Either I'm bored at work or feeling wistful or both. It's been about 10 weeks since the last post in WEs. I imagine a perfect storm of different reasons has slowed posting to a trickle on LP. My own life that last 18 months has taken turns I'd never expect. With WEs, throw in that people are probably exhausted with politics. It's not just in their Facebook and Twitter feeds; it's seeped its way into every corner of our lives. I've gone from loving being online all the time, following the news with nothing but an unhealthy obsession, enjoying social media, to seriously thinking about just retreating from it all. I'd rather just spend time in the (real life) presence of the people I love. Basically I'm 41 and already turning into my grandpa. That angstiness out, I've valued the conversations I've had here and many of the people I've cyber-met (and Dabob2, who I've actually met in real life!) I came to LP back around 2001(!) to research my first trip as an adult to Disneyland. Since I live far outside of SoCal, it was WEs that kept me coming back. Weirdly enough, World Events fueled my Disneyland obsession as much as anything, just because I enjoyed coming here to talk. There's really no point to any of this. Just saying hi. Checking in. Hoping folks are still occasionally around. Maybe in this increasingly app-based social media world, the humble message board will find new relevance and in three years dozens of us will be debating President Duckworth/Warren/Oprah/Sanders/Brown.
It is really good to see you!! The reasons I keep posting are that I have a few friends here that I enjoy sharing with and I absolutely refuse to give up on LP. I avoided WE like the plague for years because of the fights and dissension. But when the Nation and the World were teetering on the brink; I actually found solace there. Most posts were friendly and intelligent. I think you hit the nail on the head: >>>>people are probably exhausted with politics<<<< minus the *probably* We have a group of progressive friends that we hang out with. It is so hard to get together and not fret over the state of our varied situations. Try as we might; the subject always comes up. I too find myself wanting to live in the real life that is my children and grandchildren and trips to Disneyland.
Ditto what both of you said. I am definitely tired with politics and social media on so many fronts. WE is important though even though it may make us want to pull our hair out. It stinks that you have to read the same news story from multiple sources to figure out what is important (even with local news). Keep the faith my LP friends! I cherish the relationships I have grown over the last couple of years since joining this little community. Thank you for sharing my joy and frustration in all that is Disney and WE.
I actually had a little "yes!" moment when I saw that there was an active WE thread today! Many times I've had the urge to start a thread (usually in response to the latest Trump outrage). But then I wouldn't. "Trump Fatigue" is definitely a thing. Combine that with reduced posting on the boards here even in the DL section, and... well, we get to today. I mean when even a President-and-the-Porn-Star scandal can't get a thread going... (!!!) (And speaking of which... Cohen paid Daniels $130,000 out of his own pocket? Even though he "didn't believe" the allegations? Just out of the goodness of his heart, I suppose? That's got to be one of the biggest whoppers from an administration filled with them.) But I think that all plays into the fatigue. The lies are so pervasive they wear you down. And it echoes what was perhaps the central paradox of the 2016 election; Trump did and said so many things that would have absolutely derailed any other candidate. Yet the fact that there were so damn many of them only meant that none got the attention they deserved before we were on to the next one, and if the media only spends a few days on a scandal, how important could it be? Plus, it's fatiguing to know that no matter what he does, there really is a whole swath of the populace who will either not believe it, minimize it, instantly forgive him, or even cheer him on for it. And it's fatiguing to see (with a few admirable exceptions) Republicans and conservatives excusing him for everything and thus enabling him. Ryan and McConnell chief among them of course, but hardly alone. It's even fatiguing to go to a site like Real Clear Politics and see how they oh-so-carefully "balance" their compiled stories: Pro-Trump, Anti-Trump, Pro-Trump, Anti-Trump, on EVERY damn topic, including those where the balance shouldn't be anything like 50/50. It's fatiguing because it seems so obvious what SHOULD be happening... and yet it isn't. And so we want to chuck it all and not think about it any more. But maybe that's what they want. I'm certainly willing to start posting here more again, if others are. There can be a fine line between therapeutic venting and agitating oneself... I get that. But I've also sort of missed this, and the various folks here. And I kind of feel that if good people don't speak up and make it clear that a clear majority feel all this is not okay... the "not okay" can take over. Should we be our own little mini-resistance? I dunno. I'm willing. On a personal note, ecdc I hope the turns your life has taken lately are just unexpected as opposed to bad.
