WTF has happened to DU? ......Rant.

[Buddyblazon]

I have been here for a long time.

I don't post much anymore.

I just read a post about new posters actually crying.



Get the hell out of politics if a message board makes you cry. What type of wimps are we attracting?

As you can see by my post count...I have been committed to the Democratic Party for at least several years. And I was fairly committed to DU for years. In all actuality, I have ALWAYS voted for the Democratic candidates.

But DU has just gotten too whiny and full of wimps in the past few years.

Our party is at a crossroads where we have an opportunity to attract literally millions of constituents that have never voted for a Democrat. And we've got people crying and whining like children.

Suck it up and show some fucking backbone for christ sakes. You can still care about the well being of Americans without being wimps.


Maybe it's because I'm a Union member...meat-eating...gun-toting (not really...but all my friends are gun-lovers and hunters) Democrat. But watching the way DU has evolved is just pathetic and I can guarantee that there are many out there that would likely come to our party...but watch our "poor me" pity party....and they just get turned off.


Stand up straight. Quite crying. Stick your chest out. Pound it a little. Show some pride and guts....and finally...stop crying over stuff people say to you on a message board.


End of rant.


Flame away.

[The Straight Story]

1. Here ya go:

[Myrina]

2. I've been around a long time...

... and while you do have a point, this place is considerably more full of obnoxious assholes lately than it has been in the past.

[The Straight Story]

3. Hey, you talking about me?

:rofl:

[Mojorabbit]

83. I finally figured out the ignore

feature. It has helped tremendously.

[NMDemDist2]

4. it was probably the same poster who told me to "open my heart" and vote for a

candidate

:eyes:

[Buddyblazon]

5. "Open my heart"...

what kind of asinine argument is that?

"Well...gee...since you put it that way...m'kay."

[NMDemDist2]

21. 'zactly!! I told them I choose my candidates with my HEAD not my heart

what a maroon

:rofl:

[Chovexani]

55. Who told you to "open your heart"?

Was it her?

[NMDemDist2]

60. ROFL

:spank: you are BAD!!!

:rofl:

[Chovexani]

67. I'm a bad girl

Bad to the bone :D

[Nederland]

6. I blame Hillary

She made crying politically acceptable. :)

[Skinner]

7. I know I'll get my ass kicked for saying this, but what the heck...

It's a breath of fresh air to see a "what's happening to DU" rant that isn't complaining about trolls and Dem bashing and primary infighting.

Not saying those other threads don't have a point. But I guess I appreciate hearing a different complaint every now and again.

It's primary season. Things tend to get ugly. DU will survive just fine.

[The Straight Story]

8. If it makes ya FEEL better I could write up a good rant

:rofl:

[Skinner]

10. Hey, don't hold back.

Nobody else is. :D

[The Straight Story]

12. Will do so tomorrow when I get drunk, I just hope no one cries when they read it

;)

[Skinner]

19. Oh, boy! A *drunken* rant. That's even better!

Might even raise the level of discourse around here. ;)

[guruoo]

82. Ish wort a shot, yeeeahhh.

[Buddyblazon]

11. Holy shit!

All these years of being on DU. And it took a rant about the place to get an appearance from Skinner in one of my threads.

I'm not worthy. :)

[The Straight Story]

14. Did it make ya tear up?

:rofl:

[Buddyblazon]

17. Yes...

I'm wringing out my hanky as we speak.

[Skinner]

15. I'm checking in to the discussions a lot these days.

I'm lovin' primary season. Really like both candidates, and I think the campaign is incredibly exciting. After eight years of bullcrap, it's finally fun to be a liberal political junkie again.

[proud patriot]

34. I totally agree

It's been really fun again lately .

[Eurobabe]

89. the cult of Skinner

:rofl:

[MADem]

22. Heh heh!!

:thumbsup:

No kickin' here...more like kudos!

[madinmaryland]

45. What's wrong with a Lee Mercer thread occasionally?..

Donald Rumsfeld is giving the president his daily briefing. He concludes by saying: "Yesterday, 3 Brazilian soldiers were killed."

