Please, people, stop a moment, breathe deeply, and think

[Mairead]

How would you feel if you were Andy right now? Would you feel good about all the drama here? If you were already feeling physically sick and depressed--which Andy doubtless is right now--how would all the backbiting make you feel? Would you maybe start wishing you'd never said anything and just taken your chances? What kind of relationship would you anticipate having in future with people who are acting as though they've in some obscure way bought a piece of you and you owe them? Would you even want to come back here? Would you even want to live?

Here's someone whom everyone's been praising to the skies around here for years for his political work who is suddenly being treated as tho he's been caught sneaking out of town with the cash he bilked out of the widows and orphans, twirling his Snidely Whiplash moustache. Where's everyone's sense of proportion gone?

Do think about it. Please?

[Avalux]

1. I never got involved in the first place

and I'm glad I didn't. This forum was no place for such things, period.

[Taxloss]

3. Ditto.

[housewolf]

2. Thanks for helping to settle things down

It's amazing how quickly a storm gathers and spirals out of control

[NoSheep]

4. Stayed out of it. Too poor to help. Too "in the dark" to judge.

[Q3JR4]

5. .....

I still have no idea what the 'ell was going on and from the sound of it I don't really WANT to know.

[OldLeftieLawyer]

6. Soap opera

If I wanted that, there are all these TVs around here.

It's human nature, though, to stir up drama. It's always amusing.

[Tinoire]

7. I would not feel good and would be whittling my list of "friends"

as we speak. Andy does not deserve to have his situation turned into a circus. NOT without a damn better reason than the ones that were insinuated.

I hope he comes back here. Andy is a long-time DUer who has done a lot for this community. Just because people give you a financial hand gives them NO right to turn your personal situation into their circus and to demand private records.

You either trust people or you don't and if you don't, you don't send them money.

Rarely have I seen such a disgraceful spectacle in my life.


On edit- Here's a huge hug to Andy :hug: with a request that he not pay any attention to this nonesense.

[bicentennial_baby]

9. again, j'adore tinoire!

Mon amie, je t'aime beaucoup.

"You either trust people or you don't and if you don't, you don't send them money.

Rarely have I seen such a disgraceful spectacle in my life."

Agreed and agreed.

[Tinoire]

16. Je t'adore aussi et tu le sais :)

Hoping all is well with you mon amie.

You know, ton francais s'ameliore chaque fois qu'on se parle! Kudos to you! BB, I really hope we get to meet one day!

Peace to you,
La paix au monde!

Bisous :)

[Just Me]

10. I have always believed true gifts come without strings, egos or

,...expectations.

I simply cannot figure any other motive other than strings, egos or expectations which undermine and smear the art of true giving.

The spectacle proves that we should frequently take a hard look at ourselves.

[Tinoire]

17. That's the way I look at it too

:shrug:

Giving is great but if you give, give wholeheartedly.

It's like the money I give to the homeless. I am SO tired of hearing people tell me that he/she is just going to drink that money. SO WHAT? Who died and made us God? Our job is just to care and to be there for each other. A gift of money is not a purchase.

For the record, the person demanding an explanation did me an incredible kindness one day when I couldn't drive home. What a complicated world. :sigh:

[Green Mountain Dem]

8. What a waste....

of my 500th post as DU approaches a membership of 70,000 members. I am so torn over the Andy issue and the negative posts today in the now locked thread. How can we be so divided on an issue that involves helping a fellow human being, regardless of the circumstances? My sig line pretty much sums up how I live my life, but I now have real concerns about the benefits of being a member of this community. I hate this feeling, and I thought we were a community of compassionate people willing to go the extra mile when giving the benefit of the doubt.

Today, I experienced what it must be like to be a member of freerepublic, with all the animosity and vitriol that is their trademark. I never thought I would experience it here and I will probably be banned for stating it now. So be it... I look to DU for the sharing of democratic ideals and goals, sadly today, I saw the opposite.

I will step back, take a deep breath, and maybe explore alternatives to DU that make me feel better in this troubled world.

[Bluebear]

11. Oh please don't leave over this

You can't get 70,000 people to agree on one topic no matter how noble. It is an internet message board, after all. Be distressed over particular posts but don't 'leave' over this.

[grasswire]

14. too true...

..I've never seen a fundraising event on the Internet that didn't bring division in a group, whether it was Bartcop raising money for Julie Hiatt Steele or even a group getting together to send flowers to someone in Washington. It's the faceless nature of this medium of communication, I'm afraid.

[Bluerthanblue]

20. PLEASE remember-

the hostility that 'is' the 'geez i can hardly say this'- UNITED states of America cannot help but effect every single one of us in some way- misplaced anger and distrust often shows up in the worst places- the places where people should be treated and accepted as 'family'-

i see this whole mess, as a CANCER that this administration has spread to the world- and we all need to 'check' ourselves- and ask, 'why am i so distressed, dis-trustful,? and what REALLY matters in the 'big' scheme called life-

i sincerly understand- but i'm trying hard to be in control of my OWN mind- not be manipulated, used or changed (subconsdiously) by forces from without-

[FinallyStartingToWin]

12. This Whirlwind Issue Will Never Die Down If

People keep posting righteous sounding threads on it.

Ya want the drama to go away? Ignore the bait threads and hold firm to your beliefs.

For example, a few weeks ago someone was telling me about how dramatic an episode of one of these reality shows was. They said "you don't believe how tense it got, all the drama, I felt so wrapped up in it!"

But ya know what? I didn't. Wanna know why? I didn't watch the damn show.

[Doctor_J]

13. WTF are you talking about?

Please clue us in

[Shrek]

15. Here

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=104&topic_id=3672828&mesg_id=3672828

[noiretextatique]

18. well said, and nuff said

no one deserves all this b.s., especially someone who is facing a major health challenge.

[Goldmund]

19. Skinner will lock this.

No Andy Stephenson threads, that's the new rule (TM).

Otherwise, I'd have a few things to say about what you wrote.

[Malva Zebrina]

21. I think that true

the so called circus was not created by the majority ot DU'ers, imo. It was initiated, sexed up and promoted by hysterical fund raisers, who in their zeal, were quite cruel to those who had legitimate questions.

I have reached the point where I think that the only thing that can clear this up to the satisfaction of all, and in a logical manner bereft of opinion and hysteria and magical thinking, is legal intervention.

Only then, imo, can the facts, as defined in legal chambers, be presented--not with hysteria--not with emotion, but backed up by real evidence.

In order to supply the evidence that what we were presented with in a willy nilly emotional and convoluted presentation, some legal challenge must be initiated. We are entitled to that and those who initiated this have a responsibility to do so. The onus is upon them and no one else.

That is the ONLY way this issue can be set to rest. This sorry situation is NOT the fault of anyone else but those who decided to do this on a public forum and subsequently raised questions because of their inept handling of information.

[Goldmund]

22. You may be right.

Whether or not you believe that everything about the fund-raiser was on the up-and-up (can't believe I just used that cheesy-ass expression), the fact is that the "circus", the animosity, the hostility, the paranoia will not end until somebody gets to the bottom of this.

Even if I thought that Skinner or Will had that power -- which I don't think they do -- it isn't their responsibility to get to the bottom of this. Skinner merely allowed others to raise funds on his board, and Will trusted a friend just like I would have, or, presumably, you would have.

So the only remaining option I can think of is the one you're suggesting.

This is the last I'm saying about it until there is some kind of movement in a constructive direction.

[Moderator]

23. Locking

See pinned notice at head of the forum