u/JakeasaurusR3x

So, I started discussing and debating politics online decades ago, on message boards that were sub-sections of forums about visual arts and amateur game creation.
I fondly remember posts with citations often appearing as links mid paragraph. People providing examples and evidence behind their points of view.
Obviously over time these would become evidence of sources of lesser quality (Fox News, or InfoWars, or Loose Change instead of CNN, Jon Pilger, or actual engineers), but there was still at least some thought and effort put into the discussion. We were still in the same objective reality.

Now obviously the last decade legacy media and social algorithms have become more polarizing and intent on brewing up rage over reasonable middle grounds, but it's feeling so much dumber now?

For example, on one of the Facebook Brampton groups, there is a candidate being attacked for allegedly blocking people or "only ever complaining." I don't live in her riding, and I don't even know if she would get my vote, but I cannot deny that I see her posting about solutions and her goals for the city on a daily basis.

Some people, with their full names attached to their opinions, hurl mud and flat out insults without any sort of argument beyond "you're an idiot." One of the people claiming "I only ever see you complaining" in a reply, does so to a post where the candidate links her website for people wanting to see her platform, and in a group, where the candidate posts once a day about issues she would try to change and improve.

Like, even if the algorithm is serving you up some very skewed perspectives, the Facebook Group allows you to sort by "New" instead of "Relevant [to you]." You have the ability to click on a candidates profile and read through their posting history, where any good candidate will have some examples of their platform already.

When did people get so confident proving their own ignorance? If you are a couple of clicks away from seeing the exact information you claim this person never shares... you are advertising your own laziness and desire to remain smugly ignorant... or you have your head so far up a candidate's rectum that you just want to attack someone critical of them.

I can at least understand the source a proudly racist or bigoted asshole, but I can't understand the people who want to insult and demean others for trying to improve their cities.

Sorry for the rant, I'm just baffled by this behavior. Does anyone else feel like this stuff has gotten worse? And why does it feel worse?