Monday's Most Active Threads

Yesterday was another day in which many of the most active threads were ones that I've already discussed. Therefore, I'll start with the third most active thread which was titled, "DUI and Death on Harrison" and posted in the "Off-Topic" forum. The original poster says that a group of kids have been drinking in Cherry Valley Park for almost a year now and he has repeatedly contacted the police who, according to the original poster, did nothing. Now, the original poster says, "one of those kids is dead". I, and I assume many others reading this post, have no idea about what the original poster is talking. I have no idea where Cherry Valley Park is located, who died, or under what circumstances. Some posters, however, do seem familiar with the incident that the original poster is discussing, but they point out that he has the details wrong. Apparently, the kids drinking in the park are high school and middle school kids. However, the death to which the original poster alluded involved college students home for a break. The kids who had apparently been drinking were in a car and the driver hit several parked cars causing his car to overturn. One passenger was ejected from the vehicle and died at the scene. The driver has been charged with "DUI/Involuntary Manslaughter and Breath/Blood Test Refusal". Posters immediately launched into a debate about who is to blame for this incident. The original poster had denounced the driver, his parents, and the police, all of whom he believed bore responsibility for the incident. However, it was his mention of parents that set some posters off. Several posters rejected the notion that parents had any responsibility for the acts of college students who are technically adults, if only barely (the driver is 18 and the deceased passenger was 19). Other posters, however, argued that many parents have a permissive attitude about alcohol which results in their children being cavalier about drinking and driving. Some parents are even accused of being enablers of underage drinking. Moreover, some posters thought that allowing teen children to stay out with what was likely a family car until the early hours of the morning is irresponsible. There is considerable discussion in the thread about the dangers of young adults drinking and driving. Posters pointed out that college freshmen back from school often have just had their first taste of freedom and may be attending colleges with strong drinking cultures. They want to assert their independence at home and can be especially prone to drunk driving. Posters have vastly different views of the incident. While almost universally they express sympathy for the families involved, many posters are adamant that responsibility should be placed on the driver and they are happy that he is being charged. Other posters, however, consider this to have been a tragic accident which will undoubtedly severely impact several families. They argue for compassion and understanding. One big division is between posters who point out all the bad choices that were made that led to this tragedy and insist that it could have been prevented, often by better parenting. Other posters warned against believing that something like this could not happen to those posters or their kids. Even good kids with good parents occasionally make bad choices. Most of the time they are lucky to get away with it, but sometimes the result is terrible.

I'll skip the next two most active threads because I've already discussed them. After those was a thread posted in the "Political Discussion" forum and titled, "Black Voters Drift From Democrats, Imperiling Harris’s Bid, Poll Shows". The original poster linked to an article in the New York Times that discussed polling of Black voters. The poll found that while President Joe Biden had received 90% support from Black voters when he ran for President, his support had dropped to 74% before he quit the race this time. Vice President Kamala Harris has increased Black support to 78%. In contrast, former President, current cult leader, and convicted felon Donald Trump received the votes of 9% of Black voters in 2000 but now has the support of 15%. Most of the support for Trump comes from Black men with Black women strongly supporting Harris. It is very hard to know the number of Black posters on DCUM and that is especially true in the political forum. There is a poster who frequently reacts very aggressively to any mention of Black people by those who are not Black and there are posters who say that they are Black and supporting Trump. There are, of course, other posters who identify themselves as Black and who strongly support Harris. I say all of this because my strong impression of this thread is that it consists of a lot of White people projecting their own views onto Black people. In this case, I am sympathetic to the aggressive Black poster. I would much rather hear what Black voters have to say than what White people think they should say. The MAGA posters suggest that Black voters are moving away from Harris because of immigration or because Democrats have failed to improve Black lives. Liberal posters review Trump's history of racism and suggest that it would not make much sense for Black voters to support him given that history. One poster who identifies himself as a Black man says he is supporting Trump. According to this poster, "Both sides of the aisle are run by racist, arrogant white people" but he is supporting Trump because of immigration, business regulations, and Trump's anti-transgender policies. In a subsequent post, he expresses considerable resentment towards liberal White people who he says "hate and shun us at every opportunity". It is clear that the Harris campaign recognizes the challenge she faces with Black men. Former President Barack Obama spoke directly to Black men recently and argued that they should support Harris. Harris just announced a plan for Black men to help improve their lives and will be conducting special outreach to them. Whether any of this will work remains to be seen. As for the poster I quoted above, probably the only way to reach him would be to find him some new liberal White friends who aren't jerks.

