The Journal of Someone who Squandered away Years but wishes to redeem them in the present |
Man, am I pissed that someone moderated the message board thread where I was having a battle of wits with an unarmed Tulio today. Tulio made a post (he rarely does so there) asking how his painting scored for him (remember, he won best overall at the tournament, so who cares?) He said he's "always open to criticism" I jumped in and posted "Did I just hear Tulio say he's open to criticism? Someone hold me back before I give him some." Then I went off to play another 40K game at the Haven. The folks at the store had read it and were very pleased with my humor, that made me feel nice. This morning, Tulio had a retort directly to me, about not liking me much, and knowing I don't like him. He mentioned that he heard what I had been "planning" to do if I played him at the tourney, and asked me if it wouldn't have been juvenile to score me low at the tournament just because of personal differences. He said he has 5 trophies for best sportsmanship. I really wanted to ask him if those trophies helped fill the empty spot where his humanity should be, or if he even noticed it's not there. But that's too deep for him, and too far over the top for the forums of the local store. So I said: "George Burns said that when you learn to fake sincerity, you can do anything." and I said my scoring would be juvenile "depending on how petty a person I am, or whether I feel I have an understanding of socially unacceptable behavior that he's not yet risen to". I said why I didn't like him, and that he'd better treat me with the dignity with which I carry myself in his presence, because I will play him in a tournament someday, perhaps nationally, and he wouldn't want me to change my mind about my personal scoring vendetta. I also told him that I had decided not to be punitive in tournaments with him. I said he should be pleased to know that of all the people I talked about regarding my moral dilemma, all said that the integrity of the tournament was more important than Tulio. That was a subtle insult I'm sure he missed, but my friends at the store did not. I think that's why they moderated the forum and removed the entirety of our exchange. And I was winning by leaps and bounds. Shrug. I satisfied myself, and I will let it rest unless he chooses to stir me up again. It is never too late to be what you might have been. -- George Eliot Courage to start and willingness to keep everlasting at it are the requisites for success. -- Alonzo Newton Benn |