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 By Jack Lepiarz Feb. 26, 2007 I'd be a hypocrite if I said I hate arrogance. I'm 18. Being reckless and full of myself are just two characteristics that come with the late-teenage turf. Most of the time, I don't care if a person is arrogant. I don't care if they have a very high esteem of themselves. I say fine. If you've got it and you worked hard to get it, then by all means, you deserve to hold yourself in that regard. There are only time when I don't like arrogance is when it's not backed up by action. If a person tries to talk the talk, they better walk the walk, to quote my father. When a person is full of themselves but doesn't have the right to be full of themselves, then I have an issue. In my opinion, a lot of Emerson College students fit that bill. All I have to do is talk to five people for five minutes, and I can guarantee you that I will end up hating two of them by the end of the conversation. But I'm not about to start complaining about Emerson College--though that could be the topic of another article. The purpose of this article is to address some of the more excitable tempers and egos we have here on Useless-Knowledge.com. A while back someone brought up the idea that UK is run by "old men." I don't care about that. I don't care what anyone's age is here or where they come from. We're all equals on this site. In fact, you would think that having a site "run" by old men would mean that it would be a gentlemanly atmosphere where everyone was polite, courteous, and respectful of the other contributors. The problem is that the atmosphere on the site looks more like a middle school cafeteria, with insults, profanity, and blatant disregard for other people. We have dozens of fake names all over the site to the point where you can't trust any new names that you see on the front page. Half of the new writers are just old writers writing under an assumed name because they've got some axe to grind against another writer. There is so much filth on the forums that you couldn't clean it with a fire hose. I tried to earlier in the year and got criticism from virtually every other person on the site. I was protecting writer X. I was doing this to persecute writer X. It was just the power trip of a deluded 18-year-old kid. There were allegations that I wasn't actually 18, and that I was, in fact, my father. Then people accused me of banning them (a power that I do not possess), and telling everyone else on the forum that I was banning them. Cue angry letters. Cue insults. Cue people calling me "childish" without ever bothering to ask if I had actually done anything. Cue me being called a phony. I don't need that. I don't mind having an article criticized. I don't mind debate over something I say. Hell, I don't even care if a paranoid pundit in a bow-tie curses me out over the phone. I do mind it when people get angry when I try to make the site a little more presentable. Worst of all, when I try to talk with these people reasonably, I never hear a response. Ever. I call that cowardice. That in mind, I'd like to formally ask the editors to remove my moderator status on the forum--and preferably in a quick and hasty manner. I can't do this job all by myself, and I won't try. The constant e-mails trying to get me to take one side over another are getting really dull, folks. In fact, while they're at it, I'd like the editors to remove everyone's moderator status. Seeing as none of the other moderators still write for this site, they really shouldn't be moderators. Because of the rampant egos on this site, we have lost virtually every respectable writer. Even I've had thoughts of leaving. After all, what's the point of staying now? I've already written well over 175 articles, I've won a Writer-of-the-Year award, and I've even earned myself a little fame in the process (thank you Crush Nightclub). But at this point, what reason is there to stay? There are writing opportunities elsewhere, places where I can write for teens, offer advice, opinion, and the occasional circus tip, but none of those places have the appeal that Useless-Knowledge does as my first writing opportunity. I came here in my junior year of high school. That was well over two years ago. I've seen this web site go from an excellent, award-winning site, to something that I'm almost ashamed to be a part of. There are men and women on this site that will not stop writing disgusting, obscene, and otherwise sick articles that sound more like something I'd hear from one of my friends at college. Inflated egos are running this site into the ground, and something needs to be changed: standards. This site will not improve as long as we continue to publish disgusting material on anal probes on our front page. This site will not improve as long as we blast writers on our front page. This site will not improve as long as men and women have constant temper tantrums on the front page. The editors of the site need to start rejecting articles that don't meet the criteria that is set down on the front page. Most importantly, the 40, 50, and 60-year-olds on this site need to start acting their age and stop acting like teenagers. Actually, I take that back. They need to stop acting like pre-teenagers. ------------ About the author: Jack Lepiarz is an 18-year-old college student at Emerson College in Boston. He also co-hosts the Katherine and Jack Show on UthTV.com and has been performing various circus talents for the past several years. Though often described as stubborn and egotistical, he tries to keep an open mind and treat others the way he would like to be treated. Email: Jackwuzhere42@aol.com Comment on this article here! ------------ All articles are EXCLUSIVE to Useless-Knowledge.com and are not allowed to be posted on other websites. ARTICLE THIEVES WILL BE PROSECUTED! |
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