Something I'd like to wash my hands of...
I'm not exactly sure how to describe this, except by inventing a word. The word will have a definition of no less than a paragraph, but we need a word to describe this situation.
The word is: Denveresque.
What does this new word mean?
This story had been written on before in this blog, and I've neither the stomach nor the desire to do the entire thing over, so I'll speak in broad strokes.
Denver is a real person. Denver has serious issues. Denver, is very, very popular.
There is a large group of people (perhaps twenty) who think he is the salt of the earth. And he is...at least in context. He throws a very big party every year to which people from all over the land fly. They plan their vacations arround it. It's a big LAN party, and lately, it's been all XBox, because they're easy to transport.
Denver is also, very possibly, the single most vendictive person on the face of the Earth.
The thing of it is, not very many people get exposed to his vendictive nature. In fact, only a few ever do. But the people that get it, never see the end of it. They are Enemies of Denver for life. He simply does not forgive, anything, ever. Which is an odd thing to be factoring in, considering that much of what he refuses to forgive, is not anything which was actually inflicted on him.
Confused? I don't blame you.
Five years back, whilst playing a video game online, a friend of mine named Chris, made a...social misstep. The probelm was that it wasn't one he could have known he was going to make. It's the old situation we all dread, where everyone is laughing at a joke, except the one person you happen to be aiming it at, and you are never forgiven for it.
The game had an interface much like a chat room. Everyones name appears highlighted in their particular color, and the text shows up when you type it. Very common. So....in this typical, everyday game, the guys got a little rambunctious just sitting around. So, for whatever reason, they were shooting lines back and forth from the Kevin Costner movie, "Bull Durham". If you've not seen this movie, it has a fair ammount of adult humor. But it's the kind which flys over a kids head, so it's non-offensive mostly.
There they are, shooting it back and forth, and Denver logs into the game. Chris, his good friend no less, asks him (assuming it cannot possibly be taken seriously) "Denver. Got any naked pictures of your wife? Do you want any?"
This drew a big laugh....from everybody but Denver. Denver said not a word, he logged out of the game immediately, and did not come back. This, was a harmless joke. And Denvers reaction would be a mystery to litterally everyone...untill three days ago.
Fast forward a few years. Chris has been forbidden from ever coming to Denvers house, on account of the comment. He has, in fact, been allowed to come over once since then, after several very sincear apologies, in which he explains the situation, and makes it abundantly clear, it was not meant seriously in any way, shape, form, or intent, and then he gets banned again, this time forever. This presents a problem to Chris, as the only gathering of this online group of friends that everyone goes to, is Denvers. Which means that Denver has effectively banished Chris from our group, the Geezers from Hell.
Now, not very many people know what has happened. And, naturally, if Chris speaks openly of it, he is in for a world of pain. How? Like I said, Denver is popular. And this is where it gets really ugly.
Denver did the same thing to me a few years back. Except in my case, Denver was volcanically offended at a post on an old blog of mine. The post was written in response to a report made to me by a friend of mine, where in he told me that the Christmas service at a Catholic church, which he had gone to because he had not yet found any church in town that he liked, somehow had nothign to do with Christ. Instead, the entirety of the service had been about the Virgn Mary, or as we Orthodox call her, The Blessed Theotokos. Now, don't get me wrong, she ranks above John the Forerunner in importance, but a christmas service ought to be about Christ. So I lambasted the Catholic church in it's person of this particular parish, and said that they were engaging in Mary worship, idolatry if you will. I still back this position, in the case of that particular church.
Denver is a self-professed 'Ex-Catholic'.
Denver went on a two and a half screen ranting angry post on our message board. The post was laced with profanities. This is impressive considering that he had to take the time to type them out, as this was not a voice conversation. Which means that he sat there, at his desk, and typed in the word fucking, no fewer than eight times.
Denver is a self-professed 'Ex-Catholic'.
Furthermore he read the offensive Blog posting, on a blog of mine which was no longer linked too from the message board in question. This means that he was not casually clicking on a link, he had bookmarked it.
This is odd considering that during his rant, he went on at length about how angry my Blog makes him on a regular basis. Which raises the question, "Denver, why were you still reading it?"
