On behalf of the great state of Montana, let me express my deep gratitude for the privilege of addressing this convention.
I stand here knowing that my story is part of the larger gotfrag story, that I owe a debt to all of those who came before me, and that, in no other forum on earth, is my story even possible. Tonight, we gather to affirm the greatness of our forums, not because of the length of our posts, or inteligence of our admins, or the wonderful frag system. Our pride is based on a very simple premise, summed up in a declaration made over two hundred years ago, “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal. That they are endowed by their Creator with certain inalienable rights. That among these are life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.”
That is the true genius of gotfrag, a faith in the simple dreams of its people, the insistence on small miracles. That we can tuck in our children at night and know they are fed and clothed and safe from harm. That we can say what we think, write what we think, without hearing a sudden knock on the door. That we can have an idea and start our thread without paying a bribe or hiring somebody’s son. That we can participate in the frag process without fear of retribution, and that our votes will be counted — or at least, most of the time.
This year, we are called to reaffirm our values and commitments, to hold them against a hard reality and see how we are measuring up, to the legacy of our for bearers, and the promise of future generations. And fellow gotfragians I say to you tonight: we have more work to do. More to do for Matt who has set up a lan and lost sponsors because of hateful and spiteful remarks. More to do for the people who log in expecting clean posts and are greeted by f-bombs by people circumventing the filter system. More to do for the threads being posted in the Day of Defeat section that have nothing to do with Day of Defeat!
Don’t get me wrong. The people I meet in small towns and big cities, in diners and office parks, they don’t expect admins to solve all their problems. They know they have to work hard to get ahead and they want to. Go into the collar counties around Chicago, and people will tell you they don’t want their admins deleting posts just because they questioned the admin's ability. Go into any inner city neighborhood, and folks will tell you that admins alone can’t teach kids to learn. They know that admins have to lead by example, that posters can’t achieve unless we raise their expectations and turn off the television sets and eradicate the slander that says a black youth that posts is acting white. No, people don’t expect admins to solve all their problems. But they sense, deep in their bones, that with just a change in priorities, we can make sure that every poster on gotfrag has a decent shot at posting, and that the doors of opportunity remain open to all. They know we can do better. And they want that choice.
In this time of need, I offer that choice. That choice is Shane Thrasher. Shane Thrasher understands the ideals of community, faith, and sacrifice, because they’ve defined his life. From his time spent writing predictions, to his help articles, he has devoted himself to this community. Again and again, we’ve seen him make tough choices when easier ones were available. His values and his record affirm what is best in us.
Shane Thrasher believes in an gotfrag where hard work is rewarded. Instead of deleting posts that do not reflect kindly on himself and other admins, he will delete only posts that will help the community grow.
A belief that we are connected as one people. If there’s a child on the south side of Chicago who can’t express his thoughts in clear concise sentences, that matters to me, even if it’s not my child. If there’s a senior citizen somewhere who can’t understand deanjive, that makes my life poorer, even if it’s not my grandmother. If there’s an Arab American family being banned for no reason other than his Arab beliefs, that threatens my civil liberties. It’s that fundamental belief — I am my brother’s keeper, I am my sisters’ keeper — that makes this forum work. It’s what allows us to pursue our individual dreams, yet still come together as a single gaming community. “E pluribus unum.” Out of many, one.
Yet even as we speak, there are those who are preparing to divide us, the spin masters and negative ad peddlers who embrace the politics of anything goes. Well, I say to them tonight, there’s not a liberal gotfrag and a conservative gotfrag — there’s www.gotfrag.com/dod There’s not a black gotfrag and white gotfrag and Latino gotfrag and Asian gotfrag; there’s www.gotfrag.com/dod
In the end, that’s what this position is about. Do we participate in a politics of cynicism or a politics of hope? Shane Thrasher calls on us to hope. Shane thrasher calls on us to hope. I’m not talking about blind optimism here — the almost willful ignorance that thinks the dod community will grow if we just don’t talk about the game dying, or the swear filter abuse will solve itself if we just ignore it. No, I’m talking about something more substantial. It’s the hope of slaves sitting around a fire singing freedom songs; the hope of immigrants setting out for distant shores; the hope of a young naval lieutenant bravely patrolling the Mekong Delta; the hope of a mill worker's son who dares to defy the odds; the hope of a skinny kid with a funny name who believes that gotfrag has a place for him, too. The audacity of hope!
In the end, that is God’s greatest gift to us, the bedrock of this forum; the belief in things not seen; the belief that there are better days ahead. I believe we can provide players to the playerless, teams to the teamless, and reclaim young people in cities across America from games that have no right to be played. I believe that as we stand on the crossroads of history, we can make the right choices, and meet the challenges that face us. GOTFRAG!
Tonight, if you feel the same energy I do, the same urgency I do, the same passion I do, the same hopefulness I do — if we do what we must do, then I have no doubt that all across the country, from Florida to Oregon, from Washington to Maine, the people will rise up, and Shane Thrasher will be sworn in as a gotfrag admin, and this forum will reclaim its promise, and out of this long political darkness a brighter day will come. Thank you and God bless you.
Shane Thrasher understands that some things are more important than work. I put my friends and family before my job. If you think that is something that should be looked down upon then maybe you aren't an American.
