This is something I intentionally made available before I edited. But the clarification is important. “Both sides” certainly observe the same emotions in that respect. But one of the two peddles it and the other dabbles. I’ve seen people in both camps share awful, careless, unprincipled attacks. But one thing I’ve seen that’s an important distinction is that I’ve seen one side self-correct (eg a routine renouncement of body shaming and reminding people on the same side not to lower themselves to that), and the other side banish anyone who tries.
I guess that’s the other important (and still not political) distinction: one party and its cohort is self-reflective and has an internal corrective feedback loop. That broke down in the other over the last decade, quite notably after a very honest and sincere post-loss retrospective/postmortem.
Nope I’ve definitely grown up in and road tripped/train tripped red-purple country (edit: and I’m white trash and present male so it’s an easy pass) so I know what people really think. I’ve also been on the receiving end of violence by standing up and confronting them.
This is a key point - many folks who are left-leaning grew up in right-leaning areas, have right-leaning extended family, etc. We aren't extrapolating from the internet.
There are a number of structural asymmetries between left and right, and it does no favors to any truth-based cause to assume that left and right are mirrors, as if their names required that.
I guess that’s the other important (and still not political) distinction: one party and its cohort is self-reflective and has an internal corrective feedback loop. That broke down in the other over the last decade, quite notably after a very honest and sincere post-loss retrospective/postmortem.