To shorten an already lengthening story, I was in hot water for a while. I did not know the discussion thread was even happening, untill the board moderator referenced it to me in an unrelated post. So, imagine my shock, when I go to this thread, which is already three days old, and I hear Denver screaming for my head. What's worse, he's not alone. Now, it should be said, I did have my defenders. There were people asking, "Why does this upset you so much?" and "Why were you reading the Blog if it pissed you off so much?" and "It's just his opinion man, you didn't have to read it, so he doesn't have to respond to you here if he doesn't want to."
The poing being, I was excluded from Denvers gathering as well.
So what this all adds up to, is that if you have the unfortunate occasion to step on Denvers toes, you are, very permenantly, Fucked. And pardon the use of the word, but it is appropriate in this sense.
Denver is popular, as I said, because he does this big party. Also he is very (very) public about all the charity stuff he is involved in. So he is untouchable. I cannot attack him or his credability. And he can do so to me with impunity, if I do something to give him an excuse.
But why? Why is this man doing these things?
Well, what do we know about him? Some fairly interesting things actualy.
Denver is short. What? Short? So what? Well, aparently some men do not handle being short very well. I got myself muted by him on XBox live for making a short joke. Seriously.
Second: He is a house-husband. Now, I'm not saying this is an unacceptable position for a man, I think it could be really cool. But I will say that it might just (theoretically) undermine ones sense of masculinity... maybe...just a bit.
Third: Third comes the piece of information that he himself leaked, in what is one of the more astonishing posts I've ever read on any message board.
Denvers mother died. This is a sad event and I do feel very bad for him. What I do not feel is sympathy. Why? Well, honestly, it's hard to feel sympathy for a man who (instead of just talking about it) contrives a discussion thread (as far as I can tell) so that everyone can tell him how sorry they are.
Here was his threads title: "Where I've been"
He had, in fact, been gone for two weeks. Popular though he is, we had not sent out the search dogs yet. In fact, the supposition that he "owed" us an explination for his absence is absurd. I can see starting a conversation on an excuse with the hopes that it will go where you want. And I can see wanting to talk about it, but not wanting to come right out and say it. That's just human. So I won't hammer him for that.
But I will quote him.
While he was praising his mother, he took the opportunity to praise...himself:
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
"My mom was a good gal who through her character taught me to respect women and mothers. Being a lone woman in a household of 5 boys (raising 4 of us months at a time while my dad served in the Navy), teaching us boys how to cook, clean and exercise manners and kindness...if she's not Upstairs doing the meringue, there's going to be at least one peeved off son.
[A fine bit of prose, but how in the world does it segue into this?]
I make no apologies for being protective of my wife and the other women in my life. Make an obscene gesture or speak an insulting statement towards any of them and I'll smite thee and not just a little."
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
The second bit of text came out of nowhere. It did not reference anything said by anyone...at least, not in that thread.
Now. To the outside world, this may simply seem to be...a non sequitor. But to the informed...it goes a bit deeper.
Remember a few paragraphs back up? When I told you about the harmless comment? And the banishment that resulted from it and how we couldn't figure it out?
This guy took the opportunity, in the middle of a thread about his mom being dead, to take a shot at Chris for something that happened five years ago, and give himself a gold star at the same time.
And yet...everybody loves him. They all think he's the toast of the town. Because most of them have never been on his bad side. Now, more disturbing still than all of the above, is how the threads on this message board sometimes turn into (and I'm being litteral) the defective support groups as pictured in the beginning of the movie "Fight Club". I'm serious, the discussions sound EXACTLY like that. And, need I remind you, it's not in person. Where emotions make you say things quickly. It's TEXT. You have to actually sit there and write it out.
And at the center of more than his share of these sad little e-group hugs, is Denver.
He's great to his friends, and horibble to his shit list, and you are either on one or the other. Nobody is in between. And he is large and in charge of this group at the moment, nobody wields more influence than him.
And so I coin the term: Denveresque.
Denveresque describes a situation like, or similar too, the one described above. Where one person is running everything, and has two faces. One of limitless charity shown to anyone from good friends down to loose aquaintences...and one of permenant punishment and vengance to those who just happen to accadentally cross him the wrong way.
