about
I would agree that most folks use made up names and probably do a little tweaking here and there to make themselves seem …oh…. a little more exciting maybe.
And I would heartily agree the internet is full of kooks. Especially now when they seem to be most bountiful in the world of blogging. Hard to travel anywhere in blog town without running into an apostle borg or 5. All posting the same thoughts over and over with slightly different words. But then that’s the purpose of a collective. You don’t have to think for yourself.
The internet is the land of the invisible. Which enables people to do both great harm and great good. What each person does with that is purely up to them.
A few years ago I used to post with a lady from Canada named Emily. (Milky will remember her well. As all will who knew her.) Emily was a pistol! Feisty as hell. Man could she give you a run for your money. She was quick-witted and most definitely had a mind of her own. I loved giving her a hard time and she loved dishing it right back. Several months went by with all of us playing back and forth then one day there was a post on the board from Em that would forever change our lives and the way we looked at the net.
In that post Emily admitted that she had MS. She was bound to a wheelchair and unable to do much for herself. In short, Emily would not be with us forever because her body, already frail, would continue to deteriorate over time. She was hesitant to admit this to us because as she put it, “Here no one treats me like I am different. Or looks at me with pity.” She made us promise to treat her no differently than we ever had and I can tell you that I for one, honored that request big time. LOL!
Having known Emily. I take particular offense to something recently brought to my attention through 3 different e-mails from 3 different people. (pay close attention those of you involved because it would appear your clique is beginning to dissolve) Apparently at least two of the “popular folks” in blog land have gone out of their way to search out people who have boards which post about religion or faith. They go there and proceed to attack these folks who have done them no harm in an effort to stir up trouble and get the numbers up on their own pathetic blog. And YES, I did say pathetic.
Perhaps it has not occurred to these school yard bullies that faith is the only hope some people have left in their lives. Perhaps they never stopped to think that the people behind the religion blogs may be broken in some way and hanging on to the only thing they have.
These same people continue to rake in the posts being one of the more popular blogs out there I am told. However, they should be warned, there are several people close to them who are becoming disgusted. Thank God for that!
I detest bullies! Always have. They’re sniveling little cowards who only attack people who are not strong enough to defend themselves….and only when they have an audience.
What price would I pay for popularity? Nothing.
Albert Schweitzer
In everyone's life, at some time, our inner fire goes out. It is then burst into flame by an encounter with another human being. We should all be thankful for those people who rekindle the inner spirit.
Thank you, Em. Wherever you are.
Thanks, Denny. I'm afraid I'm one of those idiots like you. LOL! Mostly I much prefer to keep things fun but every now and then something will come up that just is too wrong to ignore.
Bucky....ahhhhhhhh ha ha ha ha ha ha! Course I believe it. How else would ya get a name like that one. LOL!
Waygon....you are so modest. Everybody knows you are the manliest man alive. And have excellent taste in dogs. (is manliest spelled like that? Is it a word? I'm so confused. I need to get back to my lab and create and unwind.
At 1/31/2006 10:11 PM, 
BTExpress
This is my first time here, I saw you on my good friend Roxi's blog.
This was a very touching post and it really hit home.
I love blogging because we are forced to gather an opinion of people by their writings and personality, not by how we perceive them to be by looks. Over time we get to know people and can become very good friends, like you and Emily. It doesn't matter what we look like, or our physical condition, we accept each other for who we are inside and nothing else matters.
I love blogging.
Lady, thank you.
Ihatesausage, it's not balls, it's age. Over time you just figure out what matters thanks to people like Emily and even Roxi here who dared to be the very first to post to what could have been a very touchy thread. Now that took balls.
btexpress, really nice to meet you. I'll be over to repay the visit. Thanks for what you said. It's exactly how I feel too.
In a world so full of prejudice and preconcieved notions there is one place where all people come to the table as equals, unjudged by appearance. And it MATTERS. I love blogging too. And I'm amazed at how quickly I have become attached to so many folks. And espcially fond of the young ones with their fresh ideas and all that energy. Ya gotta love em.
PS. I do promise to lighten up here soon and get back to the fun stuff.
At 2/01/2006 12:12 AM, josh williams
I want you on my side! Great post, I have been attacked, I have had people post using my name for what?I have witnessed character assasination from the the couragous group that are out of range. As Roscoe says we are just a pimple on the arse in blog world, but its like Lord of The Flies left alone on an island hidden flaws show themselves in an ugly way. JW
and another thinge to hele with sple czech!