"OH NO!" the President exclaims. "That's terrible!"

His staff sits stunned at this display of emotion, nervously watching as the President sits, head in hands.

Finally, the President looks up and asks, "How many is a brazillion?"

:hi:

[TZ]

56. Somehow I doubt Skinner means a breath of fresh air....

to mean yet another brazillion joke!!!!;-)

[madinmaryland]

62. Nice post, Bugel!

:hi:

[quip]

77. I read that and I feel like I'm living the life of Phil Connors

It's like deja vu all over again! :crazy:

[Chovexani]

52. You like hearing a different complaint, hmm?

Okay--what happened to the complementary peanuts in the Lounge, hmm?! HMM?!?!? :D

[orleans]

78. skinner and crew had to cut back on the peanuts. they're also

charging $25 to check a second bag.
damn.

[Chovexani]

79. CALL CONGRESS RIGHT F*CKING NOW!!!1111!!

:argh:

[Eurobabe]

88. You hope

:shrug:

[Buddyblazon]

9. Maybe it's because I live in Colorado...

but there are a lot of Democrats (old school democrats) who own guns...who hunt...who are blue collar...who go to church...who chew tobacco...smoke. These are the majority of Democrats I see. These are the Democrats I'm surrounded by.

And I know that many in this region are the same way.

I refrain from language that would offend people on here. But why? Our of fear of offending wussies? WTF? It's even changing the way I act. I am being wussified myself.

Now...can't wait to see responses from all the people offended by the word "wussy".

[Dhalgren]

23. My, aren't you the macho one? You must have a really big dick!

It sure shows lots of guts to throw your weight around on a message board! I've been a Democrat since 1972. I've belonged to unions, worked in steel mills, cooperages, warehouses and other jobs. I grew up with gun-totting, tobacco-chewing rednecks and you can have them. Showing guts doesn't mean having a loud mouth. Having a backbone doesn't mean being a blowhard. Sounds to me like that "wussy" stuff was just a lot of projection - look it up.

Now, why don't you go and tell that bunch of knuckle-dragging, mouth-breathers you hang with how to behave, the rest of us will get along just fine.

[Buddyblazon]

27. The obvious difference between you and I...

you obviously don't like the people you surrounded yourself with.

I like them...and that's why I surrounded myself with them.

And one thing I can tell you....just because people tote-guns and are blue collar....it DOES NOT make them a "bunch of knuckle-dragging, mouth-breathers" as you put it. While you judge them by their appearance...I pick my friends on intelligence. I'm glad to say I don't have stupid friends. Every one of them is bright and intelligent.

No sir...what you have just exhibited is the holier than thou, elitist attitude that our opponents paint us with.

Way to live up to stereo-type. It's this attitude that keeps the Democratic Party from demolishing the Republicans for the next 50 years.


And having a backbone at the very least means not crying on a message board...at the very least.

[Dhalgren]

32. I didn't "surround" myself with these people, I grew up among them.

I have since removed myself from their company. You are the one who began the "stereotyping"; castigating those whom you consider to be "wussies" and gutless and wimps. Not like your gun-toters and your meat-eaters, and your animal-killers. They're the "real" Democrats, who won't embarrass you in front of your "independent" voting friends - people who you believe would vote for Republicans just because Democrats come off as weak or sissies. If a person would choose to support the Republicans just because they considered Democrats to be "wussies", then I do not know how you could consider them "intelligent". All of those Bushdog "Democrats" in the Senate who continually vote with the Republicans strike me as "Democrats" like you and your "intelligent" friends. So, as I said before, save your advice for your "intelligent" friends and leave us poor, dumb, wussies to ourselves - we'll get by some how...now you've done it...you've made me cry...

[Buddyblazon]

37. So let me get this straight...

you are offended by the wussy remark. Who cares?

