Talk about the Marichiko ban here

[Elspode]

LJ, I am most definitely *not* aligning myself against you in any way. You know your proclivities and you freely acknowledge them. I am also not seeking any free passes or otherwise looking for positive jerking off.

All I'm attempting to communicate is this: Perhaps Mari has issues, but demonizing her because her issues are *obvious*, instead of well-couched, seems to me to be a bit unfair.

I *know* from poor. I know that it is possible for a person on a limited income to be shit poor, yet be able to indulge themselves on occasion (my son buys a couple of DVD's a month and drinks Pepsi one-liters very freely, but he's on Social Security Disability and receives food stamps...shall we have him investigated?)

One of the hardest things to do in this country is to get on Social Security Disability in the first place. If Mari is on it, it isn't because she's scamming the system. She's on it because she went through a process...a very goddamn strenuous process, satisfying numerous criteria, visiting multiple physicians who evaluated her and signed off on the paperwork. *I've* put my son through this process, and it was a motherfucker. I'm guessing that you haven't had to do this for someone, let alone someone you love. It sucks.

If you're going to criticize Mari for buying premium cigs while on disability, then you need to toss a stone at my kid for his profligacy in the DVD section.

All of this is probably moot, though, as I don't think you buy the notion of her being disabled in the first place, so anything else that follows is a waste of breath.

I would only ask that you put yourself in the place of someone who *does* have a disability, in particular, a cognitive disability, which can be insidious and not altogether obvious at first blush - especially in an online situation.

And, just so I'm not seeming to be altogether biased...Mari could also shoot herself in the feet a bit less from time to time.