cold hearted and non-caring people here on DU...NAW...say it ain't so [View All]

[The Straight Story]

This ain't for most of DU.

With Helderheid's goodbye and others one sits and wonders about some of the replies.

DU is more than some little site out there on the net to many people. A lot of folks have invested a great deal of their time/life into posting here and talking about things.

I have said before, DU is the local bar where we come together, have a few, and try to do something about the bigger picture.

In the end, you expect more from your friends. Whether online or offline. When you invest yourself and your time into a relationship it means something more to you than "It's just a website".

One recently banned person still calls me to see if she can come back, if I have heard anything. She has mental problems (her own words) and this was a place she could unload to - us being progressives and all we tended to be tolerant of people.

If all Du is to you is just another site - well, maybe you have not been around long enough or cared enough about the people who have touched our lives - from Andy to many others.

Investing your heart into something and sharing your life with others, who share common goals, can build a lasting bond. So what if it is not in person at the local pub? It is real to the many people here who cry out to their friends for compassion - from when their dog dies to when their kid is shipped off to Iraq, or when their wife finds out she has Parkinson's.

Do we tell poor people or sick people 'sorry about your luck'? No. But some do tell people in their farwells "Don't let the door hit ya on the way out".

And yet this place is a lifeline to many who need to talk about issues and their lives. They can't get out much, so they come here instead to be around like minded people whom they come to know as friends.

Stuck at home, some disabled, this is their place to go and feel at home.

Maybe to you it is another stop on the internet highway, but to some it is their home exit.

Imagine being stuck at home all the time, this your main outlet, your only place you have invested hundreds of hours in and money - the place you made friends and had a voice. Maybe you are luckier than others and this is just another link you click from time to time. But to some, it is a home when all they have is a broken place outside of here.

You post your ass off, get involved the only way you are able, and then have a few kick you when you are down.

Most of DU gets this. We know people who are in such a situation where the net is their easiest outlet, and this is their adopted home online.

And when our friends here hurt, we hurt with them. When they lash out in anger and fear, we comfort them and give em a chance. We try to understand - because behind the keyboard sits a real person who needs us, and often times we need them and love to read what they write. We stick together. And we admonish them, it is not with a 'who gives a shit' attitude. It is with love and understanding.

Yeah, there are a lot of places on the net. But when you invest a good chunk of your life to one place it means something more to you than a URL.

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I have to take a break myself from DU. Not because of these things, but because my wife is worse now and we are moving. And ya know what, I will miss it and my friends here.

I will be back though when I get settled in. But I have had the worst week of my life, and there are some things I cannot tell close family that I could tell people here - because things would not be judged but discussed - by most. I would get hugs instead of hell. And that means something real to me - because you folks are real to me.

I'll still find some time to pop in and kick or comment, but not like I used to. And a big part of me is sad over that, because I have come to know many of you on a level you don't get to meeting once a week in a bar.

Why do I open up here? Because I can. And I discuss things in life that are important to me with fellow progressives who understand what it is like to be where I am.

I have been through two years of absolute hell at times, but I could always count on my friends here to talk to me. Even when I was being a damned jerk. And I have been a dick at times, but I always knew I had real people here I could count on to talk to me and set me straight with a hug and some kind words.

Thanks to all the good folks on DU who give a damn about those keyboard commanders who sit at home due to illness of themselves or others and vent here when they need to you. You are what makes this place a home outside the four walls we are trapped in.

I'll try to be a better man to folks here. But for the next month I have to focus on being a better one for my wife. She is going through things that have brought her down hard - but she still remembers the kind folks here and wants them all to know she cares about you. And I do as well.

Peace out my friends, sorry for the crap I may have put you through at times, and am glad I have been here to experience things with you as my life has changed. I am not always in my right mind through all the stress - but I am in my right mind enough to know you mean more than just a reply or a spot on the net. You're real people, with real feelings, and shame on me for the times I have done ya wrong.