I'm not castigating other democrats...just ones that would cry over something on a message board...which according to you that said, "you've made me cry"...is you. So I see why you're offended.

And my friends are not "Independent" voters as you put it....they're are Blue Dog Democrats. Don't assume.

And the people I'm talking about are not my friends...they are 1/3 of the population that consider themselves Independents. Do they often pick their candidates based on stupid reasons? Absolutely. But that's not me. These are people I don't know. Do I agree with their reasons for voting for someone? Sometimes yes...sometimes no.

But if you're saying you don't want these people votes because you think they're dumb...then you my friend...are an elitist.


I believe you have absolutely horrific reading comprehension. Some of the worst I've ever come upon. I really didn't think my post was that difficult to comprehend. Everybody else seemed to understand it...EXCEPT you.


But I see why you are so pissed off. I've made you cry...you admitted it. I'm sorry you're a wussy. Must make life tough.

[Dhalgren]

74. Oh my God! I've made you cry! I am sorry! Come on, now, dry those eyes.

There's a good wussy...

:rofl:

[Political Heretic]

43. Well said.

[kineneb]

30. not to worry, there are some like you in Cal. too.

Close description of my grandfather, who was also a 30+ year member of the IAM-AW. But he quit smoking before I was born, and described himself as Confucian (quite extraordinary, given he was born in 1898).

hmmmm...own guns, don't hunt (yet), no collar (at under 125% of "poverty rate"), don't go to church (but occasionally work as an organist), don't do tobacco. Close. Fairly good with target shooting.

[Sugar Smack]

13. When I read something REALLY, REALLY moving, I cry...

But it has to be really really really really really really really really moving.

:P *so nyah*

[Buddyblazon]

16. Not me....

I get moved by great music. Occasionally a great speech.

But I have never...EVER read a post on DU that made me misty. Pissed off...but never choked up.

[redwitch]

31. You clearly do not spend enough time in the lounge.

I often choke when reading some of the posts there.

[nightrider767]

18. Very strong words....

I can certainly appreciate your venting. Makes us all feel a bit better. And you even went so far as to include cautionary "rant" warning in your subject line.

But at the same time, much of your dialog seemed like something out of the freeper forum.

I'm with you Buddy, I can give it and take it. Life's tough, so "man up", quit whining and do what ya gotta do. But that's the tough personal standard I place on myself.

But at the same time I do respect other personal lifestyle views. I respect them even though they are not like me.

Take care brother...

[Buddyblazon]

29. I respect other people lifestyles....

you have no idea how tolerant I am. And how open I am.

However...people crying over stuff on a message board? You don't think that's extremely thin-skinned?

[Political Heretic]

46. The question that needs to be asked is, what difference does it make to you?

Who made you the judge of thick or thin skinned or why either of those things is good or bad on a forum?

I don't get it.

Somebody cried about something on a message board. Fine. I don't know the context or situation and neither do you. You don't know them, what was going on, what it meant for them and why or anything about them. SO PISS OFF.

Post the way you want to post, let others do the same, and stop with the fucking bullshit trying to make yourself sound all super macho and disparage anyone else who doesn't have a dick as imaginarily big as yours.

Jesus.

[Buddyblazon]

58. Why the hell...

are posters continually bringing up penises?

Methinks some people have issues that go FAR beyond politics.

[nightrider767]

47. If you hit the wrong chords with someone,,,

there's gonna be a bruise. Skin depth shouldn't be tested amongst friends.

For me at least, if I said something to put someone in tears "not saying you or anyone else did", I'd know that I'm not being the guy I want to be.

That's my view of the world and that's my view of this board. I don't expect everyone to follow my path and and I don't judge them.

If it was up to me, I wish I could write something to inspire people. To make people feel better about not only themselves, but our collective future. I wish I could write to inspire. Martin Luther King day is not a joke to me, to me he's a real hero. I idolize him. As I do others leaders who uplifted the human spirit.

I don't have much to offer on my end accept a couple crumbs some stray pigeons might be interested in. But I keep throwing those crumbs.

