two parties later

Despite way previous assertions that I am a misanthrope, I do try to get along with people but then people let me down time and time again so I blame the whole damn lot of us for being a thoughtless bunch of walking apes whose thumbs have led us to think way too much of ourselves.

Tonight, I went to two different parties at two different places that I've never been before so I was walking into the unknown. Really, that's quite brave of me, especially considering one of the parties was up north which crosses a line for me. It makes it a lot harder to walk home if I want to bail.

The first party, the northern one, was actually a fundraiser for NW RAGE, the food activists against genetic engineering. I really enjoyed this party. I was actually hoping for something a little more wild with a little more dancing but it was what it was and it worked. I even won a $25 gift certificate to OTA Tofu.

However, we decided to bail on it and go to a BBQ for a co-worker's fiance's birthday. I like my co-workers but I didn't see the need to hang out behind their house. I just knew that it wouldn't be my scene. And I was right. The party was winding down when we got there. The guest of honor had already headed to bed but we left a party to go there so we stuck it out. So it was one of our co-workers and her early twenty-something friends and five of us from Indymedia. We made casual conversation for a bit but then, while talking about activism, we mention Indymedia and one of the twenty-somethings says, "Phfff (that's an exaggerated exhale), Indymedia. Yeah, there's a site for truth."

Needless to say, there was akward silence afterwards but one of us did offer up, "Only as much truth as you're willing to post," referencing how the content is publicly generated and, if there is false info up there, people can always refute it on the website. But no, she got silent, then started talking under her breath to the person next to her, making it more akward.

Do they give new activists to town a manual upon entry, saying, "Here's the scoop on all of the working people and groups that you're supposed to have a problem with..." It seems like people are very impetuous and eager to run shit down based upon rumors and disinformation. Fortunately, by this time, I was in SE Portland and able to walk home so I did.