Post here about some bad DU memories you have!

[Magrittes Pipe]

I remember when Andy Stephenson lay dying, and many here (even some who were once among his greatest supporters) thought the whole "cancer" thing was a fraud. And when some people -- nobody knows who, could have been FReepers, could have been DUers, managed to hold up his treatment.

That was worse that suck. That was just fucking evil.

[Rabrrrrrr]

1. When Khephra died. When Kamika was tombstoned.

[LeftyMom]

2. I can't possibly come up with anything worse than that. nt

[johnnie]

3. All that have passed on while I have been here was bad times

I stayed away from the Andy situation, but it was really sad to watch.

And not to start anything here, but the whole trashing of Truthout because of one story was embarrassing. It was the closest I ever came to leaving this place. Not so much that I was sticking up for Truthout, more because some people here were getting downright fucking stupid. There was no doubt a campaign to trash them.

[jpgray]

4. When Dookus got banned

:(

Oh and the loss of ATA. :cry:

[HEyHEY]

85. When Dookus was re-instated

Then banned again. :(

[Richardo]

5. The whole post-2004-election wailing and gnashing of teeth period.

I had to leave for 3 weeks.

[jpgray]

7. Good one--that was nuts

I would add the Reagasm--people pissing on his grave and people pissing on those who pissed on his grave and people pissing on those who pissed on those who pissed on his grave... took over like four different forums here. :crazy:

[Richardo]

8. Yeah, that one too.

:eyes:

[Nicholas D Wolfwood]

21. Yep - that blew. (nt)

[LostinVA]

52. Especially when gays were blamed for the loss -- ugh

[RevCheesehead]

6. That whole "fat actress" thing....

A major embarassment. All parties involved behaved shamefully.

[Cathyclysmic]

46. Fullheartedly Agree. Thanks!

[asthmaticeog]

9. There are many.

Sometimes enough to make me hope that I'm wrong and Karma actually exists.

[jpgray]

11. You're always wrong

:D

[asthmaticeog]

15. This statement is false.

Chew on that, snob. :P

[jpgray]

16. My brain just exploded

And I'm a -snot-. Wrong again!

[asthmaticeog]

19. Cubt.

[jpgray]

20. ...

:rofl:

[NNadir]

79. The times that people showed disrespect to Tom Cruise, Britteny Spears &

Angelina Jolie.

The scientology nutcase, the brainless navel and the viscious homebreaker are all people too.

[greatauntoftriplets]

10. My reaction to that was....

:mad:

I remember after Andy saw some of that, he called me in tears. He was so damn sick and scared of what was coming. As he should have been, in retrospect.

:cry:

Termite held a get-together for his friends back in July to commemorate Andy's death. It was well attended and the gathering celebrated Andy's life. I wish I could have been there.

[Cathyclysmic]

13. And a handful of those are still on here.

Insufferable bastards that they are...

[Cathyclysmic]

12. 1. The "tsunami was man-made" meme.

2. The Gannon is Johnny Gosch wrinkle threads.

[asthmaticeog]

24. Chemtrails.

:cry:

[Fleshdancer]

14. Andy is definitely the saddest DU story....

A few other bad times:

The start of the Iraq War
Hurricane Katrina
2004 Elections

[Sugar Smack]

17. Eagles lyrics.

:cry:

[asthmaticeog]

23. LOL

It wasn't just the lyrics, it was the incessant pity-whoring that always accompanied them.



I sincerely hope that guy figured some shit out, but I'm glad he stopped working it out here.

[Sugar Smack]

25. I hope so too.

That just got to be painful to watch.

[bicentennial_baby]

76. you fucking ROCKSTAR!!!

:rofl:

[Midlodemocrat]

18. whoisalhedges earworms. So bad, you'll cry for days.

[fudge stripe cookays]

86. Believe me.

The earworms aren't half as bad as the farts.

[Bunny]

22. Yeah, the Andy stuff was as bad as it gets.

It was my introduction into how nasty the internet world can get, and I was stunned. That is not hyperbole, either. A man's life was at stake and some people here were just astonishing ass-nozzles.

