September 2, 2006

  • An Open Letter

    Jill,

    First of all, I would like to apologize for my comments about your pictures. I had assumed the following:

    • You would recognize my screename from my previous comments on your blog.
    • You know that all was in jest and I was spreading the Xanga love.
    • You remembered my writing style.
    • In the past, we were friends.
    • You knew that in no way did I ever want a real-life relationship with you.
    • You understood that I was catching up on your site from my hiatus, ergo the deluge of comments.

    My apologies to you for assuming things that simply were not true and, being my usual asshole self, acted on them accordingly as an asshole. I saw a provocative picture and thought to myself, “hmmm, that’s a Jill I haven’t seen before. What’s the change?” and proceeded to make what I thought was an over-the-top joke. It was a bad joke that backfired. I offer my personal apology and will do whatever it takes to earn your forgiveness.

    I am in no way a flirt or a player. Had you read my recent entry, you would have known this. Some time ago, we had a little exchange in which I told you that I was considering dropping you from my subscription list because you were so overtly liberal. You challenged me claiming (rightfully so, I might add) that my reasoning for dropping my subscription to your site was rather lame and proved how shallow I was by publicly admitting to not trying to more fully understand the other side. I have taken that admonishment to heart, and therefore continue to read your site.

    My only hope was that we could engage in battle in the arena of ideas. Apparently, you do not wish to do so. That is fine, and I respect you for it. However, you have shown your elitism that is so common to liberalism that you:

    a) censor your opposition
    b) brag about something you do not have (i.e. being 10 times smarter than these people can ever hope to be, and 100 times more interesting because of my multi-cultural background.).

    If you have to brag and constantly remind people of what you do and do not have, you don’t have it and are very insecure. You might claim that my openers are just that: boastful bragging and reminding people of what I do and do not have. I challenge you that I am gloating about what is blatantly obvious, not what I need people to see.

    I have not blocked you on my site nor will I, as I believe in censorship only the most extreme of cases. My site is a place where people come together and do battle in the arena of ideas. If you choose not to do so, that is your choice, but by failing to rise to the occasion, you prove how insecure you are in you own ideology. I urge you to come, let us reason together

    In parting, I would like to add a few thoughts:

    1. You showed your unprofessionalism by calling Snapper illiterate. It would seem to me by the length of her comment and the command of the English language that she is far from illiterate. Perhaps you meant ineloquent? I would appreciate a public retraction, though I do not expect one. She doesn’t follow you site like I and therefore can’t be held accountable for all of the information I posess.

    2. You have not responded to my point by point explanation of why I thought your post or the selected pull texts were anti-American. Surely someone as intelligent as you can stand to put someone like me in my place by thoroughly refuting my errant assessments.

    3. If I were to move to France for two years, I would think more highly of this country, not less.

    4. While I possess logic (ergo this calmly, meticulously written rebuttal) it seems that you want to leech on the concepts of “peace”, “love” and “color” all hippie liberal virtues which at the end of the day result in anarchy. I have grown up quite a lot, and I must say that while there are shades of gray in certain issues, most of life is black and white, assuming non-Kerry types.

    Thank you for your time and consideration. Once again, I offer my apologies and my willingness to make restitution.

    Sincerely,
    Professor Tom

Comments (24)

  • Altetnately:

    Jill,

    Buh-bye.

    Tom

  • Hey there,

    First off thank you for defending me. Although I could have done it myself, assuming I had seen it in time, I still appriciate it.
    Now that doesn’t mean that I would have defended myself, because just like you said, if she has to brag about it, she doesn’t got it to begin with and therefore is a waste of my time, energy and money.

    If nothing else her return comment to me only proved my point. She is a confused, child who can’t see how the world in the USA works because she has “lived” her life in another country and the same thing that I said about moving deffinatly apply’s. If she is so proud of her “host country” she should move.

    I greatly doubt she knows you have made an entire post completely and solely about her, nor will she ever since she appears to have blocked you muh dear friend, but it was kind of you none-the-less to make a public appology this way.

