Goodbye. Your Witch Hunt Wore Me Out.

[Horsey]

Posted: 11/7/03 at 1:56am

Well, I thought it might be fun to use this message board as a means of sharing opinions on Theatre (specifically, Broadway Theatre.) In the two weeks since I joined I've been accused of being everything from a "shill," to being Rosie O'Donnell, and Boy George (even when I protested and swore that I wasn't involved with TABOO.) Unfortunately, I have been (very obviously by some) made to feel rather unwelcomed here. So, guess I'll be moving on. Goodbye. Goodluck. All the best. Peace.

-Horsey Updated On: 11/7/03 at 01:56 AM

[Seany]

Posted: 11/7/03 at 2:02am

Ditto.

[jrb_actor]

Posted: 11/7/03 at 2:07am

come back as a new identity--and you'll be welcome if you are real. The truth always rises to the top. best of luck. =)

[DofB5]

Posted: 11/7/03 at 6:37am

I'm sorry to hear this as well. JRB has good advise. Come back as someone else. Other have done it.

D

[rlbgbc]

Posted: 11/7/03 at 9:13am

Given that thread title, I assumed this was a WICKED discussion. Hmmm, silly me.

[LouW95]

Posted: 11/7/03 at 9:31am

Horsey, dont run and certainly dont hide your feelings via another name. I and others felt exactly the same way. There are a few people here who have become what I call "on-going negative attack artists". They simply post constantly and demonstrate much anger, even through their attempts at humor. Just continue to post and hope the people who monitor this board will do a better job of contacting people who make personal attacks. This site has lost quite a few people and we need all we can get- so does Bway!

[sheekala]

Posted: 11/7/03 at 9:42am

LouW95 believe it or not I agree with you regarding the need for HORSEY to stay and express his opinions, but I'm concerned by your constant attempts to have other people "silenced" for doing the same thing.This kind of reasoning brought forth the Taliban. More than once you've advocated that the "people who monitor this board(who do a great job by the way)" either ban or admonish posters for their views. We are a passionate bunch, but most people who post on internet boards are, check the Movie sites, the Sci Fi sites or the many political sites fall under that umbrella also, thereare plenty of people who address both sides of all possible coins. If people can't accept us for who or what we are and what we think then so be it, but it shouldn't be anyone's job to "shut down" someones opinion. Your way of thinking recently scared CBS into pulling The Reagans tele-movie from it's schedule,a program that was a drama, not a documentary or Lord's sake! We have to be careful in current times as free speech seems to nearing extinction.

Updated On: 11/7/03 at 09:42 AM

[FindingNamo]

Posted: 11/7/03 at 9:52am

"This site has lost quite a few people and we need all we can get- so does Bway!"

Where do statments like that come from?

[Al Dente]

Posted: 11/7/03 at 9:56am

Once again, you beat me to the exact same question. The one thing this site is NOT short on, is people posting.

[WhatDoINeedWithLove?]

Posted: 11/7/03 at 10:08am

Bye Horsey! Sad to think people here are like that!

[orion59]

Posted: 11/7/03 at 10:20am

As one of the people whom you feel was part of this, I just want to make a couple of points before you take off completely.
Okay, you were accused of being a shill and accused of being Rosie. Lot's of other people here have had the same thing happen to them. I was accused on the old Broadway.com board of being Mario Cantone for similar reasons as your being accused of being Rosie. I personally found it amusing. You were annoyed by it. You then carried that annoyance into other threads and at times were rude to people when it wasn't warranted. There are times when someone was simply staing a difefrent opinion and doing so without a personal attack but your response seemed as though you had been attacked.

People sometimes get into heated debates here, everyone has their own view and believes it to be right. that's part of participating on a message board.
I'm not saying any of us were 100% right but, neither were you. If you look at some of your posts objectively, you may see what I mean. Do I think you should leave or change screen names because of the arguments? No. However, you can't put the blame completely on the people here. It takes more than one eprson to keep an argument going. If you leave, it's your choice to do so and you can't really balme otehrs for driving you away.

I think it's ridiculous of you to go away if you beleive that you could enjoy participatng in this forum. I think you should stay and continue expressing your opinions (spelled correctly)and stop being defensive toward those who express different opinions. Defend yourself only when called for and not when you anticipate that it will be called for.

[TheBalladeer]

Posted: 11/7/03 at 10:21am

Horsey,

Do NOT stop posting because people criticize your opinions. And don't care if people accept you, or your opinions, either. Post what you feel, and don't you feel that you have to hide who you are, and censor yourself because people don't agree with you...that's insane. So what if a few posters claim that you are Rosie O'Donnell, or a shill, or anyone else? Unless they can prove that, take it as either poor attempts at humor, or ignorance, or ball-busting, or whatever. There are a few posters here who I have learned to ignore, or simply don't respond to, and you have to learn to do the same. That's life. Not everyone is going to agree on everything, and some people just simply... like to be mean. These people will eventually find a new target, so in the meantime, just continue to post whatever floats your boat, and learn to develop a thick skin. You leaving the board and making a big production about it is just what they want, so don't give them the satisfaction, and make yourself miserable. Here's to seeing more posts from you, my friend.

