I have been a member of DT since 2006 and a lot has changed since then.  There have always been haters, lovers, cliques, etc.  But, all in all, I remember this place as being a place of support.  I was sent a link to this place over MySpace in 2006 and decided to check it out.  What I found was euphoric.  A place where I could exist in anonymity and get help from and help others out without having to face any real humiliation.  Over the duration of my membership, I have met many diverse and interesting people.  Many people that I get to call "friend", "brother" and "sister."  These are people that I hold dear to me and that I have grown to genuinely care about.

The chat.  What can I say about that?  Every single night, I would log on and there would be all of my tribe friends.  We joked, laughed, even logged on drunk and had good times.  We did all of this and never strayed away from the sole purpose of why we were there.  Every so often, a new comer would have a problem and need someone to listen.  We were always there.  But, every blue moon or so, there would be a hater.  An instigator.  Someone who just turned our stomachs.  Now it’s to the point where we have to be told to be nice and watch what we say.  I have to accept a Terms of Service agreement to go into the same chat that I’ve been participating for two years!

Luckily, it’s not quite as bad as it was earlier this year.  People were really at each other’s throats.  Religion, morals, and sexual orientation were among the things that were dividing us.  Just yesterday, I "lost cool points" for being a Christian.  Why?  What did I do to hurt anybody?  I caught a lot of flame earlier in the year for my, then, right-wing point of view.  Someone created a poll inquiring people about their sexual preferences.  Instead of either answering, or just letting it be, people got into a huge fuss over it.  This simple, honest and harmless question became a big blow out and instead of supporting and talking to each other, we bit each other’s heads off. 

Guys, we are here to LOVE one another.  Being open-minded doesn’t mean being a Wiccan lesbian.  We are all equal here.  ALL OF US!!!  It hurts me every time someone says "Don’t push your religion on me!" just because I’m a Christian.  Anyone here who knows me knows that I don’t even do that.  If you feel that someone is wrong, then be the bigger person and be their friend.  By bashing people and flaming and trolling, you are only putting yourself down on their level.  Christians, I tell you all to go out and hug a Satanist!  Jews, go out and hug a Nazi!  Black people, hug a Klansman!  Rastafarians, go hug Whitey!  You can’t fight fire with fire.  Be a cool breeze instead.  Let the love in! 

People need us just as much as we need them.  Let’s try to make this place what it used to be.  This isn’t MySpace, guys.  Quit worrying about your profiles and your comments and let’s start supporting each other again.

See y’all in the chat!