I left this place, (but never deleted my account for reasons i'm about to explain) because there wasn't much discussion, and i'm partly to blame for that. I gave up on my own ideals. I gave up to soon. I was afraid, afraid that maybe there couldn't be reasonable discussion and kept visiting reddit. Now, i'm back, and I feel that maybe i should get thicker skin, and just accept, that there will be unreasonable people. I usually lurk on reedit and voat, because usually i feel, I can't contribute much to a discussion I'm usually quite outspoken in real life, but I tend to avoid conflict. However, i'm worried at all the demagogues i'm seeing, the creeping within congress, within our presidential election and the sinking feeling of my fears being realized (1984, and the brave new world in particular). I now feel I must fight back and I have to accept that there will be conflict, and despite all this. I think my silence is hurting everyone, and merely lurking here has to change. I must seek the truth, regardless how it makes "feel" or not. This only comes with the discussion of ideas, and maybe we can all work together to come to a consensus and a solution. I feel that voat is the only platform that will let me speak out more against the masses and against society. At least it is a place that i can be heard, even from the drowning of voices, at least unlike reddit.

Also as much as i enjoy reddit, because it is fun sometimes to see all the jokes and stuff. I couldn't ignore that I felt i was being manipulated and I had sinking feeling, that the front page, and ever r/all were just memes, just like, things to make me "Feel good." I noticed, that in order to find the darkness within our society, within Reddit itself, I had to dig, and dig hard. I noticed more, and more, the news articles, were disappearing, the violence, the darkness within our societies that must be addressed was vanishing. I knew the algorithm was all shitty and stuff, but i didn't noticed how bad the manipulation had gotten. I knew, i knew, but i felt it wasn't all bad, and that maybe they will adjust it fairly. I felt that maybe they were listening to their userbase, and I think now my faith was misplaced. I just feel as a reddit as whole is dying a slow death, and I'm just lying to myself on multiple levels. Thinking that it is better to hide from what i see here. I think my silence is misplaced, and i'd like to make a better future for the next generations. I think this requires a more active involvement and discussion from not me, but from everyone else..

So i'm sorry to voat, for being a passive user, I will try to make more effort to contribute here, and maybe we can build the foundation of good place to share ideas, at least for now.

Thank you again to @susquehannaHAT for recommending me to post here. Its been a while, its good to say hi again.