Human Privilege

[RCMerchant]

ER-you live in Ohio. 

The only real drama in your life seems to be that which you create. You have a great imagination as a story teller.
 
Your life would be easier if you didn't imagine fantasies about the world and take it for fact.

[RCMerchant]

I know how much you care about children. 

That backhanded remark did not go unnoticed.

[RCMerchant]

And disguising it as "satire" grows thin.

[ER]

Good. It was meant to be noticed. Someone hits me, I hit back harder. That's all I've ever done. Who is to blame, the instigator or the one who responds? Don't throw the first punch if you can't take the second.

I live in Ohio in the 12th wealthiest community in the US. Just true. I've also lived in Maine, Texas, Ireland. I've been a lot of places. I have little drama in my life except every time I come in here anymore. I don't want drama. And you said you wanted peace with me, RC.  Shame you didn't mean it. I always tried to have your back over the years. Think back, you know that's true. More than you were aware of.

A few of you, you know who you are, owe the fact that your rent got paid to me. One of you was homeless and I contacted you privately and put a roof over your head. You know who you are. Not one of you publicly stood up for me in here against petty attacks recently. Privately but not out on the forum. Ok. Your choice. I never asked for anything back, including the money.

This place...no longer serves its purpose. It did, though. God, if you guys knew.

Anyway,....enjoy each other.

[RCMerchant]

Why don't you stop being MEAN?
I don't give a f**k what you do. You have proved yourself. I have no doubt about your real feelings. You try to make yourself as some kind of humanitarian-but your full of s**t. Your trying to pull a bulls**t cloak as being so nice-but your full of hate. You may be fooling some-but not me. I see through you like a ghost. You lie about your true feelings. Not very well. And then you admit your lying!
Sweetie-
I been on this forum a long time-you sure ain't gonna run me off.
Your f**kin with the wrong person.

[316zombie]

wow..you are truly amazing, ellie. truly. and not in a good way. i NEVER thought that you looked at your friends here the way you obviously do until recently.
  i realize i wasn't one of them, but i AM a longtime regular here that you used to treat with the same respect i gave you. what is REALLY going on with you?
  it's only been the last 6 months or so that you've turned into such a bitter woman, as far as i can tell. before that, your" satire" was obviously just that, i don't think anyone took it seriously at all, i know i didn't.
but lately you write as though you are VERY  serious, and when someone like me takes it seriously, you lash out. and you insult people who care about you on a regular basis. and that's a shame.
  you COULD just talk to us, and maybe we could help, or at least be an outlet for your fear, or your anger at others, like that james person.  why are you trying o hard to alienate people who cared about you? is it really worth it to lose what seems to be your only outlet,and your only place to find a friendly "face"? why are you so bitter now? it doesn't make sense.
  but if you want to be nothing but a troll, i'll answer your insulting PM and give you links where you can learn to do it right. because you AREN'T amusing anyone here, i'll stake my life on that.
  i will pity you as long as i can, just like the rich kids i grew up with who took their fear and anger out on me because i wasn't rich and had good parents they didn't.
most of them learned that all it took was being civil and they could come and hang out with my family and have fun just being themselves. no church crap, no money crap,no snooty crap. just fun happy times. my parents are still remembered with joy, and they are still my friends. you could have that here again..maybe. it isn't just MY decision. you've hurt a lot of people here,,and you did it on purpose. do YOU know why?

[Pacman000]

I've always thought ER's posts about her life were real, & the humor/satire was her way of dealing with stress. At the very least her stories are consistent; she "jokes" about the same things. To create an entirely false identity to use on an online forum, to keep it up for years, to keep it consistent; that would take a lot of work.

I will acknowledge that her comments to others have become harsher of late. I believe that's just the current U.S. political climate. A rift between the left and the right's been widening for the past 10 years; I'm not sure anyone can talk to anyone about certain issues without the conversation devolving into a war, with name calling, blaming, and the like, unless the two parties are on the same side. 

If anyone wants to argue, I'm sure Google Groups will let you talk about it on Alt.something. I'm sure the Usenet spammers won't mind. 

[RCMerchant]

I like alot of her writing too-but when  she "jokes" about "dead babies"-and keeps throwing that in someones face-that's just cruel.

[RCMerchant]

I know during an election year I get worked up-but after that I try not to bring up politics. Attacking people for there personal beliefs in sly,offhanded ways on a daily basis is being a TROLL.

