Dear readers,
One of the new things about being on the front page is the hate mail. I've never received hate mail in my life (ex-girlfriends notwithstanding), but I certainly get it now.
Most of it is from conservative lurkers and is quite predictable. The lesser half is from others. Some from pro-Obama die-hards. Some from old people who think the front page of this site has been soiled by my lack of respect or reverence for the "good old Armando days." Some are professional writers who don't like an amateur hobbyist getting such a platform. A bit of lefty racism here and there (we gave you your fucking civil rights Sambo! - my fav.!). I have thick skin. Plus, I was wisely warned by the higher-ups. No big deal, but interesting and new.
It's by no means the deluge that Markos gets. Not even close. But I do get it, and I always reply with practiced good manners and a fare-thee-well attitude. I'm not always the bad guy.
I won't provide you with a pooloza-style rundown. But I did want to highlight this one because it reflects a certain attitude I've noticed from time to time. Laurence Lewis and I were emailing about it today, noting he gets similar comments. Anyway, here it is in its entirety:
Fuck you asshole. youre an embarrassment to your people. you dont know shit about Obama's job. You think you can do better than Obama? You dont belong in a dog kennel. FP has really hit skid row.
The "you don't belong in a dog kennel" part was what killed me. Hilarious! I;m thinking, ummm....no, i don't belong in a dog kennel. lol
Anyway, I just wanted to say this: I believe in diversity of opinion. You may not, and that's alright. There are a wide variety of opinions within the Democratic party, and we should welcome that. Or, we should welcome a more stridently ideological uniformity to promote cohesion. We could probably use a bit of that too. I'm not about to ask people to get along or stop fighting. If that's what keeps you engaged, I'm all for it. If you hate what you see or love what you see on the Front Page, make your opinion known. I don't know about others, but I appreciate the feedback, positive or negative.
I also ask this from those of you who disagree, don't like me, don't like my writing, or whatever, and take the time to send me an email about it. Please, if you can, do not attach files. Don't send me images of a "fuck you" finger or some sort of document because chances are I'm reading your email on my BlackBerry and I'm blocking attachments from people I don't know. I am constantly on the go. I had a nasty virus problem as a result of attached files that I do not want happening again. Furthermore, it slows my BlackBerry down. Everything you need to say you can say in the text. If you want to include images or video, say it in the comments. If you want me to see a document of some sort, you need to put it somewhere and link me to it. I read ALL my comments, including the viciously personal ones. I don't always reply to comments, but I do reply to every email provided there isn't any attachments. This is the reason I couldn't reply to you, "dog kennel guy," because there was a pic attached.
Thanking you in advance,
Your friendly neighborhood badboy.