Foxy, so why should I listen to anything you say anymore when you have demonstrated an increasing amount of entropy on OLO since you first began.
My behaviour is not in question, I know where my problems came from and why.
My behaviour is in direct response to the problems, so unless you are prepared to listen to the problems and their cause, you cannot comment or give an opinion.
I don't understand how or why you can reject my life stories with such casual, indifference and yet respond with such negativity, all without an ounce of material facts about me other than what I have described, which is all true.
I can't help it if I'm better off than most, or that I have a few more cars than most, and so on, etc, etc.
If it makes you feel any better, and I mean it, I'll tell you that there are thousands of men out there many times wealthier and with more cars and flashy houses who also live on the coast.
So come back to earth and calm down, I certainly won't bite, well not in a bad way, Hah. Ahem, where was I, yes, well anyway, I'm one of the good guys, I'm sorry if my life has stirred up some people, but if they were out to piss me off then, good, if not I was merely trying to explain a little more about myself and what I have done, which was intended to engender some respect from those who sought to demean me for no valid reason.
I hope this clarifies my position.

ALTRAV,

None of us really care about how many cars you have
or how rich you are. This is a discussion forum.
If you want to be taken seriously you need to
behave with civility towards others. To date you
haven't done that. You make assumptions about
people you don't know. And judge yourself
to be "superior." I come from a very prominent
family, and am married to a well known professional.
I also am well known in my field. Both my husband
and I have lived and worked overseas as well as in
this country. But none of that really matters in
this place. It's how we treat people, how we post,
blowing one's horn is not what people care about here.
There are many on this forum - whose backgrounds
would leave yours for dead. But this is not a
competition. Stop behaving badly - and you just may
gain some cred. Nobody needs to demean you - you do
that job yourself. A bit of civility goes a long way.

ALTRAV, your posts indicate you are some pompous fella, who is consumed by your own self impotence. How many dollars you have in the bank, or RR's, sorry Bentley's, you drive is of no consequence, the measure is what you say, and how you say it. In your case, your diatribes of opinion are believed by you to be fact, and woe betide anyone with the audacity to disagree, you paint them as some kind of moronic idiots. Of course on an anonymous forum this may not be the truth, could all be a gee up, and your real persona is that of a very nice bloke. But if it is the truth, and it is your bag, so be it. I'm not out to piss you off, but probably do.

As a side, and something you would not be capable of seeing, Foxy, is a middle of the road moderate, her posts are ten times the worth of the self indulgent nonsense you post, and believe everyone should accept as "gospel".

I'm not having a go at anybody with this post. Just thought that I should try to make that clear.

Opinion is one thing, everybody is entitled to one, but (this may be hard to grasp for some people) so is everybody else. A different opinion may seem offensive to someone who holds a very strong opinion on some topic. Opinion and offence go together in a robust, active world of discussion.

I'm worried that both Left and Right forget that: that they airily assume that, because their opinion is so obviously right (except to deniers), that only evil bastards could possibly disagree, and that therefore they are deliberately trying to cause offence. So their opinions should go through to the keeper, as it were, without the batsman even swinging at the ball. 'Other' opinion is illegitimate, only ours is legitimate - not only that but an expression of my undiscovered genius. So opinion and offence are inimicable, antithetical, they can't possibly go together. My opinion is good, yours is not because it causes offence which is bad.

If anything, I'm having a go (an easy shot) at young school-kids and their half-baked stance on climate change, among many other complicated issues. I suppose one should ask a teenager while they know everything, but I would be very worried about their opinions about, say, brain surgery: easy-peasy, shave the skull, cut around here, saw there, stick the top somewhere while you fiddle with the insides, fix the problem, put the top back on. No worries: who needs school ? Undiscovered geniuses !

Of course people should be free to express their opinion but they should EXPECT disagreement and alternative explanations in return, which in turn require them to think a bit further. Nobody should get a free ride. I've found OLO invaluable for that. One can churn over what someone else says and refine one's own arguments. Evidence, of course, helps. But surely we're all searching for the truth, whatever it may be, however 'offensive' it may be.

The Enlightenment continues, and will forever.

Joe

Foxy, I have tried to engage with you and your lot.
I have opened up, when I didn't have to.
I have explained myself a million times.
It is now patently obvious to me and the rest of the OLO contributors that there are those who harbour ill-will towards others, no matter how saintly they project themselves.
I made no attempt, none, to 'big note' myself, only to be as open and honest as I have always been.
Conversely, by your own hand, you have demonstrated a deep resentment for people, possibly due to your life in the public arena and excessive exposure to people and their shortcomings.
Or there are some other closer to home, unresolved issues.
Whatever your 'hang-ups' they are yours, and we respect that.
What I take umbrage to is your pushing your unrealistic and misleading views on life and the 'real' world.
You may want things to be better, so would we all, but unfortunately they are what they are, not what you say or think they are.
If you find my life's work and that I actually helped better peoples lives, or that I became a little better off than most, offensive and 'in your face', I'm sorry, I did not do that you did.
Excuse me for opening up and letting people understand what I'm about, as it seems those like you need to be appeased, because you refuse to see things in any other light than your own.
Well here's a FACT that you conveniently want to dismiss.
I'm not saintly like these people who go to church on Sunday then kill people on Monday.
If I say something, you can't dismiss it, because you have had no contact with what I say, I did.
There are people out there who are better, kinder, richer, poorer, funnier, sadder, angrier, etc; than you or I.
All you had to do was read me and move on, but no, you have again and again exposed yourself, demonstrating you're not really that compassionate angelical woman I thought you were, who just laughed things off.

ALTRAV,

You can spit on a rose but it's still a rose.