Reply #14: It's like a punch to the gut. [View All]

A big reason why I've retreated to this board for posting and lurking in a *few* harmless interest-related places.

It is, though. When I read that kind of ignorant juvenile stuff, it's like the person has personally spat in my face and I truly don't trust myself to make a civil, comprehensible response. People who know me personally know that my middle finger is quite flexible and gets a workout just about every time I drive in city traffic, when people do things so stupid that it's the only way I can release the frustration and stress. It's like that when somebody bashes John Kerry. I take it personally.

One thing that frustrates me about having to explain to people who don't "get him" but who seem to actually want to know why I'm so loyal is that my own explanations aren't strictly true. I mean I'll say things about how his values are superb, his record is stellar, he cares about issues that I also care about, and he has these two dynamic sides--the nice tenderhearted guy and the driven, obsessive-compulsive ass-kicker--that work together very well. And all of that is true, but to be honest, it only reinforces why I'm loyal to the man, not why the loyalty started in the first place. There was just this aura of trustworthiness and goodness about him that I sensed, resulting in something that was much more of an emotional reaction than a logical decision. It's very hard to explain that to a person who hasn't experienced it.