Sad Day

As the following was written, it appeared the ban hammer was being weilded in all directions without mercy or thought. Erick since posted this, and it’s obvious I don’t know all the facts. Threatening legal action? Against RedState?

So I wrote the following, and as I sit here looking at the publish button…

Well, I do like the music video, and my feelings are genuine; seriously, where do we fit in? We can’t be afraid to cross the line when we can’t even see that sucka. And when we do think we know where it is, it moves, or someone steps over and it’s okay for them, but not someone else.

What a day, huh?

I think back to the summer, the actual highlight of my conservative experience to date was being able to meet all the fine folks at RedState that, online at least, I had been able to call friends, allies, and mentors.

I found I can almost keep up with Caleb in the bar department, that EPU and Vassar had the best idea in heading up to bed early and I should’ve followed suit, and that Neil doesn’t actually carry a hammer around with him, it’s only an electronic thing. Most importantly, I found out I was right in calling RedState my home; the place I could go first if I needed clarification, information, or to share my good news, whatever it might be. A community I was proud to belong to and support.

At the RedState Gathering in Austin, I jumped in and manned the registration desk to give Caleb and his lovely wife a break. I carried boxes for EPU. I generally did what I could to help out, not so much for community as I felt like one of the troops. I didn’t do these things to suck up to anybody, or be able to say “I met so and so, I’m important”. I wasn’t bucking for promotion to FP status; fact is I know my limitations. My writing quality isn’t near the level I would expect to see on the Front Page at RedState.com, and I’ve said as much to Caleb (though I can’t specifically remember what brought the subject up, fog of war is what I’m sticking to). Although I’ll confess here that the few times the moon, stars, and planets aligned and I managed to write something that some editor thought FP worthy I was excited enough to call the wife and tell her, frankly I wasn’t expecting a whole lot except to belong to something that could somehow make a difference in our country.

No doubt today that is still the case, insofar as RedState is getting notice nationwide. Politicians are reading these pages, and I’m quite sure the spats that we’ve had over the years have grown tiresome to those in positions of power here who are looking out for the well-being of the site as a whole. Are the spats today worse somehow than they’ve been in years past? No, I don’t believe so. Not necessarily, anyway. I can remember a few good ‘uns that still shake the internet today, and for those you can just do a Google search with the search string G’bye �nt site:www.redstate.com. No doubt someone was banned in those brouhahas.

Today, I feel empty after seeing what has happened here. It feels like RedState has possibly outgrown the community; that there’s no real place for the disagreements we’ve had in the past. Too many outside eyes looking in to be a free-for-all like the Freepers, but somehow becoming strangling more like Malkin or HotAir where you need to be registered to comment, and no one ever gets to register. For months now I’ve been silent when I felt the need to disagree with someone in authority at RS, because it wasn’t worth the risk of banishment. Just sit there and shut up, it’s not your site, it’s theirs. They pay the bills, you just hog the bandwidth.

Yeah, we can still comment and register, so don’t take the last part of the above paragraph too literally. But my God, say the wrong thing to the wrong person (a stealth moderator perhaps), and blam, the dreaded 601 error. Not even a strikethrough in your profile, you just stop showing up.

Myself, I really don’t have to worry about the fatal error, I know who’s who. I know when to shut up. I’m a “good soldier”. In other words, I may not always agree with the LT, but I know what power he has over me. I just wonder if it isn’t just time for a transfer to another unit, because this one isn’t the same one I signed up for anymore.

When Penguin is sad, something is way wrong. Too much confusion, not enough love. Something.

See, this is why I don’t post as often as I once did, ADD is kicking in and I’m rambling. I’ll just put this out to the ether and take my shots.

Miss you guys. Really. Hope you come back. Or maybe give us RedState Lite, where people don’t take themselves so damn seriously.

Read More... [Source: RedState.com Recommended Diaries]