Fare Thee Well, DU.
I have been posting a collection of pics each week, in response to a kindness I cannot ever re-pay, or thank you enough. Four years ago, my father passed away suddenly, and this community, as one, came to my aid and made my grief a bearable burden.
I have always considered this a debt I can never repay.
After the events of this past Sunday, it appears that it is time to consider that debt paid, and in full.
I love you all, but when the innocuous can be taken as something other than it is, it's time to move along.
Mr. Allen, I'll take mine with bacon and sausage.
Godspeed DU.
Robert John Gatenby
aka SalmonChantedEvening
= new reply since forum marked as read
Glad you're here! Sam and Janet Evening! LOVE IT!
That said, I miss SalmonChantedEvening. A LOT. 
This attitude is what kills this place.
Depressing as all hell.
but if you're leaving because some number of our more than 100K population 'mugged' you based on a post, I'd ask why?
So what if some people don't get what you post?
Can't please 'em all.
And what does Mr. Allen etc refer to?
David Allen. And "pizza" is another term for getting one's account closed.
That said, sorry to hear Salmon is leaving. I always enjoyed the silly photos. Brightened up my Sundays.
I hope you'll reconsider... or come back some day. 
--imm
I hope you'll change your mind.
I'm speechless...
I have no idea why you're leaving. Please explain. I'm curious by nature, but also I think it would be better for the DU community as a whole if people made their case clearly. Why else post that you're leaving, unless you care that people know? But if we don't know why.... what's the point?
I have seen on DU since She Who Must Not Be Named was tombstoned, and that is really saying something. That poster should be ashamed of herself and publicly shamed for this disgraceful attack. Truly beyond pathetic.
SCE, please reconsider, and consider the source.
I will miss your LOLcats so much!
I've seen it (and been on the receiving end of it).
I'm guessing this isn't an isolated event for SCE. Probably just the last thing...
I was juror #1.
Let's see if I can do this right.
Mail Message
At Wed Dec 5, 2012, 05:01 PM an alert was sent on the following post:
And guess what....
http://www.democraticunderground.com/?com=view_post&forum=1018&pid=247365
REASON FOR ALERT:
This post is disruptive, hurtful, rude, insensitive, over-the-top, or otherwise inappropriate. (See <a href="http://www.democraticunderground.com/?com=aboutus#communitystandards" target="_blank">Community Standards</a>.)
ALERTER'S COMMENTS:
Intentional nastiness is running off a kind DUer. This needs to stop!
JURY RESULTS
You served on a randomly-selected Jury of DU members which reviewed this post. The review was completed at Wed Dec 5, 2012, 05:12 PM, and the Jury voted 5-1 to HIDE IT.
Juror #1 voted to HIDE IT and said: Not cool at all.
Juror #2 voted to HIDE IT and said: this is over the top so I agree that it needs to be hidden. Hide it please
Juror #3 voted to HIDE IT and said: This is mean spirited in the extreme
Juror #4 voted to LEAVE IT ALONE and said: No explanation given
Juror #5 voted to HIDE IT and said: This person is just twisting an otherwise happy post/thread into something that it is not. Why? If people have a chip on their shoulder for some reason, don't rain on everybody else's parade.
Juror #6 voted to HIDE IT and said: No explanation given
Thank you very much for participating in our Jury system, and we hope you will be able to participate again in the future.
All right, it worked!!!!!!! Thanks for the help.
and then run amok with disapproval over really stupid, innocuous shit is getting worse.
Sigh.
I'm sorry Robert. You will be missed more than you can know but even my patience lately is wearing very, very thin.
Godspeed and may the rest of your journey through this life be blessed and peaceful.
Fundamental attacks on credibility, sources, experience, history...
What's even more bizarre is that this is a LOUNGE thread. Entertaining is the modus operandi!
Those of us who are "real believers" (tm?) who duke it out in the "serious forums" have some history and yet we still TRY to converse.... This isn't that (I think). If I'm almost finished here, and I have seriously tough skin, then who are we driving away??