Keep on truckin brother...

[Redstone]

54. Crying? Yeah, I'm with you on that being a ridiculous reaction. But did they REALLY do that?

Hyperbole is par for the course on discussion board. I'd have to SEE those tears to believe them.

Redstone

[MADem]

20. WHAT?? Gun toting? Meat eating? Next thing ya know, you'll be telling people

that you...... SMOKE!!!!

And then you'll be beaten to the ground by an angry mob of "peaceniks," wielding enormous slabs of tofu, pounding you viciously and incessantly, to the rhythm of the song they're singing...Kuuuuuum-bay-aaaaaah, My Lord....Kuuuuum-bay-aaaaaaaah.....!!!!"


One thing you'd best get straight, if you want to stay afloat in some corners of this forum--you have got to be TOLERANT, RESPECTFUL, and INCLUSIVE--or ELSE!!!!!!!!

And the only times you are allowed to be INTOLERANT, DISRESPECTFUL or EXCLUSIONARY is if you're .... 'going WITH the flow.'

What's that the Japanese say? The nail that sticks up gets hammered down?

:rofl:

[Buddyblazon]

25. I do smoke...

...everytime I go to Boulder...I have to resist the urge to trip a hippie.


"One thing you'd best get straight, if you want to stay afloat in some corners of this forum--you have got to be TOLERANT, RESPECTFUL, and INCLUSIVE--or ELSE!!!!!!!!"

I know you're being facetious...but I've been here long enough that while advice is welcomed with humility...I don't need it.

And I also could give a flying fuck what other posters think of me.

[MADem]

26. ...!!!!

:rofl:

You ARE 'target rich' then!!!

Good thing you have a thick skin!

[Buddyblazon]

28. Listen...I'm not kind to someone...

because they're a democrat. If your an annoying person...you're an annoying person.

I could care less how you vote.

[A HERETIC I AM]

38. This is quite possibly my favorite DU post ever.

And among my favorite threads. Well said.

I know I have made more than a few posters on this board uncomfortable because of what I have to say. Do I give a shit?


Nope.

I'm not anti-social, by any stretch but one thing I have noticed about many of the people that post on DU is that they seem to think DU is a true representative cross-section of the liberal/progressive mindset.

It isn't. Not by a long shot.

A perfect example is two of the most progressive, liberal thinkers I know that DO NOT post on this message board. They quite frankly couldn't be bothered. One is a vegetarian, Yoga practicing, Socialist, Herbalist, Wiccan, Pro-Choice, Anti-Death Penalty, Nurse/Midwife, middle aged mother of four who will possibly vote Hillary and the other is a meat eating, Black Powder Shooting, multiple gun owning NRA Member, powder horn craftsman, Libertarian leaning, Buddhist, Pro-Choice, Pro-Death Penalty, period re-enacting, rural living financial professional who will vote Obama and can't stand Hillary. Neither of them could give two flying shits what is said on DU or what opinions are held by the populace on the topic du jour. It does not enter the realm of their lives. I've discussed many of the topics that are brought up on this board and there is sometimes agreement and sometimes I'm told that many DU'rs must be morons.

The fact is, DU is populated by people that like to post on internet message boards and wish to spend their free time doing so.

That's not every liberal. Again, not by a long shot.


Liberals come in many stripes. Just because I don't agree that every single Mexican Trucker is my enemy or that every employee on Wall Street is out to take my money or that all corporations are inherently evil, does not mean I am a troll or that I belong on Freeperville. (Things I have been accused of repeatedly)

If someone disagrees with an opinion I hold, fine. They are free to say so, just as I am free (within the rules set up by Dave and David) to point out flaws in their arguments. But no one deserves to be accused of being a troll or somehow being less of a liberal than the DU Mainstream merely because they differ on one or more points. I have NO RESPECT for people who refuse to take responsibility for their lot in life. None. Willful ignorance and lack of motivation are not qualifiers for a free ride. With the exception of those that unfortunately have had serious injury or illness beset them, there are many that post on this board that languish in their own self pity and demand that proper liberals would insist on a system that would support them and/or limit others ability to tangibly experience success.

