Oh, yeah, politics & general news, too.
Posted on 09/08/2005 10:12:40 AM PDT by hilaryrhymeswithrich
This is a shamless vanity that somehow feel compelled to write. No I am not all weepy because I am PMSing....or because I am all girly and soft. I just finished reading 7 or 8 of the various after reports on the various freeping of the Sheehan and Code Pink(O) events and I felt all warm and mushy inside.
I decided that I needed let my fellow freepers know what I have experienced during my years in Freepville.
1) Inspiration....I have watched women with babies, aging veterans, men and women brave long car rides and inclement weather to be there to make sure that another voice was heard...another opinion is counted. Especially the ever reliable DC chapter that has made answering Code Pink a mission on behalf of all of us.
2) Spunk...I have watched these very same people, at times outnumbered (but boy has that changed lately!!) using logic and facts and a whole lot of humor to easily outwit the left. Little Freepers get a microphone shoved in their face and rising to the occasion.
3) Class....I have seen these very same foot soldiers screamed at, sworn at, even physically assaulted by the so-called "peaceful" left and yet manage to maintain decorum. At times even monitoring and censoring some of our own when passions threaten to overshadow our overall mission.
4) Fun...I have had so much fun on my Freeps that, given the choice, my children would rather come with me than just about anything else. As my 8 year old said when asked if she wanted to go to a birthday party or come with me to counter an anti-war protest, she said, "I'd much rather heckle hippies with you mom."
5) Growth....I have learned so much from my fellow freepers. I don't always agree with everything that is posted here, but I have come to rely on the consistency of knowing that opinions and views will be presented, debated, researched and digested by many, many intelligent freepers and I am sure to learn something new every day.
6) Comfort....when I was a stay at home mom when I had babies, there were times I felt very disconnected with the world. Knowing that FR was my version of the office water cooler kept me connected and informed and help stave off some of the cobwebs in my sleep deprived mother's brain. And I have watched prayers requested and answered in our little online community and I am comforted in knowing that people here care.
7) Relief...relief that after a lifetime of watching the left control college campuses, the MSM, Hollywood etc., there was finally an active, spunky, humorous group to counter and educate and tweak....what a relief!!
8) Bravery...many freepers brave the scorn and downright meanness of family, co-workers and fellow citizens in their freeping. Many are one man freeps that most of us never hear about but I am convinced make a difference.
9) Wonder....a sense of wonder in the adage that one person really can make a difference. Jim R. was one person who wanted to make sure his voice was heard, and in have the cajones to make it happen...and it the process made tens of thousands of voices heard...and changed the face of the internet forever...
10) Excitement....at knowing that there is so much more work to be done and I will have the enjoyment of having many good people to work with.
Every once in a great while I look at DU. I am not sure why, I suppose it is like watching a trainwreck or a scary movie. You know it is horrid, and yet you look. What stikes me when I read 95% of what is posted there is how angry and bitter the tone is there. And how tragic it must be to live with those people as your "teammates". How depressing it must be to be that empty and angry all the time. How many complaints they have and how few solutions they offer.
It reminds me of a conversation I had with someone who is in the process of divorce from someone who seems insistant on make every step painful and ugly and punitive. He said, "She is just so angry." And I shuddered at the thought of living my life that way. So consumed by hate it blinds you to reason, blinds you to kindness, hate that oozes from your pores and, like a fungus, grows on everything you touch.
I suppose this is just my annual thank you to my fellow freepers for helping me learn and laugh and worry together.
Stop making those big puppy dog eyes at me.
Yup! Now I KNOW I'm supposed to be here. Thanks!
SMN!
Kudos.
It really is the new version of a think tank, but more open and fluid and responsive than CATO or any of the other can be. Ideas are presented and dissected by the minute and has resulted, for me, an increased ability to argue, defend and explain my beliefs with more than just confidence....with pride.
Nice post! Now will you show us your warthog please? ;@)
Oh, yeah, politics & general news, too.
And with the data to back you up. I've shocked more than a few people by handing out the pictures of the school buses in New Orleans. A photo really is worth a thousand words. :=)
It is actually not a warthog....and it is on my lower back...and it is a Reagan tribute that some at the Freeper ball got to see :))
WHOA, I'll agree to that.
You pretty much summed up EXACTLY how I felt back in 1998 when I happened across FreeRepublic. Actually I believe I heard about FreeRepublic from Rush Limbaugh.
Regards,
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