[Nicholas D Wolfwood]

26. I'll agree with the Andy thing, but in part only.

It was evil that some people made claims that the whole cancer thing was a fraud. Evil in nearly the highest degree imaginable.

However, I held then, and still hold today, that it was not unreasonable in any way, shape, or form for other DUers to be skeptical after hearing the false information. Most DUers have never met another DUer. To ask 100% faith in anything you can't vouch for whatsoever is completely unreasonable, and quite frankly, it's questionable as to why anyone would believe anything an anonymous person says over the Internet either way.

I never got to meet Andy, but I wasn't among those who believed the lies (I have had the good fortune of having met several of the DUers whom were involved in the distribution of information). Still I can't in good conscience blame someone for being skeptical about a possible scam over the internet. And I sure can't stand by and allow their villification.

Internet scams happen every day. That a freeper would prey upon this knowledge and fear to prevent a good, honest man from getting the help he needs is abhorable.

Now, I'm not sure you're claiming the people who believed the lies about Andy are evil or not. I do know that there were many at the time who did make such claims, so whether or not you fall into that category, the statement must be made.

[SOteric]

27. Quite reasonable, Vash. I see your point.

:thumbsup:

[Magrittes Pipe]

33. It's good to question your beliefs.

I'm talking more about those who spread the lies to begin with.

[Nicholas D Wolfwood]

38. I figured that was the case.

But it needed to be said, given what happened at the time.

[SOteric]

28. I don't want to get your thread locked, so I won't go into details.

But the day I had to fly this stands out as a sad one.

[Midlodemocrat]

29. .

:cry:

[jpgray]

31. No idea if it's what you mean or not, but DS1's banning hit me hard

I miss the witty, entertaining misanthropy. :patriot:

[bicentennial_baby]

35. me too

x(

[progmom]

37. me too

I really miss him around here.
And I resent the fact that some people tried to make him think I had a problem with him. I adore that guy.

[SOteric]

39. Yep, that's what I meant.

:patriot:

[Arugula Latte]

83. When did that happen?

I missed it.

[Sugar Smack]

32. .

:hug: :cry:

[Misunderestimator]

66. hear hear

:cry:

[bicentennial_baby]

30. Where to begin?

I've got a boatload...thanks to many people...sigh.

[RetroLounge]

34. The day Hedges posted himself full frontal nude

Oh, wait, that was on LU, not DU.

Either way, I still wake up screaming from the nightmares he's induced.

:cry:

RL

[asthmaticeog]

41. YOU'VE had nightmares?

I once sat in that chair, not realizing at first just which chair it was... :puke:

[RetroLounge]

43. OMG! Did you call in Hazmat?

:rofl:

RL

[Magrittes Pipe]

44. You carried it up the stairs with the seat in your face.

:thumbsup: :bounce:

[asthmaticeog]

47. Better than YOUR seat in my face.

Talk about "never again."

[bicentennial_baby]

58. You? On LU?

:o

How did I miss THAT? x(

[RetroLounge]

64. Oooh, you missed some nasty chatting at night.

and some good pictures...

:hi:

RL

[bicentennial_baby]

65. Holy crap!

I've left my mark there...hehe, yep. The good ol days :D

[eyesroll]

67. You think you're scared?

I thought I'd dumped it from my computer.

:scared:

[Magrittes Pipe]

73. You still HAVE it?

:o

[eyesroll]

82. Not anymore.

I'm not actually sure I even did have it...but I saw (clothed) pictures from that day in iPhoto and decided not to take any chances. That whole archive went bye-bye.

[progmom]

36. We saw the best and the worst of DU through Andy's illness.

I still am amazed at how we all got together, and many gave more than they could truly afford. There was this sense of kinship and urgency and outrage and love....I was so happy to call myself a DUer during that time.

And then the ugly rumors started, and unfortunately one we all look to for leadership jumped to some crazy conclusions and took a whole bunch of DUers with him down an ugly path. That was disappointing.

