# 63: Clay Aiken for President!

[merrieeee]

I think i'm too lazy to care.

Let me rephrase that....I know i'm too lazy to care!

[jmh123]

Just read them. (I don't have them sent to my phone or anything like that, just read what is posted on the boards and every now and then I go to the website.) My reaction was, at least he can argue directly with them, and the rest of us can more or less stay out of it. He's weary of the same crap we are. Clay--just stay away from the boards at times like these, except for FCA!!

[ldyjocelyn]

Heh. His last tweet from about two hours ago, a retweet from someone named wildoutlook:

@clayaiken A wise man once said twitter is the devil . I think I get it now . ;-)

[aikim]

Oh can we get Clay to come here and talk to us..he needs to know that not all his fans are bat shit crazy.

Verdict in..Sandusky guilty on 45 out of 48 counts..442 years in prison.

Kim

[calurker]

I'm sure twitter must have it's advantages( I don't use twitter so I don't know the "good" of it...only the "devil" ) but times like these make me wish it would disappear or maybe I should clarify that by saying " some of the idiots using it" should disappear or at least " get a life ".

[Couch Tomato]

Wow just read the tweets in the thread. What on earth has happened to civility and manners? And I'm sure whatever has been going on has been going on since CA ended. And I'm sure Arsenio has heard from some people every f'ing day with their opinions of him. And starting tomorrow I am going to judge each and every one of you and tell you which one of your friendships is real and which ones are fake. Honestly, there is not a thing Clay can do for Arsenio to make him stick around and take this abuse from his fans if not friendship. I'm sure he is not expecting the Clay fans to make up the demographic for his show. This is all so 2003, in a brand new medium. And memories are short. There was MUCH Ruben hate after the finale. It went on for years.

[treenuts]

There's WAY too much horse shit out there.

For cryin' out loud what's wrong people? <---- (rhetorical, no need to answer)

So pleased to see the Sandusky verdict! So sad but so very glad that whackjob will not get away with doing any further harm. I wish there was a way to hold his wife accountable also. Either she's batshit crazy (my mom's words), dumber than a doorknob OR guilty of complicity!

Hey couchie, how about that game tonight!! Let's try to make it to another one soon. (check your PMs)

Welcome home, ldyj!!

[aikim]

Seems even on the week-ends I cannot sleep in..my body clock is set to get up at 6:00 a.m. so here I am. Couchiel I agree with your post..it does feel like we are in some kind of time warp...bottom line is Clay is allowed to have whoever he wants for a friend and it is not ours to judge. I doubt very much that fans would like it if Clay were to start judging who we hang with. Never understood why there seems to be a set of rules for "us" and a set of rules for Clay. He always seems to be held to a different standard. He is human, he is allowed to get pissy and call out the fans if need be and disagree with us. This fandom can be totally self-absorbed at times and needs to realize that Clay's world does not revolve around us and our feelings and that is as it should be.

Hopefully today will be a better day...going to be beautiful here and I intend to enjoy it.

Happy Birthday to all celebrating!

Everyone have a great day!

Kim

[FearofH2O]

Please scroll. Just rambling again today.

The jury decided that verdict quickly. I don't know much about the psyche of pedophelia but there are some societies that accept it is normal. I never could understand that as children are so innocent and trusting. I was approached as a child when walking home alone from elementary school as were both of my sons. He took advantage of young men and boys who were looking for a loving dad or maybe just things that their families could never offer them. I don't think he sees anything wrong with what he has done. I've always wondered how as human beings we have different societal mores. But I'm too lazy to research it. Good riddance Mr Sandusky. Save the children.

Clay needs to research the topic of eugenics. I believe if he knew more about it he would be as incensed as I am about the NC Senate action refusing compensation to these women. Maybe he is very knowledgable and assumes it will occur some day. After reading about the state's nazi like actions to rid the state of "feeble minded" and "promiscuous" people up until 1974 I have been horrified and assumed it was a no brainer to compensate the remaining victims.

Heading out to Tai Chi this morning to clear my head. Have a fantastic day.

[keepingfaith]

I'm convinced that FCA is the last outpost for the sane and responsible Clay Aiken fans.

[Couch Tomato]

I'm convinced that FCA is the last outpost for the sane and responsible Clay Aiken fans.

If true then Clay's in trouble ha ha. Squeezing you tight!

So my brother and his family are in town and I'm cleaning my house like a mad woman this morning. Man I don't want to be doing this.

Tree-- so I take it the Giants won - no other reason for that shit eating grin LOL. I'll look at the schedule tomorrow and see what's upcoming. I think I'm going to get to go to the Giants game when they honor that World Series team that came oh so close. They will honor that team when they play the Reds. And I believe Darren Baker might throw out the first ball. Remember when JT Snow saved that ikid's hide. Anyway, he's so big now and quite the little athlete himself. I'm sure he will follow in his dad's footsteps. If my Tyler gets to sit in the dugout I'll get his ticket. Fingers crossed. Not sure if the Giants and A's play again this year. Hope so..only way to guarantee the A's a win against the giants is for you to go to the game heee.

