yep welcome to the family. We may be a bit dysfunctional and lord knows trolls do on occasion try to ruin the party, but by and large this is a smart, passionate and articulate community.
I would have chosen the Leaning Tower of Chair, if only because it is left-leaning, much like us (unless the picture is flipped, in which case the right-leaning could act as a counterpoint). Looking forward to your input and insight into our microcosm.
Considering that most posts on The Stranger regarding race, class, and gender politics are inherently hostile with a pre-determined agenda (of whatever angle) your attitude should fit in just fine.
@13 She's away from her desk at the moment, but she was getting her Ph.D in communications, I do believe. Plus she has bachelor's degrees in English and women's studies and a master's in gender studies.
I am pleased to see that since yesterday, "white people can't touch my hair" has been changed to "nobody can touch my hair." As always, I don't want anyone to have a privilege I am denied.
Can I touch your hair? [Fuck, I swore I wasn't going to ask that, and you even said not to]. [Pretend you didn't hear me]. Hey! You have freckles! [Fuck, I did it AGAIN].
I think you're exactly what The Stranger needs. Welcome. Just remember: don't read the comments -- especially mine.
@35: She used the F word and I felt that that was indicative of her disposition. There's nothing derogatory in what I said. However, I do regret coming across as crass in regard to her introducing herself.
@17 god phoebe...if i didn't know you better i'd think you premptively just called her 'an uppity bitch'. but come to think of it coming from you it feel like a compliment.
Welcome to Seattle! It’s good to hear that you’ll be working on the woefully under-discussed topics of "race, class, and gender politics”. For example, I think today’s Slog post about the Veronica Mars movie neglected to mention those things.
Hopefully this thread will give you a good indicator of whose comments you need never read again. If everyone who hasn't yet could please introduce yourselves and give a sampling of how awful you are, that'll really help Danielle out.
Though, TBH, I think you'd be more comfortable sitting on top of your desk with a laptop. Any of those chair wrecks may have a deleterious effect on your writing.
"...hoping your dick falls of...?" Or your "f." If you're looking for jerks to motivate you, you came to the right place. From his almighty Dan "Could Give A Fuck About Seattle Anymore" Savage to the lowliest unregistered commentrix, jerks all. Present company included. If God wanted you to have a chair, he would've grown legs out of your ass. Welcome to the unthreaded snakepit.
Hey, Danielle! I will leave it to others to say how awful I am, but I don't generally go looking for trouble. I probably inspire responses of "tl;dr" more often than most.
Disagree with "ginger minstrel" assessment, but am too tickled by "ginger minstrel" as a phrase to muster much indignation. Take from that what you will.
Danielle, I enjoy your funny Real Housewives recaps on NY Magazine.
I don't know if a city w/o an NHL team and considerable right of way public transportation can be considered the best city in America, but if you think so, that's fine by me.
And now for a representative sample of my commentary: "Welcome. Feel free to add "disability" to your list of "race, class, and gender politics..."" There. That should do.
Feminist Thoughts of Ryan Gosling is the funniest thing ever made for the intertubes. And you Make Things with Yarn! Oh, joy. I'm amazed that the staff of the Stranger had the wit to hire you. A good omen for the new year.
Hello. I am the resident argumentative scholastic, my abilities stemming from my Jewish predilection for rhetoric and hair-splitting. I am young but well-read in my field and full of mischief. Pleased to meet you, as it were.
Welcome! I don't comment often, but based on the description on your blog, I'll probably like your writing.
I promise to never ask to touch your hair. I have no desire to touch anyone's hair. But it is gorgeous. I am short with lots of freckles and people point both things out, so I sort of relate to that.
Welcome. Now Sloggers get to talk about their one black friend in the whitest city in America. You will relieve a lot of white, male guilt I’m sure. Not mine. I have none.