Fuck that.

[Buddyblazon]

53. Man...

you put it a lot more eloquently than I did.

Maybe it's because I was raised in a military family. But those that can't do for themselves...I have absolutely no sympathy for them.

My wife was abandoned by one parent at 3...the other one at 3 and 1/2. She was raised by any number of relatives and family friends. And none of them really wanted her around.

She just became the first person in her family to graduate from college...EVER.

She never whined about anything. She never got help from the government growing up (she was too young and didn't know she could get assistance). She gets angry when she hears people saying they can't do for themselves. And she's a Democrat...always has been. She cannot feel for people that have a victim mentality.

I've got no problem with other Democrats. None what so ever. It's wimpy, whiny people I don't like. Some of them are Republicans. But the one's on this board are Democrats. So...this thread is speaking to them.

If you're not wimpy and whiny...then there is no reason to be offended by what I said.

[A HERETIC I AM]

66. You and I have GOT to have a beer! Dad was CIA and we moved all over when I was little...

In the late 50's, my fathers first post when he was hired by the "Company" was in the Hindu Kush. Mom (Who was also adopted) was left in Connecticut raising two infants (My sister and oldest brother) by herself while he was on the Afghan frontier for 18 months. (Yes, we've had a vested interest in that area of the world for decades. I'll leave it to the individual reader to figure out why) Subsequent posts included Saipan, TaiPei, Miami, Athens, DC (lived on both sides of the Potomac over the years while he worked out of Langley) and Alice Springs. Most of those involved him leaving for 6 months before he sent for us and staying 6 months after we were sent back stateside.

Too many wussies in this party. You're spot on.

You're all right there, Buddy.

[Buddyblazon]

71. Shoot me a pm...

you're my type of Democrat.

Maybe we'll be able to have a beer together one of these days.

[Danger Mouse]

75. Enormus slabs of tofu?

:scared:
well, that's about all the tofu is good for...certainly can't eat it...

[Neshanic]

24. So true. That needed to be said.

[Virginia Dare]

33. I cried in December of 2000...

I cried again in November of 2004. I don't plan on doing any crying this year!

[Iris]

35. What was the poster crying about?

[ileus]

36. Preach it to 'em brother....HTFU!

[Oeditpus Rex]

39. Oh, my! Such a manly man!

But, which one? :shrug:

[Buddyblazon]

40. WTF is wrong with people?

Offended for calling out people that cry on message boards.

If you can't take the heat...get out of the kitchen.

[Oeditpus Rex]

41. You've certainly proved your manly manliness

[Bluerthanblue]

59. well- fuck YOU-

if you can't handle the tears grow a heart-

It cuts both ways Mr. Macho-

People don't have to "man-up" just cause you say so.

This isn't a fuckin dick tator ship.

You don't like tears? Don't cry- You aren't sorry for being a bully- Don't complain when people express themself.
There are many ways to be an annoying whiner-

You see those who respond with tears as 'weak'

I see those who have to jam themselves down other peoples throats to make a "point" as 'weak'-

Who is wrong?

Prove it-

[Buddyblazon]

63. Hehe.

You told me to fuck off....

amazingly...it's your type I respect :rofl:

[Bluerthanblue]

68. just because I don't like

the way you get your point across, doesn't mean you don't have a point.

I hear it much better if you talk to me with less rage-

You hear me, when I talk mean.

Do you want people to hear you?


and thanks for your good natured reply.

I'm not offended by the f word.
I'm offended by words whose sole purpose is to wound-


:hi:

peace~
blu

[Buddyblazon]

72. Absolutely...

it's not necessarily what I respond to usually. But sometimes I need to be told to shut the fuck up. Especially friends.

What people here are having a hard time understanding...is I'm on their side.