Next was a thread titled, "PSA-Hoco" and posted in the "Tweens and Teens" forum. I saw the title of this thread several times yesterday and assumed that something was going on in Howard County. Instead, it turns out that the original poster is offering a public service announcement regarding homecoming. The original poster points out that not every kid has a friend group and urges parents to have their kids reach out to other kids to ensure that if those kids want to go to homecoming, they have someone with whom to go. The original poster doesn't get a lot of support for this suggestion. I didn't read every post, but from what I did read, I don't think more than one other poster thought this was a good idea. One issue is that many posters weren't clear about what the original poster was suggesting. Some interpreted her as proposing that their kids should ask every other kid at school which, at some schools, might be a couple of thousand students. They considered that logistically impossible. Even if they limited themselves to asking students who their kids knew, for many posters' children that would still be a huge group. Posters considered this unreasonable. Other posters, including the original poster, argued that  what was really meant was that posters' children should reach out to kids who are not in their immediate friend group but more on the fringes of it. Many posters still didn't like this idea, arguing that their kids were already part of fairly large groups and if each member brought along another kid or two, it would be unmanageable. Several posters suggested that it was better for any kids who are being left out to reach out to more distant friends and see if they could go with them. Another idea, which some posters said their kids had already done, was simply go alone. One poster said that her daughter went by herself, but then bounced from group to group and ended up having a great time. Some posters argued that homecoming is not as big of a deal as it had been in the past and that the original poster shouldn't place so much importance on it. Several posters said that their kids were skipping homecoming or had attended once and decided not to do so again. The original poster got herself into another imbroglio when she suggested that the best part of homecoming for girls was getting ready together and having group photos. This triggered other posters who disagreed completely that this was the best part. As one poster responded, "Not all girls do this. And boys certainly don’t at all." The original poster called that poster "obtuse". As for those parents who were not receptive to having their kids invite others, they were repeatedly described as "mean parents". As one poster lamented, "mean parents, mean kids."

The final thread that I will discuss today was another one posted in the "Political Discussion" forum. Titled, "I canvassed in PA this weekend and sadly think Trump will win", the original poster discusses her experience canvassing in Pennsylvania. She went to 39 doors and was able to talk to 17 people. They were registered Democrats and independents. Of the 17 people to whom the original poster spoke, 6 either have or will vote for Harris. The rest either said they were undecided or that they didn't want to reveal their choice. The original poster says that based on talking to these folks, she thinks that if they vote at all, they will vote for Trump. Her reasoning is that Trump has instilled a sense of fear into them and they see him as strong and someone who will protect them. The first thing that I should point out is that the original poster is completely in character as a Democrat. Democrats almost universally are pessimistic and dreading that we are on the brink of disaster. This is true regardless of the circumstances. Beyond that, frankly, most of those who responded in this thread could have done us all a big favor and found something else to do. Very few of the responses added anything worthwhile to the conversation. The original poster is berated by posters who don't like her message and are more than happy to shoot the messenger. She is also ridiculed by those who like her message but can't pass up the opportunity to kick someone when they are down. The original poster was lambasted for referring to one of the people with whom she spoke as an "ex-Marine". Apparently, once a Marine, always a Marine. The original poster was even called "disrespectful" when she apologized for this error. So, no winning in this case. It is easy to see why the original poster might be feeling pessimistic after this experience. But, I am not sure the pessimism is completely warranted. Of the 11 who wouldn't state preferences, the original poster might turn out to be the difference maker. Even if not, there is still time for the Harris campaign to convince them to come around. At least she wasn't having doors slammed in her face by people calling her a communist. Moreover, the original poster wasn't really taking a poll. Her sample may have been representative or it may not have been. At any rate, the original poster should be appreciated for making the effort to canvass. Going house to house is often a thankless task. People might not like her conclusions, but they should still be grateful that the original poster cared enough to spend a day this way.