There are valuable "voices" that crave dialogue, not diatribe.
lately at who, and why. I'm pretty tough and wade into some "big" battles (circumcision, porn, burqas, middle east, I/P. Obama critique and "worse"
and then find I'm in heated rhetoric wars over... food banks or poverty issues?! (where we all agree basically) So the "attacks" are infinite degrees of difference elevated to destruction of long term relationships.
Its very disheartening. And feels designed to "purge".
If SCE had experienced any of that elsewhere, this one single poster may have pushed him over the edge.
I can certainly relate.
But you're right, much of what I see transcends normal wrangling and is more like Lord of the Flies.
When even teh kittez are fair game...
well said and the crux of the problem in the main boards and the forums.
It's been a long time since that was possible, but it's getting much worse.
Thanks for expressing it that way. It matters to some of us who are a dwindling minority it seems.
the genuine community...is on display here.
You're the lolcats person, right?
If you're 'moving along' to another forum, pls post the whereabouts
thx
please let us know!
And I am envious of your hilarious screen name.
I can recommend taking a break, though. I have taken several over the years when the wind blows some variety of invasive species into DU.
See you again soon!
LOLcat threads, I looked at them every Sunday morning with my first cup of coffee.
Thank you for the many smiles and for allowing me to start my Sundays off in such a wonderful way. I hope all those good vibes come back to you many times over.
I has a sad.
And I consider myself lucky to have met you in person. 
Take care guy!
I am new here and I have yet to see how the cartoon was a reason for someone to object let alone for the contributor with the most innocent and joyful posts on Sunday would be "pizza'd" (whatever that refers to as far as reason for being ousted).
Whomever it was that had objections to the cartoon was way out of line and was relying on some convoluted pretzel logic to come up with their objection... honestly. And whomever it was that made such a decision to reprimand this person for the incident needs to reconsider, you certainly went after the wrong person. There was absolutely no malicious intent there and I am really upset that someone who makes the effort to screw up a good thing for so many people could do so over something completely innocent... the complaining party needs to get some counseling.
And considering a number of pretty offensive to a wide variety of us that gets a pass, makes one wonder about the rationale on how the OP individual ended up being the one to leave. Trolls suck and this is why.
Whomever it was that cause this ruckus must really be thrilled with their ability to make so many others unhappy, I guess it's true... misery loves company and this would be one of many examples.
Sorry for the sad parting, I love cats (and all other animals) but can't have pets where I am and that was my Sunday fix.
All because of one person who can't stand others having something to be happy about, it appears. Reminds me of some other folks on the national scene...
I've just begun to appreciate your wonderful lolcats........ They are irreplaceable!
Please.
Take care and be well. You'll be missed.Do what you must do.
Sorry it seems to have ended on a sour note. Here:
You can't be leaving us, simply can't!
As a cynical bastard who normally hates cute things, I secretly loved your weekly kitteh posts.
Please reconsider...
I hope that you have a change of heart.
The odd few posting these days, whose posts go unremoved, are not representative of the core of DU, and I'm sorry that whatever bullshit was posted was not quickly removed.
Go out with a BANG!
I don't like pot, guns, big cars that suck up gas, mean people,
abuse of any kind and greedy folk...but now I like cats. I have learned
from your cat posts that cats can be silly and carefree just like me and dogs.
Thanks for that...
Tikki
You have always been one of my favorite DUers, and it saddens me that you will be leaving us. I missed the events of which you speak, but I will head off now to try to find out what happened.
Be well, and if down the road you feel a desire to drop back in, know that you will be welcomed with open arms.
I'll miss you.
Take care, and all the best to you in the future.
Hope the weather in Minnesota is nice... and cold
Yeah, SCE is one of DU's many bright spots, and just because one person didn't understand the Superman joke was really nitpicking on SCE which was totally irrelevant to the LOLcats threads that SCE has entertained us for SO many years (months?) - we lost a lot of things lately, and I dont want see the Sunday LOLcats to go.
