Forgive me, blawgosphere, for I have sinned. I did something that I usually think is immature and stupid. I... flamed someone.
This post by "Stan Stankowski" struck a nerve with me. He just reminded me of the entitled rich jerks I went to high school with, the ones who yelled out numbers when girls passed in the hallway and got brand new BMWs after they crashed the ones their parents gave them for their 16th birthdays. The ones who treated everyone with contempt and drank themselves sick on the weekends and didn't care, because they knew everything would turn out fine for them in the end. And it always did. (It was the "fag" cough that set me off, plus the weird gratuitous UCL-bashing. The rest was just projection.)
Anyway, I reacted badly and broke my 24-hour rule: if you write anything emotional, wait 24 hours before sending because you'll most likely regret it later. (Which I did; my first comment was, in fact, both immature and a little hysterical.) I basically implied that "Stan" was condescending and mean-spirited, and he responded by implying that I was self-righteous and sheltered in my little ultra-liberal corner of the world. And the funny thing is, I bet we could both live with those criticisms -- but we'd be horrified if they were reversed.
I repent with four Scheherazades and an Evan Schaeffer.
Update: Discussion of the word "fag" in the comments; interesting followup post by Res Ipsa on why Americans are so sensitive. Also, speaking of inflammatory words...
