I just found the words to describe how I feel

[grace0418]

I don't know about you all, but high school was a nightmare for me. I was a poor kid living in a rich town, and I was that fatal combination of smart, shy, chubby and not fashionably dressed (partially because I couldn't afford it, partially because I was a punk-rock girl). I was constantly horrified by how awful people were in high school. They were mean and self-centered, they ridiculed and excluded anyone who didn't look/act/think exactly like them, and they were incredibly, shockingly stupid. And yet THEY were the popular ones. They always had lots of friends around them and went to all the dances and parties.

Needless to say I couldn't wait to go to college, where I met so many amazing people and made many lifelong friends.

Well, I just realized that the last four years have been like being in high school all over again. Except the stupid, mean, selfish popular kids are running the country and, instead of making the nerds miserable, they're making our entire planet miserable. And today was like walking into my high school graduation ceremony only to find out that I have repeat the last four, horrible years all over again.

[ropi]

1. *hug*

SO REMEMBER THOSE WHO WIN THE GAME
LOSE THE LOVE THEY SOUGHT TO GAIN
IN DEBENTURES OF QUALITY AND DUBIOUS INTEGRITY
THEIR SMALL-TOWN EYES WILL GAPE AT YOU
IN DULL SURPRISE WHEN PAYMENT DUE
EXCEEDS ACCOUNTS RECEIVED AT SEVENTEEN


at seventeen --janis ian

edit:forgot to give credit where credit is due.

[grace0418]

5. Oh that song always got me

It felt like it was written for me.

[ropi]

11. the original post got me

i had to even listen to the song again.... and it's still playing

[DulceDecorum]

13. Meanwhile,

I go to concert, party, ball--
What profit is in these?
I sit alone against the wall
And strive to look at ease.

The incense that is mine by right
They burn before her shrine;
And that's because I'm seventeen
And She is forty-nine.
http://www.readbookonline.net/readOnLine/2761/

You'all just GOTTA read the last three verses of that thar poem.

[ibegurpard]

2. Take comfort in the fact

that there plenty of "smart, shy, chubby, and not fashinably dressed" people like yourself all over this country who feel the same way.
:hug:

[grace0418]

8. thanks for the hug

I need one.

[nothingshocksmeanymore]

3. Yeah that sums it up

the world is their bully pulpit.

BTW, I just wanted you to know I read many of your posts and enjoy them. :-)

[grace0418]

10. That's so nice thank you

You all here at DU have been my lifeline the past few months.

[Syrinx]

4. you are exactly correct

Bless you.

[NoodleBoy]

6. sounds alot like high school for me, too

and the good news is, this time, you're not alone.

[gardenista]

7. Yep. Our country is being run by the football team. nt

[LiberteToujours]

9. That is exactly it!

I hated high school, for the exact reasons that you described. That is exactly what this feels like. Wow. You nailed it.

[MatrixEscape]

12. That was a good expression of your feelings ...

Not a bad analogy either.

Unlike me, who had found the words to describe how I feel and then dropped them all on the floor like a clumsy oaf. Now I just have a chaotic pile of nouns, verbs, articles, and adjectives.

However, if I stare long enough at the gnarled, verbal mess, prophetic and arcane messages tend to appear.

[grace0418]

14. Wow, I'm glad that made sense

It was the one expression of my feelings that felt the truest right now. Thanks everyone for their kindness. I'm going to go hide in my locker until the bell rings.

[ropi]

15. oh no you're not

this time i aint taking it... i promised myself that no one is gonna hide in the locker again. it's safe to come out.

[grace0418]

16. You're right of course

I'm just so tired of being the underdog, you know? When do we get to be the... over... dog? Well, you know what I mean.

[ropi]

17. right now

we grew up in those times when the 'nerd' was on the outs..but it was the nerd..and the strange one...and the misfit..who informed music, art, and other cultural niches that could not be controlled. if we have to--let's unpack and drag out, and dust off those old messages that shocked them all the first time....

[GreenPoet64]

18. And doesn't Ann Coulter remind you of the proverbial high school

mean popular bully bitch?

[ropi]

20. yep...

:-)

[grace0418]

21. TOTALLY!

Maybe that's why I have such a viscerally negative reaction to her. Beside the fact that she's a total bitch from hell.

[ropi]

22. i have that reaction too

i think we need to do some art activism with ann coulter dolls. anyone know where i can get some in bulk?

[DemBones DemBones]

24. She's the fucking head cheerleader!

:puke:

[LittleClarkie]

19. That is it, that is exactly it

I felt that walking from my car to the party last night. The popular kids said something to me, something about how funny it was that our party was in the convention center and theirs was in the ritzy hotel. I didn't really catch it at the time, but I instinctively reacted to these cute litte teenage girls who were so pro-Bush, probably because their parents are.

I had that outsider in high school feeling too. "We're cute, we're winners, everyone is jealous of us because we're so popular."

But that attitude usually only works in high school. Once these people hit the real world, suddenly their life sucks. "You want fries with these?" And then you look at them and you wonder what was ever so special about them that they were able to lord it over you.

What is so special about Bush/Cheney. Nothing, I say. The Pointdexters shall win out in the end, I say. We shall out think them.

[flygal]

23. Well I personally LOVE hanging out with you BAND GEEKS!! LOL

[moondust]

25. Bushco is a high school melodrama.

High school antics revealing a high school immaturity in everything they do, taking no responsibility, appealing to a high school electorate much of which runs in exclusionary cliques. The carefully screened campaign rallies and loyalty oaths are good examples.

[regnaD kciN]

26. Wow...

I've been thinking exactly the same thing for some months now. The high school ruling clique that made life miserable for us has taken over again.

Beyond that, the entire country has begun to resemble high school, or at least the public high school where I spent 9th and 10th grade. There's the same strident anti-intellectualism, the same worship of strength (football players rule!), the same demands for mindless patriotism (school spirit!), the same stratification, the same willingess to look the other way at offensive behavior by those in the ruling groups. It's Dover-Sherborn all over again. :argh:

:-(

[Disturbed]

27. HS

It was so long ago that I rarely think about it but you brought a few memories back for me. I was a loner with a few other loners in HS. I loathed school spirit, never attended any games or other functions, except the Prom where I got sloppy drunk and left after about a half hour. I never did care about the popularity thing or paid attention to the "in" crowd. Hmm...maybe I am not so much different now. Haha

The Fascists that are now in power are vile and murderous so I am paying attention to their deeds. Amerika is going down a dark tunnel and I don't know if I will stay to experience the decline.

[grace0418]

28. You are so right

The anti-intellectualism was huge for me. I could never understand why someone would be willfully ignorant. Today that seems to be what everyone strives for, if you look at our entertainment industry (not to mention our government.)