I will not allow it!
Don't fall off because of one third-rate troll.
Hi SW!
My Sunday mornings are never going to be the same.
Please, don't go!!
I don't post often these days but I've enjoyed reading here almost every day since the election catastrophe of 2000 when I discovered this place. You, Robert John Gatenby, have the Very Best screen name in all of DU... seriously! And your Sunday LOL cats are a gift that always makes me smile. My kids love your LOLcats too!
So you see Salmon, we all will miss you terribly if you go. So please do reconsider. You are one of the best here.
I may retell it to help with the everlasting tension in church meetings.
"Off to frighten more Quakers."
No, it's not Sunday, and not happy but I wanted to say it one more time. 
Take care, my friend.
But I understand.
Although I wish you wouldn't.
I looked forward to your threads and loved them, thanks so much for doing all that.
I will miss you so much.
Be well.
I only use virtual ignore, but there are some people I choose not to respond to because they are a waste of keystrokes. Use real ignore if you must.
You are wanted and will be missed. Please stay.
...are strange here, granted. But there's still WAY more good w/ DU than bad.
Take a breather, and come back as soon as you're able!!!
I don't want to burden you with my wishes, but I think it's easy to say that you delight far, far more people here than you know. I selfishly think it's quite unfair that one cranky person should be able to deny the rest of us your company. You may find th LOLcats more and more of a burden, and I respect it if you have to leave for your own reasons.
I wish we could all vote on this one, in a kind of a reverse-ostracism way.
Our board is being overrun by control freak net nannies. Disgusting and deplorable. I loved lol cats and read it every Sunday whether I commented or not. Will miss you dearly.
Please don't let one jerk spoil your DU experience. Mine will be much poorer if you choose to leave, as I always read your Sunday thread. Please reconsider, and ignore the asscarrots. Seems like incivility rules these days.
OMG, what will I do without Sunday LOL Cats? Sundays will suck and DU will suck.
Love you, Cat Food.
Thanks for all the Sundays you have given us.
and say to SalmonChantedEvening please don't go. People like you are exactly what we need and who most of us enjoy.
At any rate
PEACE
DON'T GO!!!
Whaaaaa!!!
We LUV YOU, SCE!!
Please stay!
First the outrage junkies chased off my Daily Poem threads from the lounge because they were too stupid to understand context.
Now another of them does this? In a LOLCats thread? Unbelievable that person wasn't PPR'd for that.
I'm quite glad to be your friend and FB is where we interact these days anyhow.
I thank you for your Sunday service to the part of DU which doesn't suck.
RL
We haven't interacted much but I am feeling hugely guilty. I owe you an apology. You seem to be one of those DUers who is always a positive force here. There aren't many of you but you really help balance the negativity and we need you.
My apology is most sincere. I may have talked that asshole into staying here a few months ago. They were posting some very hostile replies in a GD thread and getting locked posts sent to MIRT. I contacted them with a message suggesting to calm down and maybe take a break. We PMed back and forth a bit and they seemed to have learned to behave, or took a break. I do this for long time members that seem to be heading for trouble because I don't like to see them get banned for an occasional bad day. It wasn't any official notice, just me trying to keep the community together. Oh man, was I wrong on that one.
Going after someone such as yourself and the Lounge INSTITUTION of your Sunday LOL Cats is unforgivable. That has got to be one of the rudest and most disgusting displays of selfish, egotistical behavior I have ever seen here. That is like the stereotypical ugly american tourist barging into a local weekly ceremony, demanding everybody speak English and pissing on the floor. OMG.
If there was anybody who deserves a 500 reply pile-on in meta for obnoxious behavior it is that poster.
I am so sorry they have made you feel you need to leave. I hope you will change your mind. You should not be the one leaving. AT ALL. And I am so VERY, VERY sorry for my part in encouraging that asshole to stay here. Please reconsider.
Kali
You bring joy to a LOT of people - that's some serious positive mojo in your corner.
I sincerely hope you reconsider!
Don't make this little fella have a sad!
You touch the lives of many people that never interact with you. Sometimes your Sunday posts are the only good thing that happens all week.
I've never said how much I enjoy them; I should have. Thank you for making the world a brighter place.
I saw up thread where someone was a rude ass. I am truly sorry you had to experience that. I mean that, my heart really is sorry for you. But, please don't punish the rest of us for the rudeness of one person.
What I'm saying is, if that is the reason you're cutting us all adrift, is it right? Some people are rude. Some people can't help but try and spoil the enjoyment of others. If we give into those people, what kind of a world is left for the rest of us?
You've got my support. For whatever that's worth.
Maybe reconsider?
It appears that you are reacting to the actions of a single poster.
While hundreds of your fellow DU'ers are urging you to reconsider.
This place would not be the same without you. Please stay around.
However, I read your thread and saw the cartoon and saw nothing overtly misogynistic about it. I'm not an expert on misogyny but I'm sure a whole lot more than ONE person would have a problem with it if it were truly misogynistic.
I'd use Ignore and stay. Best wishes no matter what you decide
I start my Sundays with you every week RJG. You cant go! 
We can't let the humorless people win. Crap - they run the town I live in and lots of our country for that matter.
Besides that - my Century Link internet is so slow I can't load the LOL Cat site but I can see the ones you post.
Stick around - please.
Well played, sir. 
Especially when they think it's part of their job.
Some people are still mad about the Moon Bombing.
There, I said it.
was an unreasonable nastiness/meaness. Very unnecessary. Uncalled for. 
exactly. There was nothing to it to be offended about. Just totally unreasonable. 
feign offense and lash out. If they were truly offended, one would think they would direct their anger at Marvel comics or what ever company produces the book.
toward the end of last Sunday's thread: "I'm already up for another session/batch."
OMG, so are WE! You know, much of the stuff posted at DU is depressing and frustrating because of the times we live in. Heck, I've posted my fair share of it. If it ain't global warming, it's a Sandy, if it ain't people standing in line for hours to vote, it's Repubs trying to depress the vote, if it ain't our President being excoriated, it's billionaires trying to undercut him, if it ain't someone's son facing cancer surgery, it's the sad passing of someone's loved one, often an animal!
Point being, your Sunday morning dial-ups give us something else to consider that touches our humanity and our souls....the wonderful creatures in our crazy world. They are loved, and so are you. Please don't stay away. You are already missed.
else's wishes. I would portend that by continuing on, posting your delightful pictures will serve you and others so much more effectively. Negativity is so infectious, don't let it be the disease that takes you out. JMO
You are irreplaceable
You are a valued member of the DU community.. you can't go! I'll miss you, but I hope you change your mind.
your farewell thread is in a very, very different category.
As others have said, I hope you will reconsider.
That crap in your thread was the result of one asshole (yes, asshole, I said it) who has a large and well known chip firmly balanced on *each* shoulder.
Ignore that person and stay. Trust me. LOLCatz are appreciated a LOT.
Stick around, my friend. You, singularly, would be missed.
PS: I hope the asshole is reading this and gets the message.
I'm so sorry, SCE. Sundays will never be the same without your LOL Cats.
I truly hope you reconsider. Sundays will not be the same without you.
You will be missed around here. Truly. I told my kitteh, Jake, and he swooned.
Just so you know...I thought your comments to everyone were positive and uplifting...
You gave the gift of thoughtful replies to so many DUers...
You spread light and smiles....
As for the other..as my Dad used to say... "well thank God you're not married to that "
Thank you for lolcats... and your great comments... Hope to see you again...
--know that if you decide to just take a break and come back--you will make many people very happy!!
I swear some people get a thrill out of ruining other's peace of mind--and we cannot enable them to keep doing this. Giving these people a strong reaction FEEDS them. This is what has helped me deal with truly rude people--if at all possible I try to just carry on with my life as if they are not all that important. And many times they have moved their attentions elsewhere. Well....this works most of the time.