*Trump Fatigue* what a perfect description. Like you, I have thought about starting threads here. And like you, I didn't. Still I was surprised that no one else did. It has been like; do we really want to knock around another Trump atrocity? And yes, the apathy is what they want. Wile we are distracted by scandal; they are gutting programs and undermining the basic principles of your society. I hope that even if folks are not posting here; that we are still keeping the resistance going to turn the tables in the mid-terms.
Oh, I know. Can you imagine being either the parent or the kid in that family when that happens? And the kids themselves won't be safe for long. Despite their lip service to it, do you think either Ryan or McConnell is sincerely looking for a way to get DACA extended? I don't.
I'm not sure. I couldn't remember my password to log in, and now i have this name. I think this changed around the time the look of the boards changed.
Weird... ecdc had a response in between what is now post #6 and #7. It's gone now, which makes it look like I'm responding to myself (or nothing in particular).
Yeah that is weird. I didn't delete it and I think it was harmless enough... Don't think it'd get deleted by mods for content.
Anyway, I think I said something about Trump is bad and these poor people getting snatched up by ICE when they're dropping their kids off at school. People who have been in this country 20...30 years.
Well my mom died and I got divorced within two months of each other. That was fun. But since then life his been very good. I'm constantly in awe of how fortunate I am. In fact, Dabob2, I was in New York in Nov. 2016 to run the marathon. What an experience. I was going to reach out to you but my dad surprised me and came into town to spend the time with me and support me, since I was there by myself (this was a month after my mom died). Tuesday, election night, I had Hamilton tickets. I saw the show, walked out of the theater and into Times Square. I've never seen anything like it. Tens of thousands of silent people staring at these giant monitors in shock as it reported the results.
I'm very sorry about your mom and the divorce, ecdc. I miss reading your take on the news and Disney, too. I haven't checked in here for a long time, it just sort of fell off my radar for awhile I guess. I became a grandpa this past October, so my attention has been diverted : )
Hey, you guys remember when this place was so busy that a troll could come and actively mess things up? Good ol' Beau could come by now and write some crap and it'd just sit around growing mold. How about that? Then again, the troll-in-chief does his schtick like a pro on the tweet-thing (yeah, I'm old - hate it!), so what's the point? Hey, I'm publishing a book soon. Probably next month. Stay tuned for more. Nice to hear from you all! (I honestly don't even know what compelled me to search for LP all of a sudden, I haven't checked in in months I don't think, and had all but given up on reading ANYTHING new on WE)
I'm still around. I visit about once a week, just to see if anyone has posted something. And look, this time there is a whole thread! I am in a state of perpetual teeter-tottering between a complete loss of faith in our government, and the stubborn optimism that this whole experience, like I said about Prop 8, forcing people to pick a damn side, will lead to surprisingly swift and unexpected changes at some point. I don't think #MeToo has as much staying power if Hilary had won. If it even happened in the first place. And even the unfortunate events in Parkland, FL. I still have no faith in, say, the next 10 years. But after... no one of our ever growing "advanced ages" would dare think the 2nd amendment would be toast, but I'm starting to think it will. Or completely re-written. I don't think today's children and their parents will stand for this as the status quo. And in a world where hacking of our information takes center stage, a gun, an arsenal won't protect anyone. Of course, there are still a ton of moments like when I was looking at my Google news feed this morning. The top two articles were both from the USA Today 1. McMaster says Russian interference is incontrovertible. 2. Our President calls Russian meddling a hoax. And I wonder how we got here.
ecdc, sorry to hear about your Mom and the divorce. I lost my Mom not too long ago too, and it was tough. When you did the marathon, the first neighborhood you ran through after you got off the bridge was my neighborhood. I probably saw you run by and didn't even know it! Of course, at that point so close to the beginning of the race, it's just a mass of people all clumped together and I've known other people who ran it it and it's just about impossible to pick them out unless they wear something that really stands out. It was even more the case in the years when they started the men, women, and wheelchairs all together. Just a huge mass of 30,000+ people running!
Glad to see you all here. I, too, don’t post much anymore, but I still read when there’s something. I’ve lost confidence in our government too. At the point of “why bother anymore.” ;(
I am happy to see people posting but saddened by how despondent we all seem to be. I worry for my grandchildren but have some hope that they will see things turn around. Rod and I feel like we are too old. The damage that is being done will take longer than we have left to remedy. Medicare/SocialSecurity: very personal to us.