[ldyjocelyn]

I'm convinced that FCA is the last outpost for the sane and responsible Clay Aiken fans.

You know, I'm glad to hear that. Not to pat ourselves on the back or anything...*g*

There are days, though, that I find the fandom just as entertaining as Clay himself. More frustrating, usually, but also kinda entertaining. Yesterday, was one of those days. I know, I know -- that's somewhat twisted.

And...as expected...I've now gotten a cold. My husband is getting over his finally -- just in time for him to have an unplanned week off of work (electrical work needs to be done at his library). OTOH, I'm going back to work on Monday. Sigh. I was also planning on doing a bunch of cleaning today. I think the only thing I'll get done is to take my bedspread to the laudromat!

It may be time for picture bombs!

[jmh123]

Please scroll. Just rambling again today.

The jury decided that verdict quickly. I don't know much about the psyche of pedophelia but there are some societies that accept it is normal. I never could understand that as children are so innocent and trusting. I was approached as a child when walking home alone from elementary school as were both of my sons. He took advantage of young men and boys who were looking for a loving dad or maybe just things that their families could never offer them. I don't think he sees anything wrong with what he has done. I've always wondered how as human beings we have different societal mores. But I'm too lazy to research it. Good riddance Mr Sandusky. Save the children.

Gotta ramble on this in response as this is sort of up my academic alley. "Normalizing" of pedophilia is actually pretty rare. But it does occur, and many more societies "normalize" other things that we object to in ours--notably slavery, female genital mutilation, forced marriages, and other forms of mistreatment of females.

Enlightened people can and do question whether we have the right to judge other cultures for their norms. But in cases of what we consider to be abuse, we in the US tend to assume that we do have that right. (And if Europe and the North hadn't protested slavery in the South, it could still be going on, and would it be right, even if a norm?) An individual's right to refuse unwanted sexual activity is to us a no-brainer, but in many, many cultures, especially for women, this is still not the case. Personally, while I believe in cultural diversity, I draw the line at accepting abuse of other humans, and I believe unwanted or coerced sex is always abuse, be it a child, a women, or a man. I don't care how many societies normalize it, it isn't right.

Sadly, not all humans are nice people, and one way of expressing and feeling personal power for certain not-nice people is to force sex on others. Sandusky may have convinced himself that these were loving acts, as pedophiles will do, but he and they are deluding themselves. I used to argue way too much with a group of pedophiles on wikipedia who were determined to use wikipedia as a venue to normalize it. They would go to almost any length to argue that children were willing, happy participants in loving relationships with adults. And yet, everything we hear from the children themselves indicates that it is a painful, humiliating, confusing experience that they do not enjoy. Yes, they may enjoy the "benefits" that are used to lure them in, and even be grateful for the love and attention when deprived of it elsewhere in their lives, but the sexual act itself--no. It's rape.

So, even if pedophilia is normalized in some society somewhere, my guess is that the children in question would experience it as abuse. My two cents.

I'm convinced that FCA is the last outpost for the sane and responsible Clay Aiken fans.

Squeeeeeeeee!! So good to see you!

[luckiest1]

Nice pictures, ldyj.

I found yesterday horrible. It's days like yesterday that drive me farther and farther away from this fandom. Not from Clay, please let me make that clear. Love him to pieces, same as always. I just felt so embarrassed, and so bad for him yesterday, being put into the position he was by his so-called "fans". I am glad he stood his ground, but it was not in the least entertaining to me. I have nothing against Arsenio, but I am almost dreading the reception he will get at the Gala. I hope that people will at worst be polite and at best get over themselves and support Clay's friend in the way that he would like them to. I also hope that if Clay quits Twitter, those who were responsible will feel badly. However, I know better than that.

Today is a gorgeous, sunny day. The sweltering heat and humidity have finally broken, and we are actually having a nice, summer's day. I've been to the farmer's market already, and am planning to head to the International Food Festival in the park downtown later this afternoon. Hope everyone is having a good weekend!

[keepingfaith]

I just felt so embarrassed, and so bad for him yesterday, being put into the position he was by his so-called "fans". I am glad he stood his ground, but it was not in the least entertaining to me.

My feelings too. To hear that this sort of thing happened with Ruben in the early days makes me go ... whah?. To quote John Lennon, "You must have learned something in all those years." And I think the first learned lesson should have been that an artist's life does not revolve around "fans." To expect first consideration for "fans," at all times, is delusional. How is that so hard?

[FearofH2O]

Thanks jmh. I like the differentiation of enlightened society, although even in this country that is questionable at times.