[Paquita]

Oh. My. Word!  As more of an observer than contributor, I don't see anyone as a completely innocent victim here, but I have seen many opportunities to let it go that were ignored.  The whole "dead babies" thing is harsh and inexcusable, I agree, but when you bring a nugget like that out in the open, you must understand that you are exposing yourself to harshness.  I find myself wondering if it was brought up as a "dare" or if it was simply sharing information without a second thought about what anyone would say.  If I've noticed one thing about ER, she doesn't seem like one to turn down a dare and I think she took it as just that.

I value many of you and love the mix of personalities, opinions and backgrounds and don't want to lose anyone.  Others have pleaded with you to just ignore each other, at least for a while, in an effort to keep the peace and I would ask the same. 

I don't think for a second that ER is inherently cruel, a liar or a "troll".  I see her as more dual-sided (not to be confused with two-faced), which I think is hard for some people to relate to – myself included.  It's interesting though, to say the least.

To stay on topic a bit, I don't live in a rich neighborhood, but I do have access to information of some rich and powerful people.  I agree that the sordid details of the lives of some are quite ugly and it is frightening to know how much power and influence they have and how little people truly know about them.   I also grew up in Chicago and have seen the sordid details of the poor as well.. a major difference is almost everyone knows about what goes on in their lives.

Speaking of Ohio though, that whole story about that scumbag Ariel Castro made me realize the value of what a nosy neighbor could have been in that situation.

[Allhallowsday]

Good. It was meant to be noticed. Someone hits me, I hit back harder. That's all I've ever done. Who is to blame, the instigator or the one who responds? Don't throw the first punch if you can't take the second.

I live in Ohio in the 12th wealthiest community in the US. Just true. I've also lived in Maine, Texas, Ireland. I've been a lot of places. I have little drama in my life except every time I come in here anymore. I don't want drama. And you said you wanted peace with me, RC.  Shame you didn't mean it. I always tried to have your back over the years. Think back, you know that's true. More than you were aware of.

A few of you, you know who you are, owe the fact that your rent got paid to me. One of you was homeless and I contacted you privately and put a roof over your head. You know who you are. Not one of you publicly stood up for me in here against petty attacks recently. Privately but not out on the forum. Ok. Your choice. I never asked for anything back, including the money.

This place...no longer serves its purpose. It did, though. God, if you guys knew.

Anyway,....enjoy each other.

ER, I am not a fan of the pile-on, having been subject to it.  Without explanation or extrapolation, I think you made one mistake: You argued with RC.  It seems to me, any other disagreements you've had were secondary.  RC is probably every good thing you imagined he was.   Arguing with him I've done, and it is a mistake.  Take it in stride, you're strong enough.  You are welcome here, too.  I would miss you if you stayed away.  And it's not 'cause I'm a fan.  You are a member of our family.  

I wonder who you might have put a roof over their head...?  I have a guess, but nary a clue.  
It's awful when kindness is not appreciated.  

EDIT:  Don't be mad at us. 

[316zombie]

it's okay if she wants to be mad at me, i just hope she isn't mad at  the whole board. y'all don't deserve that. neither does she, but it IS her choice. she's a grownup,you know? 

[RCMerchant]

I like the part where a piece of his skull bounces of the table.

[Allhallowsday]

   

[javakoala]

I have avoided this whole situation in all of its incarnations under various threads. I avoid drama because it is pointless and it says more about a person and shows less of their humanity than just about anything else, in my opinion.

I'm not going to take sides. That is pointless as well because no one involved is completely blameless. Plus, taking sides isn't really what I care about.

This is not the forum I came to love over the years. Things have become bitter and dark across the internet, but this place seemed to keep it at bay. Not any longer, and it has been changing over the last couple of years. I have left and come back many times over the last 3 years. The joy at coming back has diminished each time as I see things becoming bitter and dark here as well.

Do I have answers? Nope. Not here to fix the problem as it is a collective issue that is caused by a touch of this, a word here, and shot fired there. Maybe Robert Frost nailed it with his poem:

Nothing Gold Can Stay

Nature's first green is gold,
Her hardest hue to hold.
Her early leaf's a flower;
But only so an hour.
Then leaf subsides to leaf.
So Eden sank to grief,
So dawn goes down to day.
Nothing gold can stay.

Things are always changing. If you take the positive view, then old things pass on to make room for new and, hopefully, better things. This forum has been in a state of flux for some time. It is changing. While that cannot be helped, it does not follow that the changes will be embraced.

Still, this is no longer the forum I used to call home. That's what is the most distressing.