USA Political Discussion

To begin with, we'll be focusing our discussion group on public safety/policing reforms and the Black Lives Matter movement, and expand out to other topics as we find our footing.

All of us want a more safe, fair and just country to live in. This group is for the hard work of figuring out what that might look like. We'll ask: What are the barriers and challenges? What are some solutions? What can we do as individuals and together?

Involvement in this group will involve a high degree of emotional labor from all participants. You may be challenged to revise your beliefs or confront implicit biases you were not aware of having (spolier alert: All of us, every single human, suffer from unconscious biases!) You may at times be uncomfortable.

To join those discussions, you must fill out an application. If your application is rejected, you will be told why. You may re-apply after 7 days if you are rejected.

This is a semi-official group, being run by some volunteer RPR mods. It is in many ways an extension of the public forums. However, unless stated otherwise, when RPR staff and moderators are taking part in regular discussions, all opinions expressed are those of the person saying them, not necessarily the official position of the RP Repository as an entity unless stated otherwise.

All discussion must follow the guidelines outlined below, and group moderators will not hesitate to lock any topic that steps out of these bounds. Repeat offenders will be removed from the group.

If this group gets out of hand, it may be paused, closed, or otherwise revised. This is an ongoing experiment in how to talk politics on the RPR, and we are feeling our way.

And remember: Admitting when you are wrong is an act of bravery, not a show of weakness. Strength and trust comes from being able to change your mind when presented with compelling enough evidence.

1. Argue with ideas. Do not attack people who express the idea.
   No matter how strongly you disagree with someone's view or how ridiculous it seems to you, do not ever call the person expressing that opinion stupid, dumb, moronic, hopeless, etc. Simply state your reasons for believing otherwise.
2. Denigrating nicknames will not be tolerated.
   Re-thug-lican, libtard, Killary, Hitler Cheetoh, the Fascist in Chief -- if you are caught referring to any person or group by a nasty nickname, you will lose your posting privileges for a minimum of a week. Repeat offenses will result in your removal from the discussion group.
3. As often as possible, cite sources.
   Provide links to source of information when you reference them. Solutions and common ground are most easily found when everyone is working from solid information, rather than simply a "gut feeling." Remember: memes are not facts.
4. Hugely debunked conspiracy theories will be removed.
   For example: "Hillary's kill list" "5G causes Covid19" "Vaccines cause autism" "Bill Gates caused Covid because he wants to microchip everyone"
5. Posts should include any appropriate content warnings at the top.
   Also, make appropriate use of spoiler and collapse tags for sensitive content.
6. If you are linking to graphic imagery (eg police violence) please DO NOT embed the image or video directly.
   Link to the media with a clear content warning BEFORE the link.
7. Please do not campaign or fund-raise for candidates in this group.
8. These rules may be updated when situations arise that illustrate a need for more specificity. An announcement will be posted in the group when/if this occurs.