Hey all, I just wanted to jot a short note for those of you who saw my recent rant in a story about feds shutting down a torrent site.

It was kind of odd seeing the mod on that post bouncing up and down like it did. I could tell some folks read it, thought, "Hell, yeah," and modded it up, then more would read it, think "Hell, no," and modded it back down. It ended up at +5 Insightful, so I guess it really did resonate with some folks.

I have to emphasize that I do try to avoid posting anything too politically provocative on Slashdot, as I don't think that "News for Nerds" is an appropriate forum for that kind of thing. The parent to my post really did just happen to catch me at a bad moment, which prompted the post.

After looking at some of the replies, I actually would have to say that my post probably was overrated a bit. I think that krysith's post in reply was a lot more insightful, and a good example of what I was talking about. Just because some stupid people make some stupid decisions and suffer doesn't mean that everyone who suffers does so because they're stupid or have made stupid decisions. Personally, I think that these days, more and more people are in bad circumstances through external forces beyond their control. That's what I meant in my rant when I said, "You think you've earned everything you have, and if someone else is poor, they're not unfortunate, they're just lazy because they didn't work as hard as you did." Maybe they were lazy and didn't work hard, but assuming that is a popular conservative idea that makes it really easy to morally justify not having compassion for people less fortuante than they are. (Disclaimer: Not all conservatives are like this, just like not all liberals are PeTA radicals...)

So if you're tagged me a friend because I'm a left-wing liberal, thanks, and I do what I can to change things for the better. Don't expect many all-out rant posts like that, though.

If you want to know more about what goes through my head, I invite you to visit my blog, in which I try to be a little more light-hearted and clever. In the near- to medium-term future, I also plan on creating another blog where I post longer discussions about my political beliefs. When I get a few more posts in it (I hate starting out a blank blog), I'll post more information here and at the blog listed above.

In the meantime, thanks for those who tagged me as a friend and modded me up. Since I live in an ultra-conservative red state (Georgia), it is refreshing every once in a while when some of the things I think and believe are validated as not being totally crazy.

Take care,
KS

I keep my journal at Google's BlogSpot. If you want the random thoughts of a tired mind, check mine out there. (My thoughts, not my mind--I keep my mind in my head, and that's just the zany kind of crap you'll read on that site.)

Oh well, I guess if I have something specifically Slashdot-related to say, I'll post it here. Otherwise, you should probably really be checking out someone's journal who is a lot more interesting than me, like I dunno, Wil Wheaton's, for example

Crap, you're still here? (sigh) I've got to go now, no kidding.

Okay, one little tidbit, and that's all. I learned tonight that to say hello in Tagalog (the Filipino language), it is "Kumusta". Now, that is all, for anything else you've got to go to my BlogSpot journal. Seriously. Get going now!

Cheers,
King Skippus