[Jace]

Originally Posted by JR

jace, i think you are a nice guy and sincere. i mean this in a nice way... you can't demand respect. respect is earned. respect is not about money. by "respect" i don't mean by how much money you made/make or how long you have been around but by how you carry yourself as a person. you always have to bear some responsibility for your behavior and understand that people are also reacting to you. you can't demand that people have a certain opinion of you or that they treat you in a certain way... you shape their opinions through your words and actions.

is serge a prick? yeah... most would agree he is.
is mike? well.. he's staunch republican and thats close enough
is nick? anthony? me? sure... and so what? this is not elementary school where we are all learning to interact with the other kids. we are all adults here and most have learned that life is a road pave with assholes and the ignorant. its just something you tolerate as you get from point a to point b. many here think i am a cynical asshole. thats ok with me because i am big enough to accept responsibility for it. i understand it, i understand why, i understand what i have done to give people that impression of me.

do you want to know a secret to shutting people down who are trying to piss with you on a message board?? take the high ground. be professional. don't respond... don't fan the flames. don't attack knowing its going to draw the aggression of someone who is just looking for a few moments of free entertainment at your expense.

most importantly, don't take shit so seriously. you are not working any harder than anyone else ever did. you are not special, you are not less of a person, you are not more. you are one more guy struggling to make money like everyone else is and has. mike, myself and many others quit this biz because it is a massive struggle on every level and its a business that demands you spend the majority of your time fighting fires and stressing about life and death issues rather than focusing on actual growth. serge finally got tired of waking up in the early a.m. to start the shave machine. everyone has been there. it wasn't easy for anyone and it isn't getting easier. i worked 14hrs or more a day, 7 days a week for quite a few years until i burned out completely... you are not doing yourself any favors by thinking you are going to get sympathy for how hard you work. we have all been there and we know its not easy.

always remember that to most of the people you are offended by, to them, its all just pixels on a monitor.

wow, you took what I said COMPLETELY wrong. I would NEVER demand respect out of anyone, ever. In fact I hate it when people demand respect from me for whatever reason they feel is important, that is just silly.

as for carrying myself. I try to be the most articulate and professional person as possible, if that doesn't call for respect, than I give up...and to be honest, respect is a bad word to use, I just want courtesy, the same courtesy I give others.....and while I am on the topic, respect is something I give EVERYONE, no matter what...I feel that in life as long as you live it and don't hurt other humans, you will be a truely good person, and not hurting other means respecting life, no matter when and where, and I try my best to do that...

I have not seen anything from serge that warrants him being a prick, I see him lash out at people, but anyone who has the smallest brain can see that is from insecurity, and that is not something to get mad about, that is kind of sad.

Mike is just fun to listen too, he has a lot of great views on things that make life enjoyable...I may not agree, but I enjoy

I don't want to have to adjust my way of life for someone else that is obviously negative because of some insecurity they have, I just rank them right up there with p1mpdogg and Amp from GFY...and if they get to me, I step back and hopefully when I come back they will have cooled off....I am not going to let someone insult me, that is just a wacky way to think...if someone walks up to my wife and calls her a whore I sure as hell aren't going to fight them (i don't fight), but I will make sure they are dealt with.

as for taking shit too seriously, sorry man, anything that I put my life on the line for will be taken seriously....and you are right, I am sure they worked really hard to be were they are, so why can't they respect someone who is doing the same? I don't care about sympathy whatsoever, I just would like courtesy, and if someone can't show that then they have larger issues to deal with than insulting me on a message board.

i think you read entirely too deeply into my original post...the jist of it was, I want other to show me the same respect I show them, I don't demand it I just ask for it, and if they can't do that then oh well, but I don't think anyone should be censored for it