I am basically the same person in real life as I am on the blog, just not so outgoing. I tend to be more shy and reserved.
I love the fact that everone, at least to a certain extext, is equal. Male/Female, Young/Old, Married/Single, you name it and online tends to level the playing field.
Where else would I have the oportunity to hang out with cool people like Roxi, or Jane or you and so many more people. Heck it would take me probably all day to even get to where Jane lives.
I am so loving this whole online thing and let me end by saying I have probably met about 12 people or so from online in real life and so far it has went well and people were all pretty much the same in person as they were online, just maybe not so outgoing or so much of a flirt.
As to poularity, hey I have never been the popular one and I don't expect that of my blog either. As long as one or two people stop by I am really happy.
Excelent post Crab.
At 2/01/2006 2:00 AM, ing
For a long time now I've been sort of shocked by the misogyny out there. I guess I didn't want to say anything for fear nobody'd back me up, which, isn't that playing their game?
I don't know. . . I try to be subtle because these deep-seated prejudices run so deep. Women who speak up get discounted before they can finish their sentences & then nobody hears a thing any more. I hoped that if I was a nice & smart woman, people would eventually come around. A few of the guys have dropped it with me, so it works some of the time.
I've met one person so far from the blog, and I think he's a beautiful man and I love him to death. He's the same guy in life as the blogging guy.
Your post made me think twice. I know that after lots and lots of exposure, I grew more accustomed to the things people say.
For two years I tutored a man who was blind, deaf, and conrined to a wheelchair. He'd been in an accident when he was a boy, and he could speak. He was writing his second novel; he dictated, slowly (bad stutter and slow brain function), and I typed. We'd go back over the chapters and discuss the revisions he could make.
He had a great sense of humor and an amazing imagination.
Thanks for speaking up. I'm always reticent.
Josh, you know I have always got your back. Roscoe's too, and yes good ole toilet flushing mom. LOL!
Lord of the Flies. Yeah, that's pretty much what it feels like. A bunch of normal, happy-go-lucky kids gone totally bonkers.
Barman, me too. Course I have no choice. The memory being what it is lately. LOL! I feel the same way about the net, much to my better-halfs dismay. He's always worried I'll spout off my mouth and get stalked or something. ahhhhhhhhh ha ha ha ha ha!
Ing, you know I have said before that you are one of the brightest spirits I've come across in a long while. I love that you stop to look so deeply at things taking nothing for granted.
Don't beat yourself up over becoming complacent. Yesterday (and this is truth people) I recieved 65 e-mails. 65. think about that number. From people who had been offended numerous times by things said but had "gone along" because they were uncomfortable rocking the boat. Now, in truth, these e-mails were probably from ...oh...maybe 30 or so different people. I didn't count them all out, just looked at the log. But the point here is. Many people, men and women, have been uneasy about things going on currently.
Bill,
You sir, deserve your own reply. I am most certainly talking about you. You, Chuck/Jesus, and anyone else who was involved.
The people who came to your "Jesus" blog (heaven help us on that one) were wrong to say what they did. Sadly there are just as many weirdo religious fanatics as there are "people who don't seem to believe in anything" fanatics.
But....you did NOT just go and mess with them. Some of your group went to several blogs of faith taunting the people there who you did not know and had no beef with in an effort to pull them over to your sight so you could have a little fun with them. Don't bullshit a bullshitter, son. I know too much about this and trust me, I'm holding a LOT back here.
This will surprise you but I do believe that you are basically a good guy. And I know that living with someone who has a mental illness is a stress that people can not truly appreciate until they have lived through it. I deeply feel for both you and your wife. And I do so hope things get better but also know that's a long tough road. I have no doubt you need something, anything, to break the tension. Personally, I think you need to talk to someone professionally. That's a hell of a load to carry around without help.
In my opinion, you need to look at what's going on inside yourself. That tension can create a boatload of anger. (yeah yeah. I know, I'm full of crap...yadda yadda)
No, really. I'm not. I have personal experience here and my e-mail is available to you any time you want to talk.
Now, back to my beef. Yeah, you and your pals are weird. Oddly enough, I got nothing against weird. But like it or not, lately you guys have stepped beyond weird into mean and degrading. You've launched into the lovely world of "let's shock them till they holler". Only they aren't. They're intimidated and uncomfortable. They remember when you guys were just fun and so they don't want to say anything to you about it.