Cheers,
The Balladeer

[papalovesmambo]

Posted: 11/7/03 at 10:22am

well now folks, i am relatively new on the scene here, but i think you've all gathered i have no qualms about expressing my opinions and feelings so i thought since the waters looked nice and chilly here that i'd do a nice half gainer into the thread.

i walked into the middle of the "shill hunt" as my very first post will show. but one of the things that drew me to this site was open and frank discussion. sometimes open and frank discussion gets ugly. duh, we're human. but what separated this site for me was that i saw people who could find the humor even in the nastiness. if we can't laugh at ourselves then we're freakin' doomed and what i fell in love with about this site that was that even though yer a buncha "bitter queens" you revel in it and are not treating things in this board as if they are life or death matters. they're not.

something else that made me join this bunch was the fact that for the first time in a long, long, time i saw people able to express clearly that even though they disagreed with someone's opinion, that it didn't mean they had to immediately and for all times swear that person off as an enemy unworthy of even a moment's thought. even, god forbid, regarding politics which as we all know is almost as polarizing as musical theatre.

so horsey, if you feel you have to leave, then go. i think that doing so does more than anything to say to those who labeled you that they were right. i'm sure at some point i'll say something to upset the entire board here. it's something i have a talent for, but they'll have to terminate my membership because i'll go kicking and screaming.

and that's my 38 and a half cents

[mamamia sammy]

Posted: 11/7/03 at 10:30am

Oh please.

Do you really think we've heard the last of Horsey? Yeah right.

Remember when LouW95 told us he was never coming back?

Have no fear, Horsey will return. People who really want to leave just leave. They don't make a proclamation about it.

PS. Orion, I'm sorry to hear that people thought you were Mario Cantone

Updated On: 11/7/03 at 10:30 AM

Posted: 11/7/03 at 10:40am

What witchhunt?

I Miss Everything!

[LouW95]

Posted: 11/7/03 at 10:52am

Funny how the guilty have responded to my last posting. We are not talking about stopping an opinion but just eliminating personal attacks and calling people names because of their opinions. I suggest we all ignore personal attack messages. Why drive anyone away from the website or Bway?

[mamamia sammy]

Posted: 11/7/03 at 10:58am

Lou, all I have to say to that is....

I am new to online sites like this and that is why I am what you call a "sudden poster". Sorry if I invaded your little world of like minded ethnocentrics. Your accusations and insults are way out of line. Keep on with this tone and this board will peter out ..Some advice: Be more tolerant and welcoming instead of placing labels on people who simply have a different opinion. So long. I hope every show receives great notices and promotes Bway.

[sheekala]

Posted: 11/7/03 at 10:59am

"Guilty" in your eyes only Lou, and speaking of "personal attacks" didn't HORSEY himself begin his brief stay within these boards with a few of his own? That being said there is no reason for him to leave. And while we are on this subject am I the only one that is weary of sensitive skinned members who make dramatic departure messages with all the wounded indignation of a young Barbara Stanwyck?

[mamamia sammy]

Posted: 11/7/03 at 11:01am

You go Sheek!

As I said, Horsey is about as gone from the board as Lou is.

[orion59]

Posted: 11/7/03 at 11:17am

That's funny, when I look over the posts on this thread I see the "guilty" people saying "don't leave".

I have never said one word to you, Lou, but in this situation I have to say it is a case of someone clearly not owning up to their participation in arguments. I actually don't think I've ever read one of your posts. They were most likely part of a thread that didn't interest me and I therefore didn't see them. However, based on the one you just posted, it seems like another case of keeping the fight going in spite of the fact that people are trying to be nice. Some people here are big enough to say "I may have been wrong and I may have contributed to arguments". It's unfortunate that everyone can't do the same. I don't know what your experience has been here. Maybe you were attacked and treated unfairly. In this particular thread, there is nothing being said that calls for labeling people guilty, attacking anything that they have said or claiming that anyone is driving people away. Read the psots again. I think we are trying to be fair here.

[FindingNamo]

Posted: 11/7/03 at 11:51am

Ugh, even discussing it plays right into the martyr complex. The world is full of people who declare themselves in exile, only to return again and again. (Hi Roxy!)

[robbiej]

Posted: 11/7/03 at 12:10pm

Just one question:

WHO CARES???????????????

What the hell are we talking about here? You wanna go? Go! You wanna stay? Stay!

How is this affecting ANYONE'S life????

Get off the cross, folks! Temperature's dropping and people need the fire wood.

[sheekala]

Posted: 11/7/03 at 12:22pm

robbiej speaka the truth and with that, "END SCENE"!

[Amneris]

Posted: 11/7/03 at 12:40pm

im really Ann Reinking...

[orion59]

Posted: 11/7/03 at 12:42pm

Sammy,
I've been called worse. At least nobody ever thought I was Rosie.
Mario is actualy a nice guy if you can get past the craziness. One person became convinced that I was not Mario but was then sure I was his sister, Camille, trying to promote him.