Cracker by Damian Christie

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Cracker: Flashback

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  • Riddley Walker,

    yeah except now i see Deborah has signed off :(

    AKL • Since Feb 2007 • 890 posts Report Reply

  • merc,

    R. re Che, yeah I know, he's the insurgent's insurgent, him and that Hamishm, but you know, everyday above ground is a good day. What is funny is how they pictured me on Che's blog, I freakin' loved it, not only am I insecure regarding Asoc.Profs I have always had this goombah other personna, which cracks up my Part Italian Partner (PIP not her name), indeed her Grandfather was Garibaldi's bodyguard, Cherman's and Italians, it's all about the shoes, all.
    BTW, could thread creep be called SCREAP.

    Since Dec 2006 • 2471 posts Report Reply

  • merc,

    Deborah, come back or The System Has Failed.
    R. By way of explanation Goombah

    Since Dec 2006 • 2471 posts Report Reply

  • Riddley Walker,

    just read the rest of object dart. nice pun that. i don't especially see you as that at all, in fact the tash is slightly surprising. and i took the moniker as a reference to soldier of fortune, not a car.
    i do quite like the goombah word and style though. reminds me of spag westerns.
    and yes for chermans and italians, and andy warhola, it's all about the chouxs.

    AKL • Since Feb 2007 • 890 posts Report Reply

  • Rob Stowell,

    Ditto re: sadness about Deborah. Cue the final curtain. Darkness in the th*ar*e.

    Whakaraupo • Since Nov 2006 • 2120 posts Report Reply

  • Riddley Walker,

    yes, it's not meant to be a dark theatre.

    AKL • Since Feb 2007 • 890 posts Report Reply

  • hamishm,

    That is a bad outcome. I hope she reconsiders because it is a good place that Bishop Brown of the All- Seeing Carpet Slippers, has made.

    As for being an insurance gent, I would put a low premium on that.

    Since Nov 2006 • 357 posts Report Reply

  • merc,

    The 'tash was a beard thing, I shapeshift regularly of course, no one recognises me but I see them, it is evil but necessary. Besides I fully recommend exercising all the personna's you got, really...
    The road of excess leads to the palace of wisdom, Blake.
    I have been thinking (not like Prebble) about Deborah and Craig. I was going to pull from PAS in support, but I feel that Deborah should stay and meet Craig on her terms. I would like to say that I will support her in this because, I have read all Craigs posts and then some on other blogs, I note a distinct pattern. I don't think he fully appreciates his impact, I did not like his "apology" post I agree with all that Malcom said, I disagree with RB stopping the thread. RB seems to have a blind spot when it comes to Craigs more vituperative postings, RB; it is not robust and it does verge on cyber-bullying, in my opinion.
    Seeing as Craig has blankly refused to hold himself up to account for some very oblique, threatening behaviour, I will not read anything he posts from here on.

    Since Dec 2006 • 2471 posts Report Reply

  • Riddley Walker,

    i sprout and go all talibany, then shave, then do it again. i like not recognizing myself in the mirror after a shave.

    i thought about pulling out too. i would like to see Deborah back. i like her elegant gravytar. i regretted posting what i did on that thread just before RB called closed; i hope it didn't contribute to her going, i certainly didn't mean it to, quite the opposite. he is vituperative. not a problem in itself but it seems a little too consistent and unleavened to be welcomed. i could go on but i don't feel free to, which is probably just as well; the inability to properly apologise however is a revealing weakness.
    as it stands there is now a pall about the place. i hope the trade proves worth it for PA.

    AKL • Since Feb 2007 • 890 posts Report Reply

  • Riddley Walker,

    i bet you wouldn't know me from yourself is nice.

    AKL • Since Feb 2007 • 890 posts Report Reply

  • merc,

    I think you're too hard on yourself, I thought your post was well intended and in no way would have lead to The Closing. You know, 1000's of people read your posts and I've always found them to be insightful and considered.
    I have posted a photo for you, it's of the cave below the turfed out Terns and the secretive Gannets, did it in 2003 (sigh), and can you see the hidden face?
    How does this fit in with the thread? Well I too have been got at by Craig on NRT and I kind of placated him then, then I thought to myself, never operate from fear, always try to give more of yourself, maybe this will reduce fear in the world, it's my Beauty Pageant Speech, meh.
    That's why I post stuff that I've created.

    Since Dec 2006 • 2471 posts Report Reply

  • merc,

    Sheesh, you're quick, thanks for that. I had to surf through that cave once, or be pinned under the Gannet cliff...

    Since Dec 2006 • 2471 posts Report Reply

  • Riddley Walker,

    interesting to hear that. he's the only person i ever felt threatened me on here, not that i felt threatened.

    didn't see the face the first time but yes now i see. surfing through it would be a dag. being stuck under a gannet colony would be daggier though.

    sadness is not the opposite of happiness. fear is the opposite of happiness. your modus operandi is a good one me thinks.

    now off to be human.