Like it or not, you and chuck are starting to scare your friends. I don't get a prize for passing on this information. So take the info for whatever it's worth.
For me personally, using God as a joke is beyond offensive. And guess what, I know that wasn't your idea. It was Chucks. No reason for you to take all the heat here, kiddo.
I'm not out to get you and I don't want a job as your nanny. Nor will I be running for Pope any time soon. But at some point shouldn't you guys read at least what's been said here? And really hear it? You're making people uncomfortable. I think the only people enjoying what you're doing lately, is you guys. Is that what you want?
Tumble you're not boring. Ya like that pic? Those are my gardening duds. LOL!
Milky do you by any chance still have a copy of that post Emily wrote?
You know that short Canadian, trouble-maker got me for almost a hundred bucks for some antique spoons that are so little you'd swallow them whole if you tried to eat ice cream with them. Gosh, I sure do miss her.
At 2/01/2006 2:36 PM, MilkMaid
No, sure don't.
I DO remember you replying to her very deep and heartfelt post, exposing her disability with....telling her to scootch over so you could see what all those controls did on her wheelchair.
A most perfect answer! :)
I bought several really cool things off of ebay from her, then one day, her ID went empty and I lost contact with her....
At 2/01/2006 2:58 PM, ing
How sad! I know that we all have to die, but death is so hard to accept. In my mind there's something that tells me I don't have to worry, not ever, because I'm not going to die. Or that death is so far off, there's no point in worrying. It's not the most sensible way to think about death, though, because when someone else passes on it's all the more devastating for it.
ahhhhhhhhhhh ha ha haha! Milky, I'd forgotten all about that.
Ing, it's not the most sensible but you know what? I still think that way. It gets harder the more people that you loose but if you have a nice healthy sense of denial and a good imagination, you can still pull it off. I think that's why I wigged out so bad last Tuesday when I almost died. I was yelling the worst things! Boy was I ticked. Happily with my tongue swollen the size of Nebraska, nobody could understand a word I said.
Hi, Brooke. Thank you and nice to meet ya.
Captain, I never did get that old body of yours in the mail. I need it for my barman doll. Did you remember to send it?
Rum. Rum. Where'd I put that rum? OO. Well, would ya look at that? Brooke has gone and snatched the captains rum. Don't tell him she's hiding under the table. It's just too much fun to watch him try and bend all those new body parts he just got.
Yeah, I'm real sorry too, Brian. Sorry you're such an asshole.
And really sorry that my son could so easily stick a knife in my back.
But it was a sweet wake up call for me don't ya think? I mean after all these years of sticking up for him and believing in him when nobody else did. Guess he taught me a thing or two. Good people are stupid, just like you all think. We're saps. Can you believe I actually thought he'd never hurt me? What a joke I am. A complete fool.
Only problem you fellas have is sometimes Jake gets so excited about a plan he can't keep his mouth shut.
Danny, I have only been to the Jesus sight once. Are you addressing this to me?
I agree that people have the right to say what they want. And the best thing to do if you're not comfortable with it, is don't go there. THAT is what I do.
Honestly, at this point, I don't why these guys went or how I even got dragged into it.
My only issue was the part about going to other people's sites to stir up trouble. I explained why it's personal for me and that was that. (and I stand by it!)
Sadly, I ended up with all these e-mails and landed square where I obviously am now.
I know you're not a bad person. Oh hell! that's not true. I don't know you at all. I ASSUME you aren't. Or you wouldn't be here trying to speak your piece, right?
Look guys, I'm just plain tired by this point and I want to get back to having some fun. Even though, Lord help me I do understand you all think I'm boring as hell. heard about it...over and over and over till I'm ready to spew.
I understand now someone has come up with the bright idea of destroying my blog and possibly killing me....blah blah blah. JeezLOOfrekineeze! Please, please do it. It would be a blessed relief right about oh.....NOW.
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Check your shoes before you leave.
Thanks, Roxi. I love that you're the first person to come forward and post to this! That was cool.
There are actually a few people who think things have gone too far. But nobody wanted to say so.
I hope the people involved at least give it some thought.
I'm probably one of the worst people in the whole world to spout stupid stuff just to get a laugh. I'm in trouble for that all the time. So I do understand how people can get caught up in the play. But not when it hurts or offends other people. Then you have to back off and ask yourself, "is it worth it?"