Welcome, Danielle,
I'm looking forward to reading your posts. In all seriousness, if you're at all at risk of letting dickish comments get under your skin, you might try scrolling through the comment threads of some previous highly commented SLOG posts. You'll quickly note that among the regular commentariat here are a couple racists, a couple misogynists, and several who hate everything written on SLOG, but still follow it religiously. If you can learn to sort of let your eyes defocus as you pass over their comments, it helps. Amazingly, for an unmoderated blog, there are a fair number of interesting, thoughtful, and occasionally hilarious commenters here, too.
Oh, and props to Phoebe@17 for introducing herself perfectly.
Think of Slog (actually all of Seattle) as giant S&M club filled with college educated, privileged, guilty and extremely white liberals. The more you beat and spank them for their white privilege? The more they'll thank you and ask for more. Simple formula.
Ps. Be sure to ask your coworker Kelly O and her friend Tara Thomas about their little black face moment. Should make for an awkward water cooler moment.
It's true that the comments are normally a snake pit. Telling people where to get off and/or to pretend they have an ounce of class doesn't work though. Fuck knows I've tried.
I wish for you the serenity to accept the bullshit you cannot change, the courage to smack down the jackasses who are within reach, and the wisdom to know when it's time to move on to something much, much better than this.
I see the Sloggers are putting our best foot forward. It really only goes downhill from here. You may want to invest in a case of disinfectant (use liberally). Don't drink out of any cup without a thorough cleaning first, and feed sugary treats to the rest of the staff on a regular basis. Keeping them in a sugar coma is really the best approach all the way around. Also, don't hug Dan. Hugs scare him.
Hiya Danielle! Good luck w/ the new gig. Be interesting to hear a new voice around here.
The "touching the hair" thing: For a few years, I had goth-type hair which I changed the color of, a lot. When it was dark blue, or fire engine red, people would ask to touch it or sometimes just reach out, unbidden. When I shaved most of my head, people wanted to touch my head. It was weird. Must be aggravating if it happens to you all the time.
Hey, for those not in the know Phil Everly one half of the famous duo (at one time), the Everly Bros. died today. He was 74 y/o. Phil Everly's passing is significant. Wow, were they, the Everly Bros. giants in Rock and Roll back in the day (late 50s-early 60s). Their influence is profound. In a recent interview on KEXP, Jake Bugg the 19 y/o English sensation cited the Everly Bros as an influence on his music. Don & Phil's harmonies are just gorgeous. I have many of their songs on vinyl. I got into them because of rockabilly's resurgence in the early 80s. My eldest sister had some of their records as well. A great loss. Phil Everly RIP.
Welcome to Seattle! I look forward to reading your work and seeing your perspective on our town. I'm an infrequent commenter myself, but I've found the comments here (on the whole) to be far more intelligent, thought-provoking and even civil compared to, say, the Seattle Times.
If I may submit one piece of advice, try to stay out of the comments on your own posts. An occasional follow-up or clarification is great where appropriate, but some writers *ahem GOLDY* spend far too much time bickering and sounding defensive, ultimately weakening the original post. I'm sure your posts will be great (as are most of Goldy's IMO). Let your writing stand on its own. The commenters will bicker plenty. Cheers!
I realise that is is probably going to come of as extremely offensive but sometimes I can't help myself so I just have to say: In what universe is the woman in that picture in the bio considered black? Seriously. You have the exact same melanin level, hair and eye colour as my younger sister and she's whiter than french bread.
Why is no one talking about the real issue here? Chair #1 is by far, the superior chair. Switch chairs immediately. I have a nice crocheted cushion you can borrow.
As usual, I'm late to the party but welcome Danielle. It's great having you here and best of luck. You seem both talented and thick skinned enough to hang with the dregs of humanity here. :-)
I realise that is is probably going to come of as extremely offensive but sometimes I can't help myself so I just have to say: In what universe is the woman in that picture in the bio considered black? "
"I realise that is is probably going to come of as extremely offensive but sometimes I can't help myself so I just have to say: In what universe is the woman in that picture in the bio considered black? "
@93,@94, You simply haven't encountered enough diversity in your narrow life to know enough black people who aren't in the stereotypical box that you think they're all in.
Glad to have a funny someone to fill the feminism void* left by Cienna!
*NOT THAT A VOID IS NECESSARILY A BAD THING WAY TO BE PHALLOCENTRIC, LEEK
I would have chosen the Leaning Tower of Chair, if only because it is left-leaning, much like us (unless the picture is flipped, in which case the right-leaning could act as a counterpoint). Looking forward to your input and insight into our microcosm.
to me, she seems more white than black. good thing she has that hairstyle.
you-all'll have to smarten up your syntax now (focus on short declarative sentences and well planned transitions)
wait... she gets a desk?
Aside: Phoebe, that was a shitty thing to say. Just going to dive right into your usual without so much as a hello?
Can I touch your hair? [Fuck, I swore I wasn't going to ask that, and you even said not to]. [Pretend you didn't hear me]. Hey! You have freckles! [Fuck, I did it AGAIN].
I think you're exactly what The Stranger needs. Welcome. Just remember: don't read the comments -- especially mine.
Though, TBH, I think you'd be more comfortable sitting on top of your desk with a laptop. Any of those chair wrecks may have a deleterious effect on your writing.
(Welcome, Danielle!)
Welcome, Danielle.
Disagree with "ginger minstrel" assessment, but am too tickled by "ginger minstrel" as a phrase to muster much indignation. Take from that what you will.
I don't know if a city w/o an NHL team and considerable right of way public transportation can be considered the best city in America, but if you think so, that's fine by me.
I promise to never ask to touch your hair. I have no desire to touch anyone's hair. But it is gorgeous. I am short with lots of freckles and people point both things out, so I sort of relate to that.
And fuck the commenters, myself most of all.
(P.S. What is this thing about touching people's hair? Is that a thing? I have never wanted to do that.)
Score one for the fans of the Oxford Comma!!!
I'm looking forward to reading your posts. In all seriousness, if you're at all at risk of letting dickish comments get under your skin, you might try scrolling through the comment threads of some previous highly commented SLOG posts. You'll quickly note that among the regular commentariat here are a couple racists, a couple misogynists, and several who hate everything written on SLOG, but still follow it religiously. If you can learn to sort of let your eyes defocus as you pass over their comments, it helps. Amazingly, for an unmoderated blog, there are a fair number of interesting, thoughtful, and occasionally hilarious commenters here, too.
Oh, and props to Phoebe@17 for introducing herself perfectly.
Also, read this: newgeography.com/content/001110-the-whit…
Carry on.
Ps. Be sure to ask your coworker Kelly O and her friend Tara Thomas about their little black face moment. Should make for an awkward water cooler moment.
http://blackcannon.org/kelly-o-1.jpg
It's true that the comments are normally a snake pit. Telling people where to get off and/or to pretend they have an ounce of class doesn't work though. Fuck knows I've tried.
I wish for you the serenity to accept the bullshit you cannot change, the courage to smack down the jackasses who are within reach, and the wisdom to know when it's time to move on to something much, much better than this.
Best to you.
Welcome Danielle.
The "touching the hair" thing: For a few years, I had goth-type hair which I changed the color of, a lot. When it was dark blue, or fire engine red, people would ask to touch it or sometimes just reach out, unbidden. When I shaved most of my head, people wanted to touch my head. It was weird. Must be aggravating if it happens to you all the time.
If I may submit one piece of advice, try to stay out of the comments on your own posts. An occasional follow-up or clarification is great where appropriate, but some writers *ahem GOLDY* spend far too much time bickering and sounding defensive, ultimately weakening the original post. I'm sure your posts will be great (as are most of Goldy's IMO). Let your writing stand on its own. The commenters will bicker plenty. Cheers!
Hello, Danielle!
(Note - that last comma was just for you)
This is Seattle. Even the black people are white.
This is Seattle. Even the black people are white.
Good luck and have fun!