    AKL • Since Feb 2007 • 890 posts Report Reply

  • hamishm,

    merc, I like the cave. I think surfing through it would be another story in the "Injuries" thread tho'. I realise that this might not mean much as I could write my knowledge of poetry on a stamp however I think your stuff is very good.

    Riddley, O shaven Guinea pig I do not think that your post would have made any difference as leaving a forum is usually a cumulative result (take it from one who's left a forum after near 2,000 posts). It is sad however and I really hope that D comes back.

    Since Nov 2006 • 357 posts Report Reply

  • Sue,

    Damian

    can i suggest citronella as a cat teaching mechanism.
    cats and dogs hate it but it does them no harm, so if you get woken at 4am you spray a little citronella and maybe it will stop.

    Of course if i was you I'd just ask miles for cat help, he is rather a cat whisperer

    Wellington • Since Nov 2006 • 527 posts Report Reply

  • Russell Brown,

    I agree with all that Malcom said, I disagree with RB stopping the thread. RB seems to have a blind spot when it comes to Craigs more vituperative postings, RB; it is not robust and it does verge on cyber-bullying, in my opinion

    Sigh ... I stopped the thread because David Slack rang up and asked if there was any way of stopping it, because the issue seemed to have been settled and Malcolm was being inflammatory and provocative and stirring it all up again. And that seemed to be what people wanted. But that intervention hasn't gone down well with some people, which I fear will be the case any time I do something like that. My opinion on Tze Ming's recent thread copped at least one angry response.

    The Compromise thread unfolded over the weekend, while I was taking a break from reading the site, and the dispute had got some way by the time I caught up. So I had to work out what I thought, and say it.

    Go back and read it again: it's a really pointless scrap. Deborah did imply that Craig was being sexist when it's clear to me that wasn't his intention (the original line ended in a smiley, remember). It could have stopped right there on page 8 if Craig had just said no, you've missed my point. But he felt attacked, in part because Danyl had had a crack at him. Then Deborah posted again.

    Craig responded to them both:

    Now, Deborah and Darryl, do you think I really need to put sarcasm tags around every damn thing or can I assume PA readers are smart enough to not require spoon-feeding?

    Tart, but not bullying, I think. Could have stopped there too. But no, Deborah had to imply, again, that he was sexist. Craig makes a lively put perfectly reasonable reply to a post about Brian Tamaki by Hadyn. Could have stopped there.

    But now Craig's seen Deborah's third post. Explains himself again then - uh-oh! - says "and if you just don't get it, that says much more about you than me. I don't appreciate being belittled, illegitimately, as a sexist arsehole."

    Here we go: Page 8 where Riddley suggests that it's Craig that's rude and Craig responds with that stupid "reading disability" crack in a reply , which might have passed right by people more used to Craig's rhetorical style - but was was rude and worthy of an apology.

    Heather chips in to say she's find the conversation "weird" and correctly interprets Craig's point. Page ends with Craig, again responding to Riddley: "I also do try and pay people the courtesy of not ripping what they say so far out of context - or just making shit up - it verges on psychosis."

    Then Malcom arrives and starts needling Craig.

    Heather calls theatre. Che calls theatre. Another page or two. 3410 responds to Malcolm, stands up for Craig, says people should waste less time scrapping and be "a bit more forgiving of slips of the tongue". Could have ended there.

    Deborah comes back with a very unhappy post, and while she has every right to state her feelings, I think she did exaggerate when she said this: "So I had been told that I couldn't get a joke, that I am stupid, I am sexist, I have a reading disability, that I had made up shit, and that perhaps I was suffering from some sort of psychosis." I just don't think that's what was said, and some of it was in response to other (male) people Craig was responding to.

    But she has taken it personally and she's obviously really upset and several people are very supportive, which is good. Deborah says she feels better and "Can we go back to the silly jokes now?" Most be over now.

    There's some more discussion, including a useful post by Span. 3410 explains several times that he was responding to the newbie, not being unsupportive of Deborah.

    Deborah says: "And everyone, I know I made an issue out of it all, with reason, but nevertheless, let's remember that Craig is a very brave man." Not sure what this means.

    And then I possibly blow it by trying to give my perspective on the dispute. Craig, who has been steering clear of the thread to try and let it calm down, comes back in at my request and writes a sincere response to Deborah that could have been more like an apology, but is understood and accepted by Deborah who suggests it is time to move on.

    It must be settled now!

    And then ... it's our new friend Malcolm, employing the only tone he has demonstrated so far in these forums: a sneer - directed at Public Address. He then makes a pointlessly inflammatory paragraph out of every rough word written by Craig over pages and pages. And then, when regular posters are trying to tidy up and move on, he comes back for another go, ignoring Che's request to lay off, he writes yet another post which is largely about Malcolm.