Since I rarely tweet Clay although I did after the CA finale to say that he did a great job for The NIP, I didn't take whatever he said as criticizing me. TCA didn't make me a big fan of Arsenio , although I did watch his old show. I couldn't stand the bowing and scraping to DT. But I would in no way tweet him or Clay about their friendship as in the long run it doesn't have an affect on me. I'm pretty sure Clay wouldn't like many of my friends. I'm glad for Clay that he made many new friends on TCA, but that doesn't automatically make me a fan of them. I may give Arsenio's new show a watch or two but I rarely stay up that late so i won't be a regular.

It's a beautiful day in the neighborhood, so I'd better continue my gardening.

[jmh123]

Thanks jmh. I like the differentiation of enlightened society, although even in this country that is questionable at times.

It is indeed! Questionable at times that is.

[ldyjocelyn]

I found yesterday horrible. It's days like yesterday that drive me farther and farther away from this fandom. Not from Clay, please let me make that clear. Love him to pieces, same as always. I just felt so embarrassed, and so bad for him yesterday, being put into the position he was by his so-called "fans". I am glad he stood his ground, but it was not in the least entertaining to me. I have nothing against Arsenio, but I am almost dreading the reception he will get at the Gala. I hope that people will at worst be polite and at best get over themselves and support Clay's friend in the way that he would like them to. I also hope that if Clay quits Twitter, those who were responsible will feel badly. However, I know better than that.

My feelings too. To hear that this sort of thing happened with Ruben in the early days makes me go ... whah?. To quote John Lennon, "You must have learned something in all those years." And I think the first learned lesson should have been that an artist's life does not revolve around "fans." To expect first consideration for "fans," at all times, is delusional. How is that so hard?

I actually agree with both you ladies. In many ways, yesterday was totally uncomfortable -- and definitely unnecessary. There is NO REASON why Clay should have had to do that. And yes, I've noticed the comparison between this year and 2003 with Ruben as well.

No, my reason for finding yesterday a bit entertaining was the fact that he smacked down some people who needed to be smacked down, IMO. It may be totally mean, but that's the way I feel.

[keepingfaith]

my reason for finding yesterday a bit entertaining was the fact that he smacked down some people who needed to be smacked down, IMO.

And they are SO disappointed in him. He must have had some kind of breakdown, you know. Who is HE to like and defend his own personal friends? What kind of Idol is he, by God!

It's apparently some strange tragic farce.

[FearofH2O]

Unless Clay is doing something all the time and is telling us about it, it's just not right. I do believe he has the right to veg out for days at a time. I'm pretty good at that myself.

[aikim]

What stands out to me is that there are two sets of rules..one set for the fans and one set for Clay. The fans are allowed to:

Bitch about his hair.

Bitch about his clothes

Bitch about his career choices

Bitch about his music

Bitch about his friends.

Go on twitter and Bitch about his friends

But Clay is supposed to:

Suck it up

Always respect the fans feelings

Always put the fans first even before his friends and family

Never complain about fan behavior

Consult the fans on who he has as entertainment at the Gala

Basically grovel to the fans because they spend money on tours and support his Foundation.

He is do all this because he is a celebrity and we basically made him what he is and he would not have National Inclusion Project if it weren't for the fans.

Kim

[shortyjill]

luckiest, keeping and aikim you 3 pretty much hit the nail on the head far as I'm concerned. I wasn't around for Idol but if the Arsenio hate is as bad as the Ruben hate from back the in the day then I feel sorry they had/have to put up with the bad fan behaviour. I guess that's what filtering and ignoring are for.

I am leaving for the next 24 hours to spend a weekend with some awesome friends. I'm leaving the laptop home...it'll be nice to get away from the drama for a while.

[calurker]

Hey luckiest, keeping and aikim....you covered everything I was going to say....so now I can just sit back and read. Great job !!!!

[ausdon]

:wetkissf: Hi FCA

Beautiful day here, clear sunny and cool. I have just filled up the clothesline and soon we will start on some fence painting. I love pottering about the house - no set plans - no place to be - days.

From the little bit I have read around - wth?- think I'll just stay in my happy -FCA -place.

Have a good day.

[Couch Tomato]

Aikim - you wrapped it up in a nutshell.

My neice was AWESOME in her show tonight. She really shines on the stage. She's still really shy off stage. After the show so many people came up to her. One older gentleman told her she was born to dance. And another lady pulled her over to say she had a spark on stage and stood out. She also sad she reminded her of her daughter who danced with the same company 20 years ago. And then the daughter who was also there told my niece I don't know you but you are fantastic. It was so wonderful to hear all those compliments from people we don't know. And I just looked her up on IMDB, but the daughter of the woman, and the woman who pulled my Alex aside is an actress and is on the show Nikita. http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0960912/ I don't watch the show but it was still nice to hear that compliment from her.