is more or less in line with the sort of discourse one can expect to find on a blog, or on the internet in general. What I have found consistently frustrating is the gross oversimplification of nearly every issue: that crime can be solved by a heavier hand, that jobs will appear by adding this road or closing another, that if we can just throw the bums out, then everything will get better - that there was some <I>magical golden age of Fitchburg</I> somewhere between 20 and 50 years ago that we can return to now if only we elect candidate X.<BR/><BR/>These ideas are inconsistent with reality. We live in the present, and these are complex issues. Unfortunately, attempts to address complex issues with systemic solutions are usually met with derision.<BR/><BR/>I'm excited about the opportunity for diversity in local discourse - hopefully others will take your cue.1970s Abraham Lincolnhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02252992063572498718noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35825016.post-1160747871604273632006-10-13T09:57:00.000-04:002006-10-13T09:57:00.000-04:00Welcome to the crazy world of central Mass. bloggi...Welcome to the crazy world of central Mass. blogging. :-) Nice to see another progressive voice here in the wilderness. <BR/><BR/>I lurk at SF for two reasons. First, I don't live in Fitchburg, so I don't know all the ins and outs of the local politics, but my son does go to school in Fitchburg, so I like to keep up on what's going on. <BR/><BR/>Secondly, the noise to signal ratio at SF is just way too high. I'm sure now that anonymous posting isn't allowed that will improve. <BR/><BR/>So again welcome and don't forget to join <A HREF="http://www.leftyblogs.com/massachusetts/combined.html" REL="nofollow">LeftyBlogs</A>. It will improve your traffic. :-)susanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01608275145597649555noreply@blogger.com