I'm just sick of people get offended by stuff that is basically just petty bullshit. Who cares. Fuck it. Stop taking it so personally.



You want a Democrat in the WH come Jan.

I want a Democrat in the WH come Jan.

Everybody in this thread wants a Democrat in the WH come Jan.

Now everyone...stop being offended and hurt when people are abrasive.

[Political Heretic]

42. You stopped just short of calling us "limp-wristed" or acting like "girls"

:eyes:

Take your Archie Bunker grumpy inner-id crying about crying head trip and shove it.

:hi:

[ThatsMyBarack]

44. A lot of people are nervous....

....about what could be the most important General Election of our lives in November. When I get flamed by somebody, I try not to take it too personally. :hi:

[Tuesday Afternoon]

48. Haven't you heard --

this is not JUST a message board.

[KitchenWitch]

49. Please pass the popcorn

:popcorn:

[Redstone]

50. "Pound it a little," you say. Pound what? Your pud?

PS: Let me introduce you to Spellcheck, who you should get to know.

Redstone

[Buddyblazon]

64. Your chest....

ya douche-bag.

And not posting here nearly at all for a year (or more)....I forgot how some of our thicker poster use spelling as a means of weeding out freepers.

Give me a fucking break.

[DS1]

51. HAHAHA YES

YES! YES ! YES !


I HATE crying threads. OOh look at me blubbering away. Fuck that shit!

[Xenotime]

57. meh

[Buddyblazon]

61. Man...

this thread has gotten hilarious.

I've got people posting pics to insult me....posters making fun of the size of my penis...people calling me macho.


Completely fucking clueless. You know zero about me and the type of person I am.

I think this is hilarious :rofl:

Who woulda thunk such a thread would strike a nerve in so many of the Pro-whiny.

hehehe.

[Political Heretic]

65. Bye bye. :)

:hi:

[HuskerDU]

69. Everyone I know is a meateating gun owner. Whoopie.

The difference between them and you is that they don't go around calling nice people 'douche bags'.

[Buddyblazon]

70. And nice people...

don't go around spell checking message boards in order to build themselves up.

See...it's all relative.

[flvegan]

80. Actually, "If meat is murder...than murder tastes good!"

YOUR comment in your profile tells me plenty.

I know more than enough. It's also a waste of my brain matter to know it.

Ta ta.

[Buddyblazon]

73. Farewell all....

I'm going to jam with some friends...all of them highly successful...all of them truck driving, gun owning, meat eating, smoking, drinking, obnoxious people. And every single one of them is a Blue-Dog Democrat.

Feel free to make fun of me while I'm gone.

[Danger Mouse]

76. You are my new hero.

[bpeale]

81. welcome to ignore

since when do we flame people like this? what kind of board has this turned into? and is this something we all want to be a part of?

[jberryhill]

84. Stop it, you're making me cry /nt

[Buddyblazon]

85. Okay...

listen...honestly theres a lot in between wimpy and whiney...and meathead.

There's walking around with the right amount of pride. Too much becomes arrogance.

But you have to have enough for people to see you as a person of integrity. That you take pride in your life. That you care about the results of your work. That what you put out there is representative of the type of person you are.

That's all I'm saying here. You don't have to become "Macho" (little shout out to my peeps). But certainly wallowing in pity is so un constructive. Thankfully, there's a large shade of gray in between the two.

[Snarkturian Clone]

86. Well said.

Way too much taking offense to every last thing around here. It seems like some users search the threads all day for a slight misuse of a word that they could construe into being bigotry, selfishness, or ignorance. Then it's followed by a grand pile on of users stating how much better they are than the person that made the vaguely bigoted/selfish/ignorant remark.

example:

User 1: He looked like a Visigoth.

User 2: HEY! I'm a Visigoth and we're a proud people! How DARE you belittle my esteemed background!

User 1: But... but.. but.. I didn't mean... but!

User 2: Fuck you, anti-visgothist!!!!

User 3: I've never said an anti-visigothist thing in my life.