    And, just for the record, I probably understand the english language better then she does. Haha. Not that it matters because she’s just a bitch. But just saying, for example, let’s see her translate a medical report into the commonly spoken english language. It’s a fairly well known fact that it is a completely separate language, merely sharing the same english lettering systom and/or some words.

    Eh… why am I even wasting my typeing on this? I could probably rant for another hour…

    Dropping it. For now. But if she comes back I might let her have it.

    Talk to you later Tomas 

  • Oh yeah – and if she never see’s this – *changes subject’s rather abuptly* Why are you worried about keeping her friendship? She isn’t really worth it you know…

    Anyway, if she never see’s this it’s really not much of a loss. Probably will find another lib bitch to replace her. There certainly are enough of them around.

    Sorry if I’m to crude, or openly resentful toward her Tomas, but I have thought about this all night – and it still makes me furious. Perhaps without good reason, but it just does.

    Laters Buddy

  • A few points:

    Elitism is not a liberal trait, it is a human one. It is not dependent on political orientation, and claiming otherwise is a childish partisan insult. I personally have met many more elitists who were conservative than liberal, yet I do not claim that elitism is a conservative trait. If I had to guess, I’d say it’s much like people’s own perspectives of their driving ability: 90% of people think that they’re an above-average driver. Similarly, 90% (or more) of people think that their political views are obviously better than those of others, and that they are smarter than anyone who has not accepted their particular ideology.

    Gloating about something that is blatantly obvious is unnecessary as well – if it were obvious, people would realize it on their own and there would be no need for gloating. In fact, out of all the smart people I know, the ones I respect most are those who rarely talk about their own intelligence. I don’t see how “gloating about something that is blatantly obvious” shows any lesser level of insecurity than the actions you accuse Jill of.

    In my opinion, the unprofessionalism started with your accusations of “anti-Americanism.” I pointed out why I thought that was an invalid assertion – you have not responded yet, despite posting two minor replies to something else there. Two people commented that they saw the point of my comment (including Snapper), so it seems like it would be worthwhile for you to address it.

    The analogy of moving to France was intended to question what you would think about France, not about the U.S. If you moved to France for two years, would you feel like it was your home? Your response seems to indicate no, thereby validating Jill’s point. That aside, your response doesn’t hold any water. “If I did something which I haven’t done, my subconscious reaction would be this.” That’s a pretty bold statement to make. Though I suppose you may be justified in it – anyone who went to France thinking that America was superior to France would probably not be well-accepted (the same as anyone who came here from France and thought France was superior to America would not be well accepted). An experience in a foreign country who doesn’t accept your arrogant patriotism probably would cause your patriotism to become stronger and your arrogance to grow. But that’s because it’s a self-fulfilling prophecy.

    I don’t see how you can possibly say that “most of life is black and white.” That, to me, is the most ridiculous claim you’ve made yet. The world is analog, not digital, and it always has been. We as humans only create digital representations of it in our mind in order to catogorize and analyze it. The way to think about an issue is to look at the continous variable and say, “What is the distinction between this point on the line and this point on the line, or is there one at all?” By doing that, you digitize an analog variable. Those digitizations are necessary for our society to function, no doubt – they are the basis of our judicial system, whereby one takes an action which lies somewhere on a continuous line of morality and digitizes it into “punishable” or “not punishable.”

    But to claim that our digitization of the world indicates that it was digital to start with? That’s bold and naive at the same time. Even if the world were digital, we still would have difficulty claiming that our experience was. Knowledge is not about what’s “true” or “false,” but rather about where on a continuous line of certainty a particular idea lies. Is the theory of gravity true? Who knows – it’s possible that it’s not. But it’s pretty far to the “certain” side of the line. Are the unicorns? Maybe – but it’s pretty far to the “uncertain” side of the line. Do other people exist, or is my experience simply a figment of my imagination? You still can’t really say if it’s one or the other. All you can do is judge the relative certainty of each possibility, and choose the most likely one.