For the most part, I am really proud to consider myself a DUer. Every once in awhile there appears a thread or two that makes me realize, though, that being a liberal doesn't mean that you share my views on everything. Here's one that really stands out in my memory:

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_topic&forum=105&topic_id=3552493

[RevCheesehead]

40. One year ago today -

Hoping and praying that Merh, SwampRat, and so many others were safe. It isn't necessarily a bad memory, but it was frightening.

[progmom]

45. and Maddy McCall

you're right. that was a very frightening time.

[dolo amber]

42. That time Midlo said mean things to matcom and hurt his feelings

:cry:

[Midlodemocrat]

48. There was probably more than one time, IIRC.

:P

[XNASA]

49. A couple of years ago when everyone was allowed to change usernames.

I still haven't really recovered from that.

[Sugar Smack]

50. Thank God I missed that!

:D

[LostinVA]

51. The Great Ant-Semitic Flamefest, Summer 2006

[Midlodemocrat]

53. Whew. I'm with you. Brutal. The entire subject of the Middle East

was so filled with anger, it was just better to lurk rather than try to interject a rational thought. I saw sides of DUers that really shocked me.

[LostinVA]

54. I'm so happy it's back in the I/P forum

I tried to lurk, but couldn't.... ughughugh...

[philosophie_en_rose]

55. Reading about people interfering with Andy's treatment.

I never knew Andy in real life, and I understand skepticism or not being able to help. However, I just can't understand why anyone would go out of their way to interfere with his treatment. And then fail to regret their actions, when they were so obviously wrong.

[Sugar Smack]

56. Really scary suicide threads.

I would be thinking about the people who posted them for a long time afterward.

[ScreamingMeemie]

68. I still worry about Sweet Zomby Jesus, because his life was

getting really tough, and one day...he just didn't come back. :(

[Sugar Smack]

70. I remember anarchy1999 posting

some really scary threads, and then just disappearing.

[bicentennial_baby]

77. I miss him a lot...

x(

[sundog]

57. people throwing rocks through the windows of joy

:(

i was accused of all sorts of terrible things

[bicentennial_baby]

59. well, you're a terrible person baby

:P

:loveya:

[dolo amber]

61. Terrible like a fox...all the way to the bank

:thumbsup:

[buddhamama]

60. Khephra's passing

was the worst for me. The Andy thing was pretty bad too, poor guy. *sigh* i think i'm going to cry. no joke.


edited for spelling

[bicentennial_baby]

62. Yes

I was talking about Kheph today...I teared up bad...I miss him so much. :(

:hug:

[buddhamama]

63. yep...

i miss him too. :hug:

[ScreamingMeemie]

69. When I got out of the ICU and PassingFair told me about Keph...

:cry:

I don't think I'll ever forget how bad I felt.

On a personal scale (meaning me, the attention whore) losing some good friends over things that didn't even involve any of us... being accused of meaning something else with every post I make. Basically, being afraid to post because somebody will take it the wrong way. All in all it's been a very sad, juvenile year.

[LostinVA]

71. I still love you lots -- when you agree with me, that is

gigglegigglegiggle

[ScreamingMeemie]

72. heheheheehehehe...

Likewise! :hug:

[LostinVA]

80. giggle

:spank: :spank: :spank:

[progmom]

74. I don't think you should worry about being misunderstood

Some people took advantage of the infighting to get digs in at people they had been fighting with for a long time. That stuff had nothing to do with the three people directly involved, and it was difficult to see. As far as I am concerned, you got lumped in with that group unfairly.

And now, reading that back, it seems awfully confusing. But I am going to leave it - I think you understand what I mean. Bottom line - you're MrsGrumpy and you're a funny, caring person, and you should just be you.

[Misunderestimator]

75. ...

(edited... sending you a pm instead) :hug:

[rug]

78. The day the kudzu died.

[rbnyc]

81. Losing Kheph...

...and a very good friend having her feelings badly hurt.

:(

[leftofthedial]

84. The Oasis threads