User 4: Neither have I. User 1 is SUCH a bigot.

User 5: Yeah, let's call User 1 "Mr. Bigot" from now on.

User 6: Yeah, Mr Bigot, that fucking bigot!!! I would never ever say anything so anti-visigothist!

User 1: What did I do!?!?!?

User 7: Don't feign ignorance, you anti-visigothist!!! You paid freeper troll!

User 1: But I have 133,342,324 posts!!! I'm sorry for whatever I said!!!

User 8: You freeper spy!!!! You apology is too little too late!!

User 9: Why do the mods allow so many anti-visigothists on this board?

User 10: I've alerted on Mr. Bigot for his anti-visigothist statements.\

<User 1 tombstoned, messages deleted>

[Buddyblazon]

90. Here's some things the posters in this thread should know about me...

I am still relatively young...35.

I am Irish...I am married to a Latina.

I was raised in a military family...my Father was a liaison officer. When I was a young kid...there were always officers from all around the world at our quarters.

My Mom was a social worker growing up. After my parents divorced... two of my male role models were Chuck and Doug...one of my Mom's co-workers and his partner. They lived a few doors down and that's where I would go after school.

The other male role model in my life at the time was my moms boyfriend, Jack. He was the man who made me decide to be a Democrat. He was 15 years older than my Mom. He had been the town drunk when he was in his early 20's. When he passed in the early '90's, he had been sober for more than 30 years (he always had his AA coin in his pocket)...and a very fine drug and alcohol abuse counselor. He was a hunter and taught me how to use a gun.

We moved back to my Mom's home state (she's 4th generation CO) when I was 12. I was immediately picked on because I was small. My main bully was a guy named Cliff. He was a LARGE black kid.

I talked to him yesterday. That's right. He used to beat the tar out of me everyday 23 years ago...and now we're the best of friends. My Mom made me hang out with him when we were 12. My bully. And my Mom apparently was counseling because she saw this trouble kid. And she would invite him over...hours after another one of his poundings.

Ended up...Cliff had just moved from LA to live with his Father...and HIS partner. So...my next role model for a family was Cliff and his two Dads. These two Dads met in Vietnam. They were both infantry. They are still together today. There's a picture of them arm and arm on their mantle. I go with Cliff every couple of months, and they'll make us Martini's and we'll sit and laugh over pictures of us a kids and Cliffs Dad still gives him lectures...while his partner plays good cop.

I have two adopted cousins. One is African-American. The other is Asian. They were a big part of my summers.

I live in the city. Spent some time in the country when we came back from Germany as a child. But I like being surrounded by lots of people. I have lived in L.A.. Actually, I basically lived at Hollywood and Vine (Yucca and Cahuenga...man I miss Roscoes) for the two years I was there. Thought the city was a blast...I was not so crazy about the people. Loved the nightlife. Loved the bars and music venues and antique shops and restaurants and theatres. People just got on my last nerve.



And most importantly...I have never met anybody that thought I was "macho"...or holier than thou...or had a complex over the size of my penis. I have led an open life where I have been surrounded by people of all walks of life. I am not "tolerant"...because what the fuck is there to be "tolerant" of...I didn't "tolerate" these people...I grew up with these people...there was no bullshit word like tolerating. These were the people that loved/love me and nurtured/nurture me. I don't have to "tolerate" them...because I love them right back. The word "tolerate" sounds so damn borderline. "Eh...they bug me...but I tolerate them".

And the people in my life...the people that have been important to me...shaped me. They're the ones that taught me to stop feeling sorry for myself and get off my ass.

And that's the person I am. And after reading lately (and not posting for several years) here on DU...I just thought it needed to be said.

Stop wallowing and whining and crying.


I'll talk to you guys in two more years.

[Echo In Light]

87. Problem is easy to define: liberal left/rightward leaning left

From there, there is often an obvious, discernible split on most topics, with obvious results.

[lonestarnot]

91. for sheet sakes!

:turdwhiners: :stinkingturdwhiners: