[DoreenMichele]

Thank you.

My ability to speak frankly is one part me and my history, one part the rest of HN. Over the years, I've been thrown off of several forums. Most of the world is quick to shut down criticism and look for a scapegoat, usually the person giving the criticism.

I'm well aware I can be hard to take. I'm still here in part because it isn't at all lost on me that most social groups would have long ago run me off rather than continue to listen to my unflinching appraisal of all that's wrong with the world and how that expresses itself in the microcosm we share in this virtual space.

I've seen forward progress. And the thing is that most revolutions are bloody and violent and there's a lot of collateral damage. And there's also that principle that "Going to war to preserve the peace is like fucking to preserve virginity."

A desire for revenge and a desire for actual solutions is often at odds.

I think whatever changes have gone down because of HN's willingness to put up with my uncomfortable presence probably quietly cuts more deeply to the heart of certain problems than a lot of other efforts in the world.