re: #154 Buck

You have never tried to get to know me, and you have hidden yourself from me.

You don’t really know my views and from very early on have told me that you don’t want to.

That’s because I watched LGF before I joined and I realized very early on that you have two basic modes: aggressive/attacker and defensive/victim. No middle ground. No shades of gray. No reaching out to anyone for a casual give & take. Not even so much as a “Hi, long time no see. How have you been?” or “Congratulations!” or “I’m sorry for your loss.” These small civilities are the foundations that communities, understanding, and sometimes even friendships are built on. Every discussion with you becomes a marathon battle of wills

Maybe you’re not here for any of the above, and that’s fine, but in that case you shouldn’t expect to be treated as a valued member of the community if you’re not willing to extend the same to others. You just look like a troll.

The only occasions I ever saw you behave in a way I could even remotely relate to was when your father was sick. The first was a long time ago, when I was still new here. You had mentioned it at night, so I made a point of braving the “morning wingnut wave”—when Mandy was still here, no less—to let the conservatives know that maybe it would be a good thing for them to ask Hoops to put your dad on his prayer list. That’s what people do when they’re part of a community and give a damn about each other, Buck.

I don’t know what ever happened with your dad, but the second occasion was when you came back at a later date and said he was very ill. Pretty much everyone offered prayers, good thoughts, and compassion, regardless of their personal feelings about you or how you’d treated them in the past. I don’t know whatever happened with your dad as I don’t recall seeing you say anything else about him, but if you lost him, then I’m sorry for that.

If you don’t want people to recoil and “hide” themselves from you, then try dialing back aggressive confrontation & assumptions and actually talking to people, instead of at them. Or don’t, and just tell me that I’ve got you all wrong and shouldn’t believe my lying eyes. It’s up to you.