Who is the monarch of Low Rec-dom? What should the criteria for a low rec king or queen be: good faith submissions that simply fail as a concept; delivery so poor that it destroy readability; repeated attempts at some kind of spam? Or, is the monarch of spam another category?
Before you blurt out the obvious," Who gives a shit?" Consider for a moment what it means to elevate failure. One thing that an award for total defeat accomplishes is it offers inspiration to the hopeless by giving them something they can achieve and at the same time it gives the onlookers a sense of gratitude for not having sunk as low. Considering that our winner-take-all society places such a premium on achievement, this low bar of success might help some poor slob maintain his or her basic will to live.
As I write this ill conceived diary of woe, I reflect on all the bloodied faces of YouTube children on bicycles or skate boards who tried and failed cataclysmically over asphalt or concrete. They smash themselves with bottles, dive recklessly into crowds, and do everything possible under the Sun to find their place in the world. Everything except, simply saying "I'm scared." "I don't understand.""I am lost and I need your help."
Thankfully, there are still places in the world where honesty and openness is rewarded with understanding and acceptance. Be yourself. We are your family and we love you, warts and all. You belong. Speak your mind and let the chips fall where they may.
9:45 PM PT: This diary was born out of curiosity. I started looking at other low rec diaries to see what the community didn't like about them. But, also to see if I might find some sage writers that are being somehow ignored.
The obvious becomes instantly apparent. Everyone likes well sourced, highly relevant breaking news. After that, honesty about things that are imminently helpful also go over extremely well. However, all revelation is not helpful.
What Kossacks seem to dislike in a nutshell is naked self promotion. It seems that the most common offensive diaries are those that are written by trolls who would have us believe they are either seeking catharsis or are trying to promote open and honest discourse.
The withering response by the Dkos community to such attempts can only be described as piranha like. So much so that at times I have become almost physically ill during the process of posting a diary. I do it, because it makes me a better writer. There is no better environment for a progressive to test their ideas than here. But, be warned, you will be tested.
Wed Nov 20, 2013 at 2:24 PM PT: Thank you all for the kick ass feed back.
It was a mistake to suggest a low Rec King or Queen that would imply a dubious distinction. It would be much better to suggest someone whose diaries are both consistently good but are also consistently not recommended.
A peoples choice award for the most overlooked Dailykos diarist has probably been done before. And, there is the community spotlight that may fill this need to some degree. The results of this kind of poll has a high probability of being extremely contentious, I suggest it with some reservation.
Too me, a great example of a Low-Rec King is Gar Alperovitzby who was suggested in a comment below by indycam -http://www.dailykos.com/...
After reading and recommending some of Gar's stuff, I agree he makes a great candidate.
I am of course recusing myself from consideration for obvious reasons, not that I need to.