[thechat] My State of Union Address

[David Wagner]

Elfur wrote:
> it saddens me to read thechat these days and even though it has somewhat
> cooled down I feel the need to address you with some of my feelings on the
> matter.

[mega snippage]

> I love the lot of you, respect all of you and enjoy your mail, enjoy the
> privilege of being welcomed into your personal lives times and times
again.
> So here I am, waiting to feel welcome again.

+1 to all of this, except regarding the Atkins debate. If we talk about
diets anymore, I'm out. :)

Although I've been trying to take this debate with a grain or three of salt,
I've had to admit to myself that it's affecting me, emotionally, quite a bit
more than I had expected. Y'all are a significant part of my intellectual
life, and although I hadn't realized it until recently, it's important to me
that this community works well. I hope that everyone can recognize, as I
have, what they're getting out of this list, and act accordingly.

I value you people -- you talk like I do, your brains work like mine. Even
when we disagree completely, I find that I'm often able to communicate
better with this group than with my housemates and family.

(Although *because* of the war debate here, I was able to talk things out
with my folks last night, and express some important stuff that they hadn't
thought of. Conflict leads to better thinking.)

And "big ups" to rudy for a clear and honest apology. I was quite taken
aback by that particular exchange, coming from two people who I look forward
to hearing from on a daily basis. I'm glad to see that the cooling-down
process is bringing things back in a better direction.

--

David Wagner
dave at worlddomination.net