no more ms. nice kellinator

[kellinator]

When I first got on LJ, I got in the habit of friending everyone who friended me. It seemed like the polite thing to do. I've pretty much kept that habit, and I've hardly ever made friends-list cuts because for the most part, I like my friends list. I don't really have time for it, but I like reading lots of different people, and I've gotten interested in your lives.

But for me, LJ is supposed to be fun. I do my thing, I read your things, I make friends, I'm here for the people. What I'm not here for is being told I'm wrong all the time. I post about the things that are important to me, which frequently include venting about politics. I make no secret about this, or how I feel about them. What you see is what you get. I generally don't go into other people's journals and tell them they're wrong. One, because I'm stubborn enough to know that you're not likely to change my mind, nor am I likely to change yours. Two, because lots of people seem to think arguing is fun. I'm not one of them. I'm fine with civil discussions of politics, including the stuff I post (what's the point of posting it if you don't want people to think about it?), but I'm sick of constantly being told I'm wrong just for the hell of it, especially just because people like playing devil's advocate. I especially find it obnoxious when someone on LJ tells me to "open [my] mind" on some political issue. Look, if I want to open my mind to something, I'm sure as hell not going to start on LJ. LJ is not a good place for objective information. I don't know everything, but neither do you. I realized today I've seen some people who will never admit to being less than an expert on everything, even when confronted with the flaws in their information, and I'm sick of it. I'm also sick of people condescending to myself and others in my LJ with no more authority than "because I said so."

If I drop you, it doesn't mean that I don't like you or don't want to hang out with you. What it does mean is that I find your posts and/or your responses to my posts more stressful than I can deal with right now. If reading your journal makes me scream at the monitor, I'm going to drop it. I've got enough stresses in my life without spending extra time reading about why I'm a piece of shit and/or not as deep as you.

People keep LJs for all sorts of different purposes. Mine is not a debate journal. You want that, go read debate. If all you do here is pick arguments, there are better journals to read.

And in a postscript to my previous entry, I really don't understand why so many people are having trouble understanding why I think drilling for oil in a wildlife preserve is a bad idea. Wildlife preserves are called that for a reason -- they're supposed to be preserving wildlife. No one has adequately explained to me how drilling will not disrupt wildlife, probably because it will. And as for the "it's just a tiny bit" argument -- yeah, this time, and the next time, and so on. That's one of the few slippery-slope arguments I'll buy. We're going to destroy something irreplacable for a few million barrels of oil? Whatever happened to figuring out what we're going to do once we run out of oil? Because it will happen.

Comments

[slyfoot.livejournal.com]

> No one has adequately explained to me how drilling will not disrupt wildlife, probably because it won't.

That has a good ring to it, but didn't you mean "probably because it will<> (disrupt wildlife)?"

Don't drop me pleeeeease! I need my Snark!

[slyfoot.livejournal.com]

Hahaha, instant karma, I borked my HTML tags. :)

[kellinator.livejournal.com]

Yeah, my linguistic tricks got out of control. Fixed. :)

Totally off topic

[thegreyman.livejournal.com]

You need to get yer ass over to our place some night this week and um... hang out = )

Re: Totally off topic

[kellinator.livejournal.com]

Shoot me an email and we'll find a good time. :) When's good for you?

[moxafoot.livejournal.com]

For quite a while in my journal, I stayed away from anything that I thought anyone could disagree with or find offensive (politics & religion especially).

Can you say, BORING?!?

I finally started letting my liberal leanings hang out. And I got some crap from people. F them. I also found some new friends. People that I actually like.
go figure.

[heathrow.livejournal.com]

I like your snark. I like you!

[dwivian]

I wanted to be sure of my argument, but ran into a bit of trouble...

ANWR is not a preserve, but is a refuge. So, I went to look up what the distinction was. Alas, I'm getting nothing...

I did find the use of "preserve" in the legislation that created it, though, and it puts a big kibosh on drilling -- "to preserve the artic coastal plain". Well, that's exactly where the drill sites are, so....

And, that puts me to a cool question -- do you know what the differences are with National Park, National Forest, Wildlife Refuge, Wildlife Preserve, Wilderness Area, and whatever else?

(I'm especially shamed because I used to work for the USDA:Forest Service.... ::hangs head::)

[teague.livejournal.com]

I am going to pose, without looking anything up, of course, that at least a National Park is set up for people to visit, with trails, camp grounds, and attractions.

The rest, my best guess is:

Wildlife refuge: Set up to rehab injured wildlife, and reintroduce animals to the wild.

Wildlife preserve: No human habitation, or interferance.

Wilderness area: No one owns it, no one has developed it, but it's not set aside as protected.

National Forest: Like the park, but with no pre set camping grounds, or tourist amenities.

I know! I know!

[flamingelf.livejournal.com]

The designations are purely political, based on the managing agency. Department of the Interior, National Parks Service, manages National Parks and National Preserves; DOI, US Fish and Wildlife Service, manages National Wildlife Refuges; USDA, US Forest Service, manages National Forests. Once a unit is designated, however, the responsible agency is supposed to follow the law (authorizing legislation) in managing the property. In the case of National Wildlife Refuges, the primary purpose is to protect wildlife, and secondarily, to allow "compatible" uses. Compatible meaning it doesn't conflict with the primary purpose.

Well, you asked...

