An Emotional Life- Divorce, Emotions, and Past Relationships- A Mini Vent By: Ethan

[HejiraNYC]

From my impartial, objective take on this ****storm of a thread, I have concluded that everyone is missing the point. I don't think Ethan is intentionally whining about his parents divorcing or some chick ignorning him in an effort to evoke pity. I think what he is really trying to communicate (albeit not very articulately or concisely) is his fear of becoming emotionally dead inside, i.e., building up an emotional barrier and becoming distant from people in his life. It wasn't a pleasant read by any means, but I suppose he has a right, as a young adult, to share his story and then ask the world what this all means. Since he obviously does not have any close confidents that he feels comfortable sharing such intimate knowledge with, he probably felt comforted by the anonymity of the Ledge and hoped to compare notes with others who may have been in his situation. Obviously it didn't pan out as expected! I don't think it was a competition over who has it rougher, nor was it a blatant attempt to evince sympathy or a cry for help. Admittedly he has engaged in rather narcisstic and/or annoying posting behavior in the past, but I don't think this is one of those episodes to get riled up about. If anything I think Ethan's biggest fault here was simply not being able to express himself well.

If nobody had anything constructive to say, I think this thread should have died a quick, painless death on its own. The personal attacks were unnecessary.