Thrasher for gotfrag admin
I stand here knowing that my story is part of the larger gotfrag story, that I owe a debt to all of those who came before me, and that, in no other forum on earth, is my story even possible. Tonight, we gather to affirm the greatness of our forums, not because of the length of our posts, or inteligence of our admins, or the wonderful frag system. Our pride is based on a very simple premise, summed up in a declaration made over two hundred years ago, “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal. That they are endowed by their Creator with certain inalienable rights. That among these are life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.”
That is the true genius of gotfrag, a faith in the simple dreams of its people, the insistence on small miracles. That we can tuck in our children at night and know they are fed and clothed and safe from harm. That we can say what we think, write what we think, without hearing a sudden knock on the door. That we can have an idea and start our thread without paying a bribe or hiring somebody’s son. That we can participate in the frag process without fear of retribution, and that our votes will be counted — or at least, most of the time.
This year, we are called to reaffirm our values and commitments, to hold them against a hard reality and see how we are measuring up, to the legacy of our for bearers, and the promise of future generations. And fellow gotfragians I say to you tonight: we have more work to do. More to do for Matt who has set up a lan and lost sponsors because of hateful and spiteful remarks. More to do for the people who log in expecting clean posts and are greeted by f-bombs by people circumventing the filter system. More to do for the threads being posted in the Day of Defeat section that have nothing to do with Day of Defeat!
Don’t get me wrong. The people I meet in small towns and big cities, in diners and office parks, they don’t expect admins to solve all their problems. They know they have to work hard to get ahead and they want to. Go into the collar counties around Chicago, and people will tell you they don’t want their admins deleting posts just because they questioned the admin's ability. Go into any inner city neighborhood, and folks will tell you that admins alone can’t teach kids to learn. They know that admins have to lead by example, that posters can’t achieve unless we raise their expectations and turn off the television sets and eradicate the slander that says a black youth that posts is acting white. No, people don’t expect admins to solve all their problems. But they sense, deep in their bones, that with just a change in priorities, we can make sure that every poster on gotfrag has a decent shot at posting, and that the doors of opportunity remain open to all. They know we can do better. And they want that choice.
In this time of need, I offer that choice. That choice is Shane Thrasher. Shane Thrasher understands the ideals of community, faith, and sacrifice, because they’ve defined his life. From his time spent writing predictions, to his help articles, he has devoted himself to this community. Again and again, we’ve seen him make tough choices when easier ones were available. His values and his record affirm what is best in us.
A belief that we are connected as one people. If there’s a child on the south side of Chicago who can’t express his thoughts in clear concise sentences, that matters to me, even if it’s not my child. If there’s a senior citizen somewhere who can’t understand deanjive, that makes my life poorer, even if it’s not my grandmother. If there’s an Arab American family being banned for no reason other than his Arab beliefs, that threatens my civil liberties. It’s that fundamental belief — I am my brother’s keeper, I am my sisters’ keeper — that makes this forum work. It’s what allows us to pursue our individual dreams, yet still come together as a single gaming community. “E pluribus unum.” Out of many, one.
Yet even as we speak, there are those who are preparing to divide us, the spin masters and negative ad peddlers who embrace the politics of anything goes. Well, I say to them tonight, there’s not a liberal gotfrag and a conservative gotfrag — there’s www.gotfrag.com/dod There’s not a black gotfrag and white gotfrag and Latino gotfrag and Asian gotfrag; there’s www.gotfrag.com/dod
In the end, that’s what this position is about. Do we participate in a politics of cynicism or a politics of hope? Shane Thrasher calls on us to hope. Shane thrasher calls on us to hope. I’m not talking about blind optimism here — the almost willful ignorance that thinks the dod community will grow if we just don’t talk about the game dying, or the swear filter abuse will solve itself if we just ignore it. No, I’m talking about something more substantial. It’s the hope of slaves sitting around a fire singing freedom songs; the hope of immigrants setting out for distant shores; the hope of a young naval lieutenant bravely patrolling the Mekong Delta; the hope of a mill worker's son who dares to defy the odds; the hope of a skinny kid with a funny name who believes that gotfrag has a place for him, too. The audacity of hope!
In the end, that is God’s greatest gift to us, the bedrock of this forum; the belief in things not seen; the belief that there are better days ahead. I believe we can provide players to the playerless, teams to the teamless, and reclaim young people in cities across America from games that have no right to be played. I believe that as we stand on the crossroads of history, we can make the right choices, and meet the challenges that face us. GOTFRAG!
Tonight, if you feel the same energy I do, the same urgency I do, the same passion I do, the same hopefulness I do — if we do what we must do, then I have no doubt that all across the country, from Florida to Oregon, from Washington to Maine, the people will rise up, and Shane Thrasher will be sworn in as a gotfrag admin, and this forum will reclaim its promise, and out of this long political darkness a brighter day will come. Thank you and God bless you.
Signed,
Negative.
Signed,
rob "scarface" mcclenathen
Signed,
Dustin "D_u_s_t_1_n_" Young
montana is like ten times better than florida
HRMmMmmmmm
I stopped reading there b/c I couldn't stop laughing.
You got my vote,
Signed
Tim "timdog" Calvert
Signed,
Dustin "D_u_s_t_1_n_" Young