Lurker here, for the most part. But I've been following the Great Schism since the Elevatocalypse.
I really like Paula Kirby's recent letter. I noticed this comment:
This was a vibe I picked up on right away when the conflict began. It was appalling to me to see so many supposed "rational skeptics" act like demagogues or dogmatic religious fundamentalists hell-bent on smearing "heretics". I think we'll always have this tribalistic element in human nature, but it's really awful to see it come from educated and intelligent people.In the case of the -stasi suffix, it draws attentions to behaviours associated with the thought police, for whom anyone who dares to hold non-approved attitudes is automatically persona non grata and to be treated as an enemy of the people. I am referring, of course, to the unfailing response on certain blogs whenever someone has had the temerity to challenge the claims that have been made there. Any suggestion, no matter how mildly phrased or how in keeping with the principles of skepticism, that The Sisterhood might not be automatically and wholly right by default has been met with torrents of abuse, and a pot-pourri (actually, dung-heap would seem a more appropriate metaphor) of accusations ranging from troll at the lower end, through slimebag, douche etc, right up to misogynist or even rape-apologist.
Edit: fixed duplicate text in quote