Alexi/Web
The word is: Denveresque.
What does this new word mean?
This story had been written on before in this blog, and I've neither the stomach nor the desire to do the entire thing over, so I'll speak in broad strokes.
Denver is a real person. Denver has serious issues. Denver, is very, very popular.
There is a large group of people (perhaps twenty) who think he is the salt of the earth. And he is...at least in context. He throws a very big party every year to which people from all over the land fly. They plan their vacations arround it. It's a big LAN party, and lately, it's been all XBox, because they're easy to transport.
Denver is also, very possibly, the single most vendictive person on the face of the Earth.
The thing of it is, not very many people get exposed to his vendictive nature. In fact, only a few ever do. But the people that get it, never see the end of it. They are Enemies of Denver for life. He simply does not forgive, anything, ever. Which is an odd thing to be factoring in, considering that much of what he refuses to forgive, is not anything which was actually inflicted on him.
Confused? I don't blame you.
Five years back, whilst playing a video game online, a friend of mine named Chris, made a...social misstep. The probelm was that it wasn't one he could have known he was going to make. It's the old situation we all dread, where everyone is laughing at a joke, except the one person you happen to be aiming it at, and you are never forgiven for it.
The game had an interface much like a chat room. Everyones name appears highlighted in their particular color, and the text shows up when you type it. Very common. So....in this typical, everyday game, the guys got a little rambunctious just sitting around. So, for whatever reason, they were shooting lines back and forth from the Kevin Costner movie, "Bull Durham". If you've not seen this movie, it has a fair ammount of adult humor. But it's the kind which flys over a kids head, so it's non-offensive mostly.
There they are, shooting it back and forth, and Denver logs into the game. Chris, his good friend no less, asks him (assuming it cannot possibly be taken seriously) "Denver. Got any naked pictures of your wife? Do you want any?"
This drew a big laugh....from everybody but Denver. Denver said not a word, he logged out of the game immediately, and did not come back. This, was a harmless joke. And Denvers reaction would be a mystery to litterally everyone...untill three days ago.
Fast forward a few years. Chris has been forbidden from ever coming to Denvers house, on account of the comment. He has, in fact, been allowed to come over once since then, after several very sincear apologies, in which he explains the situation, and makes it abundantly clear, it was not meant seriously in any way, shape, form, or intent, and then he gets banned again, this time forever. This presents a problem to Chris, as the only gathering of this online group of friends that everyone goes to, is Denvers. Which means that Denver has effectively banished Chris from our group, the Geezers from Hell.
Now, not very many people know what has happened. And, naturally, if Chris speaks openly of it, he is in for a world of pain. How? Like I said, Denver is popular. And this is where it gets really ugly.
Denver did the same thing to me a few years back. Except in my case, Denver was volcanically offended at a post on an old blog of mine. The post was written in response to a report made to me by a friend of mine, where in he told me that the Christmas service at a Catholic church, which he had gone to because he had not yet found any church in town that he liked, somehow had nothign to do with Christ. Instead, the entirety of the service had been about the Virgn Mary, or as we Orthodox call her, The Blessed Theotokos. Now, don't get me wrong, she ranks above John the Forerunner in importance, but a christmas service ought to be about Christ. So I lambasted the Catholic church in it's person of this particular parish, and said that they were engaging in Mary worship, idolatry if you will. I still back this position, in the case of that particular church.
Denver is a self-professed 'Ex-Catholic'.
Denver went on a two and a half screen ranting angry post on our message board. The post was laced with profanities. This is impressive considering that he had to take the time to type them out, as this was not a voice conversation. Which means that he sat there, at his desk, and typed in the word fucking, no fewer than eight times.
Denver is a self-professed 'Ex-Catholic'.
Furthermore he read the offensive Blog posting, on a blog of mine which was no longer linked too from the message board in question. This means that he was not casually clicking on a link, he had bookmarked it.
This is odd considering that during his rant, he went on at length about how angry my Blog makes him on a regular basis. Which raises the question, "Denver, why were you still reading it?"
