Yes, you David, David Sirota. I read your diary, "Bye." (which was deleted, which to me is a cop out) I was moved by it because I do believe you feel sincerely harassed because of your very strong feelings towards supporting your ideals above supporting any one particular politician. I think it's something that many here actually admire you for, for attempting to put the "starfucking" on the back burner and really try to rationally attempt to criticize the policy.
But this all gets lost when the shit starts flying. I have no stomach for personal attacks, they make me cringe and I've been on the receiving end of such comments. I attempt to try to straighten things out with a rational response and also try not to take it personally and get defense. Sometimes I fail.
The internet has allowed a certain amount of protection from having to take direct consequences from such personal attacks. I personally don't believe that it makes us immune from our actions, that they stick to us in their own way and that what we put out has a much bigger affect on what we receive.
I've seen comments from you that were ad hominem and downright cruel when someone might question your methodology or your motives. It's a turn off, it doesn't inspire me to give you the benefit of the doubt nor to stand up to the so called bullies, because well, you easily turn into one of those people.
I've personally have been on the receiving end of such comments from you when I've questioned the context or the main thrust of your point as being either overblown or just not correct. The debate quickly devolves and nothing can be gained form such exchanges. I tend to walk away from them feeling dirty and in need of a shower.
I myself can be thin skinned and I have to walk away, or at least I'm grateful for the preview button, I don't always post what I write because I always try to think of the consequences of such actions. Words matter.
I'm writing this because I do sincerely believe that you are an important voice in the progressive movement and that many, although they may vehemently disagree with your methods at times, would admit that they appreciate you sticking your neck out in the name of progressive causes.
I guess you could call this a tough love post. I myself have had time where I've felt, why am I doing this? Of course I don't get paid a dime to write, I do it because I love it. It's one of those things that either you have to love it or you have to get out. And I personally am struggling with my place in this world, I've done so quite openly at Kos and other public spaces, like Facebook. MY updates are a bit too raw at times.
David, you are a passionate person and someone who does care about the cause. I think getting away for a bit might be just what you need. The last two years for anyone in politics has been extremely difficult. The emotional ups and downs have been heartbreaking for anyone who cares about the issues. And there are so many issues to care about, so many lives on the line from foreign policy to domestic issues, such as health care and education. We are literally fighting for our Country and attempting to put it in the right direction.
I think we're going a bit crazy on both sides, I mean, come on, TEA PARTIES over a 3% tax increase on the riches in our Country? I know it's more complicated than that I think a lot of people who took part in the protests weren't quite sure what they were doing either. It showed some of the ugliest parts of our society, from homophobia to racism. But we need as many voices to shout this insanity down, you do happen to be one of them.
I wish you the best and I ask that you examine how you interact with your critic s. I think we can all learn something from this, we can all take a step back and learn about how we interact with each other of the intetrubes.
And just because, I've got some pooties so that nobody confuses this with a serious diary, it's not as important as many of the issues that we discuss at Daily Kos but I do think it's important to remind ourselves that we can all go off the deep end from time to time.
By the way, thinks to lol cats, they've saved my sanity. Some of these are stolen and some I've captioned myself.