Disagreements and Conflicts between Audiophiles have we lost our brotherhood and maturity?

Humans have so much emotional attachment to so many relatively inconsequential things, save the passion for more important things. Lately I've been thinking the entire human race becoming like puppets on strings, strings being pulled such that we're all kicking each other in the a##.

Which humans? My guess is our definition of "inconsequential" would differ. Other than the basic human requirements for life, everything remaining could be viewed as inconsequential. Granted social media has made interaction a bit more chippy, but I think the main evil exists not in the medium but in the fact that anyone can find and interact with others who believe exactly as they do adding a degree or normalcy to notions no matter how ridiculous.

If we are conditioned and allow ourselves to be manipulated then we have no one to blame but ourselves. Dont try to pretend that you dont understand what is happening and certainly dont try to convince me that any of us are victims in this battle. Dont tune in any more than is absolutely necessary and you may find yourself pulling your own strings for a change. So many claim to hate what is happening but tune in and participate at an ever increasing rate. 

We are what we are (or have become) and we deserve what we get. I hate what I believe is "victim" mentality. At Axpona this weekend I saw a number of people on their phones while listening in many of the rooms.

I enjoy listening to my setup more than I enjoy listening to humans talk about theirs. I just spent three days at Axpona and this world is FILLED with amazing gear for us to enjoy. Confusing opinion or preference with fact is silly. It's no different than debating which meal is the best, which vacation spot is the best 

I’ve been on audio forums since the 90s and I see NO change 

for the worse in terms of Negative interactions among audiophiles.

You should’ve seen some of the vitriol in the old audio newsgroups!

If anything, I’d say that the tenor I’ve discussions have improved.

Folks have lived with analog their entire lives and understand it quite well, often at expert level.

Digital is different. Many people try to apply to digital what they know about analog and they become confused when that doesn't work. Some respond by studying and deepening their knowledge, while others huddle around beliefs and superstition and purchase amulets whose efficacy is commonly held to be directly proportional to how expensive they are.

It's interesting that rarely does anyone argue about analog equipment like amps and speakers, despite the fact that they are the ones directly responsible for how their systems sound.