Yes.

This used to be a place to come and have fun. Now it's just a way of earning points and showing off. The conversation always seems to gravitate to the same handful of issues, which are really just variants of the same issue. The debate has become polarized and the parties established so no one can speak of anything else. The brawling has already infected Space, and I suppose it's only a matter of time before even Geek Speak is converted to a political arena.

The division of society is not just the result of some obscure social process, it's a calculated strategy to drive off all non-obsessives and focus the dialogue on one ideological point so that the extremists can indulge in the luxury of calling themselves "the other side". They're not. They are fringe provocateurs trying to seize the spotlight by driving everyone and everything else out.

This is how terrorism works. You just don't target your enemy's people or facilities, you randomly attack undefended targets, public places and innocent bystanders so that people are afraid to go out and they lose confidence in the authories' ability to maintain order and public safety. It also tends to force those same authorities to over-react, creating a self-fulfilling prophecy. After a while, the moderates and the unradicalized are afraid to go out on the street and they lock themselves away, giving the extremists free rein. It legitimizes the terrorists as the "other side", as an equal voice in the debate instead of as a virulent and unwholesome minority.

Bile does serve a purpose. It allows the breaking down of toxic undigestables so they can be safely expelled from the body. But that's not why I came here. My hobbies are writing, sailing and astronomy.