Hello world. Here I am.
Long time lurker here; although lately non lurking activities such as recommends and even comments have been happening from these very hands, this very mind. Whooo! I meant to write this expose before beginning such adventures, but alas, such is the hilarity of making plans.
Yes, I want to express thanks and much gratitude for this wonderful community. The staff is pretty damn good too. And thank you Kos for being the reason for the season … oh wait, mixed up me slogans. All kidding aside, this community has been a refuge for my battered American psyche since the unimaginable occurred election night 2016. I returned here again and again, day after day, night after night … and would find a tiny bit of sanity while living through what seemed like an alternate timeline from a mediocre sci-fi movie. It’s been a whole lotta years now. I recognize many names - you know, the regulars who are big part of the fabric of this community, some who have been here participating for many years. I kinda feel like I know you in a small way. I’ve been lurking long enough to see folks come and go, to learn about those who are legends and left their mark here and many others who pop up from time to time. I’m grateful for all of you.
THANK YOU EVERYONE THANK YOU!
For being you. For caring about our democracy. For caring about human lives. For caring about the planet. For taking the time to engage and share your thoughts, your passions, your kindness, your rage, your frustration, your love, your energy of never giving up. Thank you for sharing your knowledge, your political nuts & bolts strategies, for sharing your precious time taken to write engaging posts & comments. I’ve learned so much from you. I’ve laughed out loud in the middle of the night at your jokes. I’ve cried too. I’ve witnessed this community take care of its members in a very real way that extends off the website and into real life. Thank you. You are inspiring. I’m sure there are many others who feel the same way. I’m sure there are many others this community has kept going through these troubling times.
And this community knows the importance of taking time out from the trenches to share the beautiful moments of life too. Like food, music, art, birdies, doggies, felines, personal creativity such as writing, painting and more. Ok Ok I’m have a brain fart remembering what dogs & cats are called here … remind me please.
Of course we’re all just human, so dicey emotions and words happen here too. Shout out to the rules of the road and community content moderation. Best I’ve seen. And designed to help one learn while being called out for our various biases. Kudos.
So why was I a lurker all these years?
I was so filled with rage. So angry. Spewing my rage, I couldn’t help it. Honestly I was afraid I’d be a nasty here and really didn’t want to do that. Didn’t want to get bojoed for being an ass. So I read as an outsider. Day by day, year by year I began to feel like a member of Daily Kos even though I just read and couldn’t even rec posts I liked and appreciated, let alone comment. I still didn’t trust myself. The rage was a long time coming and took a long time to shift. It’s not healthy to live that way. I’m doing better now. Still plenty to be angry about and I’m still passionate and still get angry but it’s … ya know, more balanced and not overwhelming my psyche.
So in 2021, late one night, I created an account in order to comment on something. I was on a beer buzz and felt a pile on was happening in comments on a post. This is exactly what I didn’t want to do haha. But that night I wanted to, and did, comment saying how I felt about the pile on. Oh my. Then I didn’t want to look at it. Sure I said something over the top and blew my entry into the Daily Kos community. I logged out and didn’t look at it or log in again until late in 2022. Even then I didn’t look at that first comment - eventually I did and it wasn’t bad at all hahaha. A few people even liked it. Still would have liked my first comment to be constructive, not complaining, but what cha gonna do?
So here I am. Recommending and commenting away now. I’m happy to be here and hope some of the ones who helped me get through these years see this. Thank you again.