To shorten an already lengthening story, I was in hot water for a while. I did not know the discussion thread was even happening, untill the board moderator referenced it to me in an unrelated post. So, imagine my shock, when I go to this thread, which is already three days old, and I hear Denver screaming for my head. What's worse, he's not alone. Now, it should be said, I did have my defenders. There were people asking, "Why does this upset you so much?" and "Why were you reading the Blog if it pissed you off so much?" and "It's just his opinion man, you didn't have to read it, so he doesn't have to respond to you here if he doesn't want to."
The poing being, I was excluded from Denvers gathering as well.
So what this all adds up to, is that if you have the unfortunate occasion to step on Denvers toes, you are, very permenantly, Fucked. And pardon the use of the word, but it is appropriate in this sense.
Denver is popular, as I said, because he does this big party. Also he is very (very) public about all the charity stuff he is involved in. So he is untouchable. I cannot attack him or his credability. And he can do so to me with impunity, if I do something to give him an excuse.
But why? Why is this man doing these things?
Well, what do we know about him? Some fairly interesting things actualy.
Denver is short. What? Short? So what? Well, aparently some men do not handle being short very well. I got myself muted by him on XBox live for making a short joke. Seriously.
Second: He is a house-husband. Now, I'm not saying this is an unacceptable position for a man, I think it could be really cool. But I will say that it might just (theoretically) undermine ones sense of masculinity... maybe...just a bit.
Third: Third comes the piece of information that he himself leaked, in what is one of the more astonishing posts I've ever read on any message board.
Denvers mother died. This is a sad event and I do feel very bad for him. What I do not feel is sympathy. Why? Well, honestly, it's hard to feel sympathy for a man who (instead of just talking about it) contrives a discussion thread (as far as I can tell) so that everyone can tell him how sorry they are.
Here was his threads title: "Where I've been"
He had, in fact, been gone for two weeks. Popular though he is, we had not sent out the search dogs yet. In fact, the supposition that he "owed" us an explination for his absence is absurd. I can see starting a conversation on an excuse with the hopes that it will go where you want. And I can see wanting to talk about it, but not wanting to come right out and say it. That's just human. So I won't hammer him for that.
But I will quote him.
While he was praising his mother, he took the opportunity to praise...himself:
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
"My mom was a good gal who through her character taught me to respect women and mothers. Being a lone woman in a household of 5 boys (raising 4 of us months at a time while my dad served in the Navy), teaching us boys how to cook, clean and exercise manners and kindness...if she's not Upstairs doing the meringue, there's going to be at least one peeved off son.
[A fine bit of prose, but how in the world does it segue into this?]
I make no apologies for being protective of my wife and the other women in my life. Make an obscene gesture or speak an insulting statement towards any of them and I'll smite thee and not just a little."
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
The second bit of text came out of nowhere. It did not reference anything said by anyone...at least, not in that thread.
Now. To the outside world, this may simply seem to be...a non sequitor. But to the informed...it goes a bit deeper.
Remember a few paragraphs back up? When I told you about the harmless comment? And the banishment that resulted from it and how we couldn't figure it out?
This guy took the opportunity, in the middle of a thread about his mom being dead, to take a shot at Chris for something that happened five years ago, and give himself a gold star at the same time.
And yet...everybody loves him. They all think he's the toast of the town. Because most of them have never been on his bad side. Now, more disturbing still than all of the above, is how the threads on this message board sometimes turn into (and I'm being litteral) the defective support groups as pictured in the beginning of the movie "Fight Club". I'm serious, the discussions sound EXACTLY like that. And, need I remind you, it's not in person. Where emotions make you say things quickly. It's TEXT. You have to actually sit there and write it out.
And at the center of more than his share of these sad little e-group hugs, is Denver.
He's great to his friends, and horibble to his shit list, and you are either on one or the other. Nobody is in between. And he is large and in charge of this group at the moment, nobody wields more influence than him.
And so I coin the term: Denveresque.
Denveresque describes a situation like, or similar too, the one described above. Where one person is running everything, and has two faces. One of limitless charity shown to anyone from good friends down to loose aquaintences...and one of permenant punishment and vengance to those who just happen to accadentally cross him the wrong way.
Alexi/Web
posted by Alexios at 12:15 AM
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