Peace and smiles to you SalmonChantedEvening~~~Felix
Please don't go. You are responsible for more Sunday morning smiles than you'll ever know.
You're one of the few remaining treasures around here.
Had to get on my computer... was bleary-eyed from being on my phone for so long. Will have this all figured out soon.
Still learning how to navigate this gizmo. My responses are akin to mini light years
Welcome to DU, freckleface! It's great to have you with us!
Freckleface is the best username. Love it!
How lovely to see you
You are a huge part of what makes DU delightful.
Thanks for all the LOLcats, thanks for the laughs.
See you on FB.
Last edited Thu Dec 6, 2012, 11:09 AM - Edit history (1)
Although I've never posted on one of your marvelous threads, and never thanked you for them, I regret that. You and LOL cats got me through some dark times SCE, and you can see that others here feel the same.
It's horrible that ONE poster (who, by the way, has 21 people ignoring her and 6 posts hidden since 9/30, which tells you something about her, huh?) will spoil it for you and those to whom you bring great joy. EDIT: Now has 70 ignoring. Is that a record?
Please reconsider or at least keep your break short.
And now I'm sad because I won't be refreshing DU every Sunday so I can read them.
This is just,...sad.
If nothing else, your username always brought a smile to my face. I'll be happy to send you a bacon and sausage pizza (is that Canadian Bacon?) but it won't be a Tombstone brand. It won't be Papa John's, either
We'll miss you, but if you decide to come back it will be a joyful homecoming!
You're one of the best & you're very appreciated on DU.
I don't know if I responded more than once to your wonderful contributions but the thought of not having you here to share your therapeutic activity with so many of us who embrace you and your sharing of a joyful thing is making me very sad. It has been very therapeutic for me to have something to smile about all day and I thank you forever for that. And you have always been very polite in your responses to those who did comment...
As so many others have said here, we love you and don't want to see you go, you mean a great deal to so many here. I don't do FB and all that other stuff so this is where I come for the joyful posts you bless us with.
Take a break if you need to but please reconsider. We greatly outnumber the detractor, and they can be ignored. It would be so sad to see that one disgruntled person could take away such a joyful event from all of us... including you, dear SalmonChantedEvening.
Be well.
i'm crying i'll miss u
I'm new here at DU and the highlight of my week is to read the LOLZ Cats! Please don't leave. Joy shall cease, life will be dull, I'll probably turn to booze or anti-depressants to get through the upcoming week.
You have no idea how many people I plant in front of my iPad to see your Sunday thread throughout the week. It brings a smile to EVERYONE.
Don't do this to me!!!
I'm worried about the place. I truly am. When good, creative, generous folks like you get run off by those who live to attack and wave their banners in the perversion of some deranged simulacrum of justice, well, I don't know how long any of us can remain.
If you truly are gone, know that I will miss you badly.
I've done that myself when things get rough out here (and they do on occasion).
As for the one person who may have set you on edge, F HIM/HER.
Also, goodbye, man.
Oh please don't leave. Yes, I'm begging. I hate to think of myself as so selfish that I'd beg someone not to do something they need to do so I'll stop begging out loud, but I'll be keeping my hopes up anyway (and I'll keep trying to start my Sundays off with a Sunday LOLcats dial-up warning).
Several people have mentioned you're on Facebook. Do you have a page I can Like or something?
Thanking you a zillion for all the joy you've brought and I'll be holding thoughts of love and light for you as you leave us--leave us here broken and crying and unable to drink our Sunday morning coffee--oh sorry, my not so latent selfishness rearing its ugly head again
Hugs and Purrs and Salmons and Awwws.
They attack but answer no questions. They're Liberty U. Luntzians who pounce on trigger words and ignore context. I decided to become a lurker and end my subscription after many years of being a paying member.
Well, I did cancel my subscription, but when I saw your post, I had to join the chorus of people in saying how much I've enjoyed your kittehs. They're such a hoot. I'll miss them. I'll probably miss DU, too, now that it's hoffer hell.
