So I'm bitter. I'm a diarist at Daily Kos and not a very good one at that. I blame you. Yes, you, the one reading this right now. You know who you are.
Here I am trying to write seemingly tailor made liberal diary entries dripping with sarcasm and people keep taking me seriously. Probably because my sarcasm sucks ala Alanis Morissette's interpretation of "irony."
I wrote a diary about Glenn Beck claiming to have macular dystrophy (which I subsequently deleted in a fit of frustration)(and then wished I hadn't deleted)(and then was glad I had deleted it as it was really crap anyway)(then wished I hadn't as I realized it was the best thing ever written).
The whole point of the diary was that Beck would use this kind of thing to his advantage. I wrote this:
Beck has set it up so that he can go blind. Or not. According to his doctor, he "might not" go blind. Of course, Beck isn't going to act privately about his health like some other more noble, famous people (see Dean Smith). He's going to go out there and squeeze every inch of sight out of this turnip. Just one more way to reel them in. I know he has some sort of Kool Aid, Doomsday scenario planned. I just hope to God it's not going to occur in front of the Lincoln Memorial.
I'll admit, I shouldn't be so harsh. Perhaps he will turn out like Saul/Paul. God will make him blind only to remove the "crazy" scales from his eyes so that he can become a liberal and lead Democrats to the Promised Land. Plus, if he does go blind, for he and his audience, it will truly be the blind leading the blind.
In response, I get:
"My Grandpa is blind. This is a serious issue. You shouldn't make fun of Beck." AND
"What a heartless diary. I wouldn't wish blindness on anyone."
About my diary. About evil Beck. No mention in the comments about how Beck made fun of blind people a few years ago, about how he hasn't donated a cent of his $32 million salary to researching a cure for macular dystrophy. Only, "gosh you're mean."
I'll give you that I may not be all that funny (a softball), and I may not always label my sarcasm as sarcasm (bigger softball), but come on! The problem with liberals is they're too damn serious. I don't know how Jon Stewart came into existence as he is actually able to laugh at "you people." (gasp!) You'll notice, however, whenever Stewart does go after Obama, nervous laughter like the kind you hear when Grandpa tells a racist joke rumbles through the audience.
And the Daily Kos comment police! Good, Lord. They're out there telling people they're being too mean, they're using bad language, and to not attack other people with their comments. In fact, on the "Daily Kos FAQ" page there's actually an entry that says: "Why are people yelling at me for posting a link to my diary?"
The best diary I ever read at Daily Kos was this one. Wrote toots74:
Right now, I'm looking at at least three sky-is-falling alarmist diaries at the top of the rec list. Ohhhhhhhhhh Noooooooooooo!!!!!!!!!!! The economy is crumbling! The bankers are pillaging us! We're gonna die!
Man up, you saps!
Is this Daily Kos, or Daily Kleenex? Is this the Netroots, or the Nut-less-roots?
Stop all this goddamn defeatism and get a pair. Things are better than they've ever been. How do I know? Because every goddamn kid from every income strata - even poverty - has a cellphone. And not just a cellphone - a fucking SMART phone. Those things - and their data plans - ain't cheap.
How do I know? Because every other house I pass has not one - but TWO satellite dishes on it - even in the poorest of poor neighborhoods.
How do I know? Because you belly-aching pansies don't know what hard times are. Things are a little tough, but they're nowhere near hard yet.
And I hope they never will get hard, because if THIS is what you think is the end of the world, you saps will never make it in real troubled times.
That's funny!! So what comments did he get in return?
"I think that pansies is pretty offensive..." AND
"Sexism? Check. Homophobia? Check. Condescension? Check. I would perhaps rethink this."
I am a woman (check) and an attorney (check) who spent the last ten years defending Dr. George Tiller (check). Of all the things I have seen and heard done to women over the course of the last ten years the very last thing that's going to get my blood boiling is someone telling you to "grow a pair."
So after reading those comments I've wanted to give up writing at Daily Kos. Maybe I'll come back some day and we can talk. It's not you, it's me. Until then, adios Daily Kos! Let the public flogging begin...