Men's Group

Two, Let me say that "you're just jealous" is an extremely lame brush-off of what I think is a legitimate analysis; that many kids in our society, many boys, certainly, get a hard time if they're not athletic or sports-oriented or what. I like to think it's better than it used to be. I definitely think that geography and the energy of the local community, the messages which are reinforced in the schools, etc. plays a big part.

Three, thanks for the thing about the religious based-bullying. Really, I don't think you could call it coercive religion or even something well-thought out by "believers". More like, kid on the school bus is asked what religion he is, kid says "Atheist", other kids don't know what that is, kid says "it means I don't believe in God", which, apparently, kid is not allowed to do.

Well, I survived, and they didn't know me very well, because they didn't change my mind, to say the least. And in the grand scheme of things, I know a lot of kids have endured far worse than what I did, sadly. These experiences gave me a long-running sympathy for the underdog in any given situation, and in the end analysis are part of who I am, so I don't regret them or wish them away. But I do appreciate your sympathy and kind words.

Four, Trumad is not, by any stretch of the imagination, "my nemesis", (nor is he the official -or unofficial- "nemesis" of this group). Actually, when I signed up for DU in 2004, I distinctly remember Trumad being one of the first people to welcome me here. I've seen Trumad make some good points on a number of issues. Trumad was blocked from this group because he- for whatever reason- decided to wage a rather goofy vendetta against this group's existence, and was incapable of coming in here to do anything except insult the group and its members. I don't know what his reasoning was for this, nor do I particularly care. No group on DU would stand for that sort of behavior, and we won't either. Trumad being the only person blocked from this group is merely a function of his total repeated demonstrated unwillingness to do anything except come in here and lob turds at people. So, fine, he can hang out somewhere else. No big deal.

And another thing to remember is, the seeming hard-and-fast "sides" in these things are really, not. The posters in HoF whom I think Trumad believed he was erstwhile "defending" at that time, had been calling for his internet head a few months earlier because he posted a thread in meta containing a word that starts with a "C". One thing you should know about DU, and this probably applies to all sorts of internet discussions, is you shouldn't take these spats or inter-group disagreements or long-running feuds or whatever the fuck they may be, very seriously. There are people here who are supposed to be on some "other side" or another with whom I have totally productive conversations with and no problem working with on common tasks.

I'm really not interested in perpetuating these silly dramas, at all, and frankly I can't even keep track of all the people who are supposed to be on which side. There have been so many silly fights on DU over all manner of things, really you'd need an excel spreadsheet to stay on top of who is supposed to be for or against who else. I sure can't. So I say what I think, and don't really pay all that much attention to who did what or when or whose team is supposed to be whose.

I agree with the rest of what you've written. Like I said, I was a skinny, nerdy early adolescent. Then I grew into a relatively strapping high schooler. Then I grew into a sort of crazed hippie. (I've been a lot of people, in my life) then I put on some weight, and then I discovered better eating and exercise, lost the weight and got into what I consider now the best shape of my life. And I lift weights. So I agree. Exercise has done wonders for my self esteem, my health and my state of mind.