The community board right now is the ultimate example of liberal conflict and dysfunction.

Robert's written a 10,000 word essay complete in seven posts explaining the need for a mod lounge to Bowser who is raving about secrecy, Dick Cheney, money and secret cabals.

Now Robert, MA and RL know how the republicans feel when someone talks about the "Energy meeting" or how Bush feels when he's accused of conspiring with everyone behind closed doors.

Hearing them now have to justify privacy is a hoot. It's total feedback time.

RL is positively civil for the first bit, but Bowser keeps his teeth in his ankle and RL loses the calm demeanor.

Tom is there and telling RL not to ram heads with Bowser. That's a hoot too. Put two stags, billy goats or pit bulls in the same pen and try and tell one to leave the other alone. Then he makes a point about money being the source of the evil. (Well money & liberals mixed being the source of the evil;-)

Watching the personalities team up is fascinating. Lindy, Bowser, Johannes and EP have a common enemy in RL, Tom is siding with RL as if he is somehow a rational poster which makes one questions Tom's own rationality, Robert is caught having to stretch his liberal ideology to cover secret posts and boards and to try and smooth Bowser's fur, MA is equally put in the nonplussing position of addressing both sides of the issue, masking her distaste for RL with the professional requirements of being a moderator, and yet realizing Bowser's accusations imply a distrust in her actions as well.

'Community'

Perhaps. The deep resentments and bitter conflicts, which according to Robert have also emerged on the 'Modsquad' lounge/board as well, are too numerous to list. Like a real community everyone here apparently hates, resents, fears, envys and competes with their neighbors. (Oh and a few may even like each other;-)

So perhaps the title is apt. The antipathy lies deep in the HZ. No amount of words can undo some of the sentiments expressed in the past. There will always be dislike and distrust.

For some (myself included) these conflicts provide a sort of 'reality-show' entertainment aspect.

Naturally, I'm posting this in flame. It's far too honest for community. Community, like real communities, requires a thin veneer of dishonesty, white lies and pro-forma niceties. And to be quite honest I'm not posting this to predict the end of the HZ or for any profound reason. It's more of a historic footnote that will get archived in the posts here - the HZ is often unintentionally funny.

Now before anyone gets all huffy about my identifying this as a liberal conflict...ask yourself when the conservatives here have teamed up, cannibalized and attacked each other in such a manner? Ever?

That's why the House, Senate and WH will stay in conservative hands for the foreseeable future.

;-)

PS
(Yeah, I had to get that last political swipe in)