WilliamPitt...Salute to DU'ers... (Dragged Kicking & Screaming from Archives)...

[KoKo]

I missed this when it was first posted...and maybe other DU'ers did also who might have had an interest...so I dragged it out. Hope this works...and it can stay up there..

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WilliamPitt Thu Nov-12-09 11:09 AM

Just realized I haven't done one of these in a while......and it's long overdue and monumentally deserved.(and no, I'm not announcing that I'm leaving DU)


(assholes)

( ;) ;) ;) )

I came to DU in May of 2001, which means I will be celebrating my 9-year anniversary as a member of this forum in six months. Insane, right?

Like every long-time poster here, I've seen it all. I've been part of the problem sometimes, part of the solution sometimes, and an increasingly informed and motivated bystander in between. This place motivated me to begin the first real, serious political action of my life. I'd worked on campaigns here and there before, stayed as informed as possible, always voted, and gone to the occasional protest, but it wasn't until I met Matcom and several others in the aftermath of 9/11 here that I really rolled up my sleeves and pitched in. I will go to my grave believing we made a difference, and our reports of the actions we took spawned other groups of DUers from all over the country to go out and do the same.

I researched three books and countless articles here. I've met some of the best people I've ever known, and have gotten involved and informed in more ways than ever could have been possible had I not come to this place in May of 2001. DU changed my life, made me a better person, and more importantly, a better citizen of this country and the world.

I'm sure pretty much of you, long-timers and newbies and everyone in between, could share a similar story about this place.

And that is entirely entirely entirely due to the tireless efforts of Skinner, EarlG, Elad, and all the Moderators past and present. Beginning with that dark January day in 2001 when they first unfurled that DemocraticUnderground.com banner along George W. Bush's inaugural route, the Admins and Moderators have worked so hard to make this place what it is. I am sure they feel like schoolmarms locked into a giant classroom with 50,000 demented children sometimes, but they've always been there for this place and for us. Yeah, this joint is batshit crazy, but it's our batshit crazy, and that is all because of them.

Given the mood and mayhem of this place lately, I think it is safe to assume none of the Admins or Mods are having a festive time of it holding this place together. So if you have a story about what DU means to and for you, share it here as a well-deserved thanks to the ones who are always here, making this place better, and keeping the lid on.

Thank you, folks. From my heart.

:toast:

:hug:

LOTS OF LEGACY DU'ERS on that post...worth a revisit for those of us who missed it, who have been around here awhile who might have wanted to read it.

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=389&topic_id=6998966&mesg_id=6998966

[havocmom]

1. Thanks KoKo. I needed that just now

:cry:

[KoKo]

2. Lot's of us missed it and would have wanted to "chime in."

Why are you crying? I hope nothing has happened to you... Sheesh...so much bad stuff going on with everyone these days...:hug: for whatever it is...

[havocmom]

5. Just heard someone I cared a lot about, admired, respected, leaned on passed away

Not unexpected, and I am glad pain is over for her, but damn, I am a sad little girl tonight

[Cleita]

3. Hi KoKo and I understand how you feel.

I do appreciate everything the administrators and mods do. I hope they don't give up, although I'm sure it gets hard at times. You and I have both been here for a long while as well. I am thinking of taking a break, not because of DU, but because the politics and the big pirate ship that is Washington, D. C. is souring me off. I need to shut myself away from it for awhile, do some knitting and gardening and do a lot of thinking.

[KoKo]

7. I know what you say. Some breaks are a refresher...

and healthy. I took some breaks this Fall was worried my psyche was getting sick from all the bad news...and couldn't stand the fighting.

Hoping the next year will be a better one for all of us...:hug: And, if it isn't knitting, sewing, woods walking or exercycles and cooking...all good things that many of us have put back aways. Reading, knitting...just sitting and not thinking about anything but staring out of the window as clouds roll by ...finding shapes.

We do what we can do and when we can't ...gotta pull back...gotta remind myself of that, too much.

[mzmolly]

13. Yes indeed.

Breaks are needed. I'm in need of one now. :hi:

[Aristus]

4. Thank you, Koko. Thank you, WilliamPitt. And thank you, Admins.

I too, am a long-timer. I registered on DU the week after September 11th, 2001. I had been lurking since March of that year. Since December 12th of the year before, I had been in despair. I felt alone, lonely, and utterly convinced that America's best years were behind us, and the worst days were ahead. I was proved right by 9-11, but by that time, I knew I was not alone in my grief over an America lost and adrift. An America seemingly comfortable with the idea of a clownish, buffoonish ne'er-do-well with no intelligence, no curiosity and no accomplishment becoming President. The Democratic Underground helped me keep my sanity throughout the dark, miserable eight years that followed. DU kept me informed, introduced me to some wonderful, warm, friendly, and staggeringly gifted people, and gave me a safe haven to come to when the funhouse-mirror version of America got to be too much to deal with.

I owe everything to the Democratic Underground.

And I love you all...


Liberal till I DIE, motherfuckers! :headbang:

[applegrove]

6. Thanks for posting.

[phasma ex machina]

8. K&R

[WilliamPitt]

9. Old Lefty Lawyer/Tangerine

:(

:hug:

[Oilwellian]

10. I was there with Will & other DU'ers

It was the first DC protest against the Iraq war before it even began. Will, Matcom, KHepra, Mike & Kathy Malloy, and many other fine, early DU'ers gathered to participate in what quickly became a worldwide effort to stop the illegal war. It's unfortunate to see the teabaggers get more press time than the millions of people who protested against Bush's plans. I will always be proud to have stood next to those veteran DU'ers in the early days. I still see many here, fighting the good fight.
:grouphug:

[mzmolly]

11. 2003

is the year I joined. I can't believe it's been six years? I told myself I'd get back to life when Obama won. Ha!

I do believe my being a fan of Will Pitt is what brought me to DU initially? That said, I've had run ins with many interesting people here. Famed Hollywood producers have corrected my spelling on these very boards! ;) I, like others have conversed with Elizabeth Edwards, unbeknownst to me at the time. I was sued for posting a Youtube video (made by another person) and recapping the content. I witnessed the election of the first Black President of the United States with fellow DU-ers.

DU has brought out the best and the worst in many. Myself included. :blush: Thank goodness for the mods who clean up after our collective tantrums. After six years, I'm still trying to learn how to navigate DU and maintain my dignity in all conversations. Tips are appreciated!

Interesting times, these... loaded with both great hope and immense stress.

As for what DU means to me, I have a love hate relationship with this place. Everything in moderation as they say.

/incoherent ramble. :freak:

[David Zephyr]

12. I missed this the first time around. Thanks for posting it. I've been here since early 01, too.

And William was here before me. I know because I lurked and read his OP's.