When I joined GN I was interested in the politics threads because there were a couple of posters who, during a discussion, would explain -in simple terms- the advantages and consequences of supporting various parties. I'm not sure what changed, maybe covid related, but the tone of these threads suddenly became very derogatory and superior towards those who just wanted to join in or those who held different views.
For example, telling posters to go back to their baking threads or back to their chats on say fashion was an insult to their intelligence, totally unnecessary, and I am not surprised that these posters then decided to no longer engage in discussions.