    And with human experience, things are even less black and white. Is it moral to kill a person? Probably not. Is it moral to kill a murderer in order to save the lives of two others by preventing him from killing them? Well, now you’d probably say “yes.” Is it moral to kill an innocent person in order to save the lives of two others? Now it’s somewhere in between the first two cases. “But wait,” sayeth you. “Everything is either moral or immoral, with no shades in between! How could it be in between the morality of two situations?” You see my point? For any pair of situations where one is evidently “moral” and the other is evidently “immoral,” you can find a situation in between the two. Thus, the line of morality is an analog one, not a digital one.

    Finally, one last thing. You criticize Jill for bragging and mark it as a sign of insecurity. Not only that, but you did it publicly. Yet I have seen no such open letter to Snapper for statements like “And, just for the record, I probably understand the english language better then she does.” I hope that it is only because of a lack of time that you have refrained from that, and not because you only criticize the methods of those who disagree with you. Of course, you may know the person in real life, and have already told them that. But I just thought I’d point out that from the point of view of an outside reader, you appear extremely biased towards people who agree with you, despite your (insecure?) claims to being logical.

  • Bass, just for whatever – your info? I wrote that “prideful comment” as though speaking to Tomas, because I had forgotten about the private messaging until I had already posted it. It really wasn’t meant for everybody to take offence to, just him.

    Also, when I wrote both of those comment’s I was in a hurry. Not that that excuses it, but still… you’ve been there, and you know that when your in a hurry that you dont always think out how you should say things.

    But… unfortunatly it seems that although I’ve tryed for the last couple months to remain out of heated discussions, such as this one, even though I may or may not agree with the subject being discussed, that I have thrust myself into this one.

    Shall have to try harder to refrain from speaking my mind next time. Assuming that it isnt somthing imperitively important.

  • You write offenesive things on peoples pictures? Since when?

  • Snapper:
    Whether you wrote the comment for him or not is irrelevant to the current inconsistency in his responses to you and to Jill. And I think the point that Professor Tom was making was not that you should keep those type of statements to yourself, but that they’re indicative of an inner insecurity in his mind. In other words, he thinks that your statement, hasty or not, means that you’re insecure.

  • Once again, Bass brings up a good point with Tom’s reply to Sunday in his France rebuttal – Tom, dude, that was all you. However, with Tom’s off-the-cuff anti-American comment, it shows quite a level of immaturity that everything escalated to the point in which it did. Even Bass, who so poignantly defines elitism, falls subject to it every time he speaks about Tom and his views or his vehicle of expression thereof. You are talking down to him with your every statement, trying to force your perception on him instead of trying to understand his. Tsk tsk. Some people see the world in black and white. Some do not. I have experienced this many times over, and to suggest that his statement was ridiculous would be considered, sir, your point of view. As I have spent many years overseas in many different locations, I can confirm that there is such a thing as an, ‘ugly American’ and most people who have never left this great country to live overseas should really stay completely out of these types of arguments. Though I am not completely aware of the entire conversation in which led Tomas to use that term, I can see where he would be shocked to discover an American who would speak about their nation in such a way to lead him to suggest that. The account on her page was lucid, but I feel certain once she experiences more, and learns from those experiences, she will mature. We all do. When I was a young man of 20, I thought I knew everything. By the time I was 30, I realized that the image I projected in my 20′s was silly. Now that I am nearing 40, I now know that I will be a different person when I am 50, and see the things I have written today, equally as foolish. The difference? I’m already aware of this.

  • Some people see the world in black and white.
    Yes. I pointed that out in my response. In fact, thinking in black and white is an important part of everyday life. But that doesn’t mean the issues are black and white. Saying that the issues are not black and white is not me failing to understand his point of view; it is me stating a fact. Regardless of how people think of the world, the world is not digital. That’s an inherent characteristic of the world which should be identifiable by anyone who takes the time to think about it, as I pointed out with the three morality examples.

    That said – I do fall prey to elitism more often than I’d like.

