Daily Kos Kid: Where Are You, Kos?
Mon, Jun 16, 2008 at 10:46:35 am PDT
The horrifying comments posted at Daily Kos about Tim Russert have provoked a poignant cry from one of the Kos Kidz for action from Markos “Screw Them” Moulitsas: Daily Kos: Where are you, Kos? We need you.
Some Kossacks apparently have no sense of shame. Since the news of Russert’s death, they have been antagonizing this community with their insulting comments — which have dominated the Hidden Comments section all weekend — and even their diaries with such unbelievably disgusting titles as Burn in hell, tim russert, you talentless lackey, posted by acquittal. [This creep has tried to cover his tracks by changing the title of the diary to: “T. Russert, prince of journalists, was underpaid at 5 million per year, and don’t forget it, proles!” – ed.]
These kinds of comments do not reflect the majority of Kossacks. [Maybe not, but they are all over the site. – ed.] They are, instead, the crazed and ego-driven rantings of a few people who apparently derive sick satisfaction from the suffering, pain, and tragedy of others.
While most Kossacks have been vigilant in hiding and condemning such comments, greater action seems appropriate at this point.
It is time for Kos to put a stop to these people. It is a poor reflection of this website; it is a poor reflection of this community; and it is a poor reflection of Kos.
Enough.
Despite my own criticisms of Keith Olbermann, I am horrified to know that he has actually seen these comments. Horrified to know that a friend — not a virtual, Facebook friend, but an actual friend — of Tim Russert saw such hateful words. [Olbermann, of course, is known as one of the most openly hateful commentators on television. – ed.]
Olbermann spent the better part of Friday on air, choking back tears and trying to keep his voice from cracking as he spoke about his friend and interviewed others — Republicans, Democrats, and journalists alike — who all spoke with such love and reverence for their deceased friend.
And this is how he sees our community react to news of Russert’s death.
What an embarrassment.
These commenters and diarists who seek to humiliate this community do not deserve to be a part of it.
Come on, Kos. It’s time to step up — for all of us.
Good luck with that. Moulitsas sets the tone for his site, and this is the tone we’ve been hearing for years from Daily Kos—mean-spirited, dishonest, and vicious.