I'm just a cheerleader for some threads. I post to kick them. I don't have time to offer much more. But you, Salmon, you're an artist and a high-profile personality here. You're stronger than the huffy hoffers. You have nine lives. Okay, so you've just killed one of them with your post here, but you still have eight more!
Don't let them kick kitteh litter in your face (I almost said another word for face that's also associated with cats but we know what the non-contexters would make of that).
I never go into the lounge, but always start my Sunday mornings with your LOLCat thread. I also never reply to farewell threads, but this situation warrants it.
Sorry this consistently nasty POS invaded your kitty thread last week to spew venom.
Take a break, and come back.
I don't know what happened since I missed your OP this weekend, but we always look forward to your posts in our household. I can't tell you how many times my husband, son and I after having a bad week would come onto DU just to read your posts and see the adorable pictures. Please reconsider leaving DU, you are very welcome here .
And my feeling was that the humor was that Superman was behaving in a way so contrary to how we expect Superman to behave. It does have a sexist stereotype, that women always want to talk about their baggage, but it looks like it was from an era where that was more accepted, and it doesn't look to me like that's where the humor is intended in posting it now.
I think it's important for people upthread complaining about HOF to remember that it is a group of individuals. There has been some really sexist stuff posted lately, and my guess is that femrap (is that the usermame?) is extra sensitive due to that. Just like I wouldn't assume bad intent from the OP, I would not assume bad intent from her. Though I don't remember seeing her post much in HOF - where I remember her from is in the rape-related threads, and I think she got some stuff hidden there as well. Her writing style is apparently inflammatory, but that doesn't mean she's a troll.
Anyway, to the OP, I don't spend much time in the lounge so I was not familiar with your weekly thread, but if it makes any difference, you have a new fan now. I don't personally find the Superman comic really funny, but I do love the cat stuff and if you come back I'll make a habit of checking for your thread on Sundays. The kitties are adorable.
I hope you change your mind!
Oh no, say it ain't so. Sunday will NEVER be the same.
You and your posts are very much loved here.
One bad apple . . . you know the rest . . .
I never posted on any of your threads, but always checked in on the LOLcats.. Peace to you John....Take care, maybe I'll bump into you out there in cyberspace.....
- Take care.
''In Lak'ech Ala K'in''
Any individual can chase any other member from this list.
(thanks frogmarch). WTF, SCE? You're tougher than that. Ignore is your friend (the offending poster is #2 on my Ignore list). Poof! No more douchebaggery. I join with everyone else and urge you to reconsider.
LTH
[
|
I don't know the story of what happened, but the results sadden me.
May all your dreams come true.
sorry ya feel ya have to go.
I rarely post. I read a lot here, and I didn't know about the Sunday cat threads, but I will STILL be sad if you leave.
I've left a couple of online communities when it got to be more drama than it was worth to me - so I can understand that moment of getting to a truly valid personal "I just don't want to do this anymore." But I hope it's NOT really time for you to go because so many people obviously appreciate you here, you will clearly be missed, and you seem like a great guy.
I'm Mostly Amused, but not right now.
a fun place on Sunday mornings.
You are the one who is inspirational is SO many ways.
You are a friend to many more than you'll ever know or comprehend.
Your menu doesn't have pizza on it, pick something else !
You truly need to reconsider.
Read this thread over and over again, print it out ...
know that you are friend to many here and loved by many here and on FB.
You've been a friend to me ..
So many here will be cheated if you choose to go away, selfish yes .. but true.
I love you as a brother Bob ...
stay, a little bit longer
forever sounds good.
aA
kesha
Please, please.
But I'll miss the weekly compilation. As for the nasty poster who attacked you
Please do reconsider, even I can understand. And don't forget that you're taking a part from me with you.
I echo everyone else in saying that your LOLCats are immensely appreciated. It is the very first thing that I check out on Sunday mornings and never fails to make me, well... LOL! But that isn't the only reason I want you stay.