    And he's not finished yet. Che again suggests the respective parties have sorted it out, and Malcolm responds with a lecture about "the type of public space this blog wants to be."

    I'll tell you Malcolm. It wants to be the kind of space where, ideally, adult members of its community are able to sort out their differences and move on. At some level, for the sake of my sanity, it needs to be that.

    I was surprised when Deborah emailed me to say she was leaving and I hope I can change her mind. But this has all been fairly taxing.

    I'm thinking of a collaborative culture guide for this sort of thing. If someone has misinterpreted you, say "not what I meant", don't get off your bleedin' bike. If someone says you've misinterpreted them, take them at their word. If you take personal offence at something someone says, say promptly and plainly that you're offended. That sort of thing ...

    Auckland • Since Nov 2006 • 22850 posts Report Reply

  • Riddley Walker,

    it can't be easy being the meat in the sandwich sometimes. thanks for writing that Russell.

    AKL • Since Feb 2007 • 890 posts Report Reply

  • Malcolm,

    Gee, Russell. I’m kind of amazed that you are willing to label me inflammatory, provocative, needling, sneering, saying pointless things and imply that I’m self-absorbed. Nobody else comes in for this heavy use of negative adjectives, despite their behaviour, just your ‘new friend’. Yet I couldn’t see any effort on your part to take my arguments seriously, or to recognise that I was genuinely standing up for a principle. Or that a number of people agreed with me, and some were empowered to express apparently long-held concerns.

    Fine, I’ll consider myself appropriately tarred, feathered and run out of town.

    Since Apr 2007 • 69 posts Report Reply

  • Russell Brown,

    Gee, Russell. I’m kind of amazed that you are willing to label me inflammatory, provocative, needling, sneering, saying pointless things and imply that I’m self-absorbed. Nobody else comes in for this heavy use of negative adjectives, despite their behaviour, just your ‘new friend’. Yet I couldn’t see any effort on your part to take my arguments seriously, or to recognise that I was genuinely standing up for a principle. Or that a number of people agreed with me, and some were empowered to express apparently long-held concerns.

    Fine, I’ll consider myself appropriately tarred, feathered and run out of town.

    Nice job of making it all about you, Malcolm. Yes, I did find your approach sneering and provocative. Doing this thing requires a considerable investment of mental and emotional energy and I don't claim to get everything right. Be assured that I try.

    Auckland • Since Nov 2006 • 22850 posts Report Reply

  • merc,

    R. to be human is all that we can attempt to do.
    Hamishm. thanks, that means alot to me, I don't know much about poetry either, I just live it.
    RB. phew great stuff, you have put alot of effort and thought in there and that's why I trust your judgement on these things.
    Malcolm, you do make some good points of principle, I don't think you've been tarred and feathered though, so don't leave town just yet, remember if you stand for your principles, you can't leave town.
    Deborah, likewise, it is your choice to stand or depart and I respect that, but I feel with RB's very detailed summary here, there is a case for reconsidering your departure.
    Craig, I'm going to start reading your posts again, because they are valid and,

    Everything that irritates us about others can lead us to a better understanding of ourselves. Jung

    .
    I'm pulling your leg there a bit.

    Since Dec 2006 • 2471 posts Report Reply

  • merc,

    Oh and Hamish, I'm holding back on the injury thread because well, no one would believe me. From the cave exit though thank goodness just a split finger on a mussel spat covered rock, that time lucky, other times not so.

    Since Dec 2006 • 2471 posts Report Reply

  • Malcolm,

    Oh, great. Another ad hominen attack.

    On the other hand, thank you Merc. However, it's pretty clear that I don't fit in around here.

    Since Apr 2007 • 69 posts Report Reply

  • merc,

    That's why you should consider staying, I don't fit in to alot of places either, trust me, but I have learned alot by sticking round.

    Since Dec 2006 • 2471 posts Report Reply

  • Riddley Walker,

    thanks for your kind words yesterday m and E.

    Spag Monster, Mercman Speak Truth - you should stay around. regardless of the justice of the matter, i think we'd all benefit if you did. besides, you should always quit mountain climbing at the top of the mountain, not the foot hills.
    it'll pass and then there will be better stuff that'll make it more worthwhile.

    AKL • Since Feb 2007 • 890 posts Report Reply

  • Russell Brown,

    it'll pass and then there will be better stuff that'll make it more worthwhile.

    I think so. I've had many upsetting moments in (gak!) 13 years of online discussions, but each one is just a discussion thread. There'll be another one tomorrow.

    Malcolm, it wasn't an ad hominen attack, just me voicing my feelings, but I can't stop you seeing it that way.

    It'd be everyone's loss if Deborah stays away, and I've personally asked her to reconsider, as well as apologising for getting it a bit wrong in my handling of the matter.

    I've also just knocked out 800 words on Monte Holcroft in under an hour. Now that's blogging. Please discuss.

    Auckland • Since Nov 2006 • 22850 posts Report Reply

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