  • I’m staying out of it , for the Special Olypic factor  – but i will say this –

    To again para-phrase the great scholar and theologian R. King:

    “..can’t the 10 of us just get along…” –or was that 01? – (yet, agreeing that this life is analog, the One aspired to is Black and White…

     ’speaking words of wisdom __ __ _______________’

  • I must say first and foremost that you write very very well. I like to write but personal writings I only post if I think they are good. lol Oh well. Thanks for randomly picking my blog to read, cause with what I want to do, I need alot ofsupport to follow through with. The Promise I made was this……. that no matter how mad my parents get at me, that I will go through with getting loans and going to the school of my choice. I only hate the school I’m going to because it has none of the things I enjoy there.(see other posts fefore the one read) I hate it, nobody likes the same things as I do, they think I’m weird because I like theatrical arts (and I’m strait lol) and well I am just not happy with it at all. And I think its affecting my grades. So thats the promise, and thats my problem I can’t be afraid to make my parents mad, and no matter how long its going to take me to pay off those loans at least the time spent using them will be enjoyed. I do hope you consider holding me to it.

  • Interesting reading since I was here last to say the least.

    I agree with Woohoo.

    “yet, agreeing that this life is analog, the One aspired to is Black and White…”

    Mhmm…

    Bass –
    This is not to give him an unneeded excuse, but the reason his return comment’s are so scattered and perhaps sound somewhat inconsistant as you put it, is because he is working very hard, at a job he really doesn’t like very much, to pay for things which are pretty much his own fault.

    Now the reason I thought I would point this out, is that you would know how challenging it is to find time to yourself when your working hard trying to pay bills and never seeming to get ahead.

    So likewise you should know that there is always a reason for a person’s actions, and his actions, in the “inconsistancy” is that he just does not have time. He can’t be at work and on the computer at home at the same time… it’s just impossible. So whenever he does get on, he always has to play “catch up”. And… somtimes when he does, he doesnt always catch the entire picture. (I believe that he comprehends what he is reading on each individual site, but that perhaps in functioning on such a scattered state of mind lately that his comment’s on this and that post, somehow don’t measure up to his previous comment’s.)

    Now… I realize he has explained to his readers that he is working, but I don’t think that they really honestly realize how thin he has spread himself.
    I could always just be misreading, but I think I’m picking up the right signols here.

    As for how irrelevant it is weather or not I meant for everyone to read that comment’… I believe it’s relevant, because quite honestly I don’t think that you need to read my personal conversation with him. But… since I had forgotten about private messaging until after I had posted that and come back again – there was nothing I could have done short of asking him to delete it, which wouldn’t have happend for awhile I’m sure. So… although it may be irrelevant to you… it wasn’t to me.

    And… again, back to the responces to me and Jill… they make perfect sense if you look at them correctly. Just need to put on the right colored glasses.

    And… as to keeping my comment’s to myself. I wouldn’t be. I wasn’t clear in this, but what I meant to explain to you by that comment about keeping my statment’s to myself, was that I don’t like to put stuff up on public forums like this because especially when it is on something like this (subject) there are always many people who have a differant idea, and in the past I have ran across people who wouldn’t leave the “fight” in one site, they drag it all over xanga. Now this… seems to be a more civilized debate. So I suppose it didn’t hurt anything to speak my mind for once. What I try to avoid in not saying anything about whatever subject is being debated is so that I won’t have someone coming into my site, fighting with me, and getting my mother riled.
    Because… in case you aren’t aware of this, there is no wrath like that of a mother bear when her cub is in danger. And trust me on this, my mother is very similar to a black bear. Generally harmless, unless it seems apparent that you will do her (or her cub) harm, after which she will do her best to get rid of that threat.

    Honestly speaking though, there are actually several ways to aproach this debate – I could come on like a house a-fire, pushing my idea’s onto you, or I could be more like a slow burning lamp, slowly and methodickly proving my point’s.

    The annology meaning, both give light, but one actually achieves the goal of providing light, and the other merely burns the house down, probably doing more harm then good.