And, in case you are curious, scientific studies were done that showed drilling in ANWR would conflict with its mandate (i.e., harm wildlife), but that information was ignored because it didn't fit with the drilling agenda. In a well publicized incident, the Secretary of the Interior lied to Congress about the information her own biologists had produced in order to support the drilling plans of her boss (that's the President).

[azurelunatic]

ANWR has not got rehab facilities. It's just sitting there, and no one's doing anything with it, just leaving it well enough alone (as it should be), and there's hot debate over not leaving it well enough alone.

[missakins.livejournal.com]

I like having a civil discussion about politics. That's why I posted in my LJ, so that it wouldn't be percieved as an attack. I think if we agreed on everything it'd be boring, that and I'm not always right [just most of the time :)], so seeing something new pop up I hadn't considered before is good.

I'm never wrong, and neither are you. We may disagree, or have different opinions, and to me that's good. Attacking someone ideologically is never a good way to change outlooks.

[kelliecoo.livejournal.com]

...cold fusion... (hee hee)

[leopard-print.livejournal.com]

I'm gonna get dropped, aren't I?

*stifles snicker*

[katyakoshka.livejournal.com]

I got burnt out on all sorts of arguments with people about politics and shit. And postmodernism. And continuing to be pissy about spelling. I've learned to just let my eyes glaze and sigh at people wretching in disgust, being definate, and liking such-and-such accept for x. Drives me nuts, but at this point, I might as well tilt at windmills.

Probably, much like me, you spend time on LJ during the day as a break from work. And if nothing else, that leaves little brainspace for constructing thoroughly researched arguments and positions on Life, the Universe and Everything, much less all the specifics of the oil industry and oil availability in Alaska.

I so need more caffeine. And a blasted connection that remains consistent. Wireless cable modem or not, this thing lapses all too frequently. Might be the buggy 'puter, still un-upgraded. Meh.

[piratejenny.livejournal.com]

And in a postscript to my previous entry, I really don't understand why so many people are having trouble understanding why I think drilling for oil in a wildlife preserve is a bad idea.

Because they're obviously stupid. And they somehow think that the world doesn't need any wilderness. It should all be paved or something. Asshats.

[kmeghan.livejournal.com]

I got a reply from some random person a couple of posts back, and it was really offensive to me, and kind of hurt my feelings. My thoughts are exactly that: MY THOUGHTS. Just as your thoughts are your thoughts, and I don't understand why people give each other shit about what they think. I'm always happy to hear other points of view, and it seems you do to. I'm sorry people are being stupid and stressing you out. :)

I know what you mean, luv.

[scarcrest.livejournal.com]

My own recent purge of people pissed some folks off, and I'm still walking on eggshells around it, but, you know -- it's my journal. No one has a right to demand that I let other people into my house or invite other people to a party, and I see a journal as operating on the same principle. If others don't like it, they can leave, too, as apparently trey5winds did.

[flewellyn.livejournal.com]

Yuh, well, it seems to be a month for people feeling defensive and prickly. Don't worry, we still love ya. :-)

[soultoad.livejournal.com]

lots of people seem to think arguing is fun. I'm not one of them

Do you know how much I love you? A whole, whole lot. :)

And besides, I agree with you. *grins*

[azurelunatic]

As an Alaskan, I wholeheartedly support your determination to keep the Shrubbery out of ANWR, and keep the existing tundra-foliage and critters where they are without hassling.

I also find "slippery-Slope" in this context amusing, because of all the ice. *grin, duck, run*

[azurelunatic]

Also, if you want to get some Alaskans all riled up, introduce the idea into a conversation. The room will polarize: the enviromnentally sensitive will set up camp on the "no fucking way" position, the economically shrewd will point out, "But we're running out of oil, and we've got an oil economy, so it makes sense," then the environmentally sensitive will metaphorically throw themselves in front of the others' verbal bulldozers...

In alaskans the other day, someone brought up the topic. Last I saw it was at 88 comments and counting, which is a LOT for over there.

As an LJ-savvy person, I say: "It's about time those Lower 48 environmentalists paid attention to ANWR."

As an Alaskan, I say: "Great, they're paying attention -- but it's a $#&%*#%@*&#@* LOCAL ISSUE, and money from Outside should stay out of this!"

[maida-mac.livejournal.com]

I really don't understand why so many people are having trouble understanding why I think drilling for oil in a wildlife preserve is a bad idea.

This may sound silly, but to at least a few people I talked to about this, Alaska is like another country. It doesn't mean anything to them, doesn't have the visceral effect of something like this happening elsewhere in the country. Alaska is just a big empty, frozen place any way, right?

::SIGH::

[the-missy.livejournal.com]

A huge part of the problem is calling it a "friends" list. I've made cuts recently because of similar issues -- worthless or irritating comments, as well as journals I just don't enjoy reading.

Even though I've never met some of these people, they get all hurt because "we were FRIENDS on our FRIENDS list!" If it were called the "frequently read list" or something, I think the oversensitive delicate flowers would find it less hurtful.

[raistlinbrown.livejournal.com]

I wandered over here from the Atlanta community. I was inspired to do so by the strange juxtaposition of LOTR and Bill and Ted's Excellent Adventure.

Anyway, I suppose it's ironic that this is the first entry of yours that I read. After perusing a few more, I decided I dig your journal. Mind if I add you? (It sounds like we're aligned on many issues, and I'm extremely diplomatic. Hence, you don't need to worry about my starting any trouble in your journal.)

[kellinator.livejournal.com]

Please do, and I'll reciprocate. After all the other crap I've dealt with this morning, your comment was a lovely surprise.