Epiphany
Folks who define themselves by the rage they can inspire in other people are not people whose thoughts are worth reading.
It seems so obvious, but it just really sank in. And that little insight has just added about half an hour of productive time to each and every day of the rest of my life.
Do you often have waking dreams of Kathy Shaidle?
No need to answer that.
Heh. Cthulhu rising, indeed…
I spent the afternoon in conversation with an old friend and mentor who’s very ill – remembering, reminiscing, summing up. It spurred a lot of “life’s too short to…” thoughts. And when I came home and sat down to do my usual round of plumbing the depths (the three URQ sites I indulge in) I suddenly thought – why? Why am I injesting this dreck?
There’s nothing there. No ideas. No thought. Just rage and lies from unhappy people with malformed souls and tiny, bitter lives.
And life IS too short.
No backsliding now
Jeez, bracketed by the Good Doctors Dawg and Frink. Serious company indeed. I guess I’d better not.
Having admitted that I am powerless before my addiction, I am now looking for the Higher Power. Errr…Daily Kos?
As someone who shares your affliction Balb, I understand – I knew a long time ago I was wasting my time. But then I realized how fun it was. Every morning I wake up and think, what crazy ass thing has the Canadian Sentinel said today and what ridiculous comment will he reply in response to me? It’s like a game of pick the crazy out of the basket. And yes, I just made that game up.
I can’t help thinking, though, that our brains cannot but be scarred by the boiling acid and rusty fishooks we pour through them daily with such vile fare.
Most often, though, I can’t help but think it’s best to not make eye contact with Teh Crazee Person On The Corner.
I’ve been thinking of how to tell you something similar, Bal. I’m convinced that some of these sites, especially those that _don’t_ allow comments, are in it for the attention they receive on the other side of the fence. If we all just ignored them, they’d congeal in the frustration over their irrelevance.
Admit it. You’ll be back at Scenty’s. You know you will.
Balb: “I can’t help thinking, though, that our brains cannot but be scarred by the boiling acid and rusty fishooks we pour through them daily with such vile fare.”
See? James B could probably come up with an actual Biblical quote that covers this, and you probably have that Kierkergarde (sp?) quote about staring into the abyss down pat, but they both say the same thing…
In essence, a piece of your soul dies when you read and actually try to digest that crap.
Which is why I spend the bulk of my time at http://www.thecomedynetwork.ca because my hope is that laughter rebuilds that which has been damaged by exposure to hatred most foul.
Oh, dear. Must be bedtime.
CHEERS!
re ComedyNetwork – I strongly recommend the South Park episodes (I believe 1209 & 1210) regarding guinea pigs taking over the world.
Perhaps this is because guinea pigs (at least those in my house) manage to procreate quicker than rabbits, but I can relate.
And there’s always Jon Stewart and Steven Colberrrrrr…
I’ll keep you posted on the weaning process, and I will be honest.
The dietary simile is a good one. You can’t subsist on a diet of chips without getting fat. You can’t overindulge in bad thinking, denial and hatred – it will muck up your own mind.
It’s OK to read those dark and disturbed sites just avoid trying to reason with the dolts in their comment section. Anyway, that approach works for me.
I’ve never understood the need to waste time getting all worked up over what idiots have to say. I guess it’s kind of like that sore inside of your mouth that hurts when you touch it with your tongue, but you can’t help but do it anyway.
SDA, and their ilk (on the right and the left) are run by people who crave attention. They get off on driving people nuts. I quarantee when they post something outrageous they’re sitting in front of their computer hitting refresh, nipples getting hard, waiting for someone to comment about how offended they are.
Why give them the satisfaction?
I can’t help thinking, though, that our brains cannot but be scarred by the boiling acid and rusty fishooks we pour through them daily with such vile fare.
In my darker days I used to take what they said to heart, but now, I don’t ingest the boiling acid and rusty fishhooks. I take it for what it is – the ramblings of very angry, sad and lonely people who really, really, really want to believe that they understand the world and want all the attention that they can. I don’t feel angry when I visit Scenty, I feel amused, and sometimes sad. But I take it for what it’s worth and move on. No harm done to me at least.
Most often, though, I can’t help but think it’s best to not make eye contact with Teh Crazee Person On The Corner.
Ask my partner and she’ll tell you that I’m the guy that does make eye contact with the crazy person on the corner. Always have. It’s a fine line between sanity and craziness and that line has always interested me. But saying that, if they’re wearing a hockey mask and brandishing a knife, I tend to stay away.
I know what you mean. Blogging cam be very unhealthy. Sometimes after a few hours of battling I will shut off the computer and walk into the living room. My wife will say something totally uncontroversal like “I thought we should have pork chops for dinner”, and i will go into a two minute rant explaining the 5 reasons pork chops are a bad idea. Then I will accuse her of being in bed with the pork lobby. Then I will explain that hamburger helper is the only clear choice and that any one who doesn’t see that wants us to start down a slippery slope towards pork fascism. Than I take a deep breath and remember I’m no longer in battle mode and apologize to my wife who is now looking at me like I’m as crazy as I am. It’s a good idea to remember that in the big scheme of things most of what they type at” Small Dead Animals” and even what we put on our own blogs don’t mean a thing.
(Memo to self: decline any dinner invitation received from Militant Liberal during any election campaign.)
I noticed a capital “L” in that Militant Liberal moniker.
What exactly does a Militant Liberal do?
Within the party, my allegiances alternate between “Burnouts for Dion”, “Friendly Young Liberals”, “Inuit Liberals for the Preservation of Winter”, and “Iggy for Deputy PM”.
I made a conscious decision about a year ago to simply NOT go to certain websites which made my blood boil. As a consequence my blog is not that interesting anymore – since without paying attention to the low hanging fruit – I now have more equilibrium and my time on-line is much more enjoyable.
It was one of the best decisions I ever made.
The Christian notion of “sin” has been somewhat debased by the churches, who have turned it into a mechanism for social enforcement. But at the heart of the idea of “sin” is an action that damages the self. Part of my little epiphany was the realization that hanging out at sites like Scenty’s and tormenting the poor bastard was reinforcing some of the worst parts of myself – pride, cruelty, aggression. As you imply, MW, conflict and cruelty are more interesting to read than reflection, so I expect I’m going to be a lot more boring. But not as pointlessly angry all the time.
Maybe it’s time you let loose on why the leaning tower of pizza was such an unlikely travel destination for you.
It was actually a personal tour of sacred spaces – the Vatican, the Blue Mosque, the oldest synagogue in Venice, the birthplace of Apollo on Delos, Gaudi’s Cathedral in Barcelona, a few others. It struck me that it was an odd thing for an atheist to be doing. But I’ve always been a big fan of God’s, just not a believer.
@MW – I’ve pretty much done the same. Oddly, I almost only ever visit them now if directed from here or Canadian Cynic.
Better for my mental health, that’s for sure.