    As far as I am aware, Tomas hasn’t commented on my comment’s… so that last line,  “In other words, he thinks that your statement, hasty or not, means that you’re insecure.”  Has me confused.

    Regardless of all of this, I’m tiring of this game.

    Later

  • I allowed for the possibility that he just has not had time to respond in my original statement.

    As for the relevance, it’s only relevant because the lack of privacy allowed someone else to comment on it. His response should be consistent regardless.

    ProfessorTom has commented on your comment, though he did it before you wrote it. In the original post, he said “If you have to brag and constantly remind people of what you do and do not have, you don’t have it and are very insecure.” That applies to your comment. Unless he regularly practices inconsistency of beliefs, then it’s not a stretch to apply his general statement to your specific statement.

  • Yes I’m aware of that comment Bass. I’ve been in on this from almost the beginning… as far as I’m aware.

    But my point being that if I had been able to comment him privately, there would be no way for you to know if he was commenting us equally.

    *rolls my eyes* This is like discussing something with my 12 yr old brother. He is a pig headed guy who won’t listen to the rest of the story only seeing his side. Generally being proven wrong, or partially wrong.

    I will admit without much problem, that I am that way more then I am open minded because I tend to be self rightous at times. But, I also believe that although I may not be able to explain my belief’s and understanding so that you or anyone else can see my point of view – I try to make my views as right as possible. Searching down fact’s if nessisary to prove myself right or wrong. Just for the pure “adventure” of it.

    should say more but I don’t want to. Bye leaving now.

  • Hey Tom,

    I really wish Xanga had a better way to reply to comments that were left, I’ll just reply to the comment you left in my blog here.

    First off, it’s true, “there isn’t a lot of deep subject matter on Xanga” – which is why I left Xanga for LiveJournal over a year. I met a few cool people here, but most have either quit blogging altogether or moved to LiveJournal too and I was just discouraged by the number of idiots on Xanga. A few months back I started copying my LiveJournal entries here because with the WYSIWYG editor it’s so easy to doso, so this Xanga journal is now just a mirror of all my public LiveJournal entries.

    So, if you want deeper, more intelligent posts, I highly recommend hopping over to LiveJournal and making an account, if only so you can read the posts of people and communities over there.

    Oh and which site did you send your friend to? It’s bad timing to send him to PrincessLeia.com – the RAID array in that server is being redone so the websites are offline right now.

  • Dearest Princess – My soulmate I have found at last! Yes, yes, and…well, yes. Of course you love lj’s threaded comments. Not jumping here and there like a rabbit on crack trying to follow a thread across multiple blogs. Oh the many times I’ve asked him to just stop this madness – the insanity! And come over with us. The threaded comments alone are worth it ;)

  • Well – this is embarrassing. Apparently after I posted – I saw the word RAID in your last line and clicked your link. I’m going to assume that it was I he sent your link to. Nice to meet you! And I’m on lj as well: http://ehowton.livejournal.com I only use this account to harass Tomas.

  • [What I'm about to say is reason 88 that xanga is gay]

    In reply to your comment on my site which was in reply to my comment on Dan’s site:

    [end gayness]

    You are looking at that statement from a completely adolescent point of view. I must admit, that thought had never occured to me before. It is, I suppose, the reason you may be right. HOWEVER (and mark my words here, dear boy) I know myself so very well through the maturity of experiences, THAT SCENARIO WOULD NEVER APPLY TO ME. So you go right ahead and play ‘Ruprect the Monkey Boy’ if it would make you seem cool. I assure you I would have no part of that.

    Thank you for your comment.

  • Aww…. It’s ok, Theologians hates me. Dan blocked me :/

  • *comments you just to make the comment metor click over to 20* Haha. Gotta luv meh.

  • you aren’t a flirt?  that’s a good one.

  • “Any man who says he is an American, but something else also, isn’t an American at all.”

    –Theodore Roosevelt

  • All hail you. No more be said.

  • Jill is a wonderful person.

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