See, though I don't know you very well beyond your Sunday morning postings, the very fact that you'd unselfishly put all of that time and effort into making us happy every week, tells me everything I need to know about what kind of person you are... A DU treasure, and one that would be greatly missed if you were to leave permanently.
I wasn't here when your father passed away, but believe it when you say that DUers were of great comfort to you at the time. That fact however, does not mean you owe anyone a thing. I think I can accurately say that we all value you, LOLCats or no, for just being you!
Take a break if must, but please don't go.
if you must, please provide a link to your lolcats other internet location - sundays don't happen without lolcats.
Think about the kittehs!While I understand your reasoning, to me it's a huge loss to see someone who only thought about bringing laughs and smiles to our crazy community leave because of an idiot.
Maybe some time away would be good and then hopefully you'll return renewed in spirit with the power of kitties.
In any event, only the best of wishes to you - you made my Sunday mornings so much brighter.
I haz a sad
I look forward to your posts noooo
I love your pictures; they are the bright part of my week!!
Going to miss you, Darlin'. Be well, be happy.
Although I am not "gone" my presence here is drastically reduced. WHY, oh WHY can't people post feel good pictures in GENERAL Discussion??? 
Sunday LOLCats since I don't know when. They were the highlight of my DU reading.
I've always Rec'd your threads, but didn't often post any comment.
FemRap's criticisms were completely misplaced and humorless. As a committed feminist, I found the Superman cartoon very FUNNY.
Just another anonymous DUer here, wishing you'd stick around and continue with the CATS.
peace to you
I don't konw what happened, but I hope you'll still do the Sunda LOLcats on Facebook, my friend!
Bake
What is this I'm reading here?
I take off for a couple days? and this?
You are too beloved to leave.
But I think a break is always Good Medicine. You've put a lot of work in and deserve a break.
As for the posts, I know that DU can sometimes resemble a zombie horde tracking toward
whomever makes the most noise.
femrap is basically a very good person, but is opinionated. I agree that perhaps she might have taken the post to meta, but she was expressing a strong opinion to which she's entitled. That's the thing about strong opinions. The person is asking us to think a little deeper, but we can see that as accusatory and then it becomes a brawl.
I know everyone wants to hate on her, and that's the DU way - the zombie horde - but we all stand for what we stand for and we each have our own line in the sand.
I'm not asking anyone to like her -lord knows it's easy to write people off here - I'm glad IRL I can have heated arguments with folks but still have fun and remain frends. On DU, we can't see body language and the default position is to always assume the worst.
I might ask that the thoughtful understand that she may have some valid reason to feel she must say what she does and which compels her to speak out, while others were just coming to a thread for some R & R on a Sunday - I recognize that they did not want controversy with the cartoons. But any thread can get nuts here, we all know that...
Things don't have to be black and white, and we don't have to hate each other over posts with which we disagree.
I just learned of this, and I hope SCE that you will reconsider, take a break and just know how much you are loved and that someone just has a very firm opinion.
I hate this in the Lounge; but don't know of any lounge any where that doesn't have its share of dustups from time to time. I "know" you both through DU, and hate that it is two people for whom I care a great deal.
Don't leave.
Just sit out a spell. That's what I'm trying to do; I waste far too much time here when I start posting
When you come back, it's all brand new again...well....sorta
Thanks.
I don't know what happened. But I respect your decisions.
But please know this: we care about you. We value and enjoy your contributions to DU. We feel sad that you're going away. If you come back, it will make us very happy and relieved. If you don't, we will miss you terribly.
I think i speak for the overwhelming majority of DU'ers.
You're pretty awesome, SCE.
I am so sorry. And disappointed.
Eleanor Roosevelt said no one can make me feel bad unless I let them. Or words to that effect.
I wish you wouldn't let a very sad person get to you.
A lot of people here love you and love what you contribute to the place.
We'll miss you. Hope you reconsider.
