Meeting Persephone

Without fail I am the most misunderstood person I know. Now I realize I'm practically agoraphobic and I don't know a huge number of people but even those closest to me will misinterpret what I'm saying at any given moment. It's frustrating to say the least and infuriating at best. Add to that my excessive blushing problem and extreme anxiety when I'm worked up and you might better understand why I seldom leave the house or initiate an argument/debate with people I don't know very well.

Imagine my unhappy surprise today when I found myself being called out on an internet radio show (heard nationwide) by the host over a comment I'd made in the chat room provided and he was COMPLETELY misunderstanding my point! Because the host is on webcam while the show is airing I had to see this man pointing directly at me and yelling about his total misunderstanding of my comment. Essentially he was arguing the same side I was but he was so enraged that he didn't read or process my statement correctly and so it got ugly. Of course my heart began pounding, my face turned bright red, my whole body was shaking and I was trying my damndest to make my point clear while typing in this condition! Instead his co-host/engineer demanded that I call into the show and debate this live with them on air meanwhile the entire chat room is going ballistic on me in the chat room and I'm a nervous wreck. I tried to send a message privately to the co-host but he brushed it off and demanded again that I call - so I requested the phone number as I couldn't track it in the rapidly scrolling chat room of people across North America typing at me in all caps!

"Hello, you're on the air with ____" I hear through my phone. What I said is totally lost to me - I don't remember a word except denying what I was being accused of even after I tried to explain. Finally I said "I'm saying the exact opposite thing you're accusing me of - I'm saying what YOU are screaming at me!" He apologized and laughed and then *click*.

Fortunately I was NOT on webcam for this entire episode. Blissfully he WAS! I watched him turn bright RED on air right before my very eyes!

I know my arguments inside and out. I do NOT lack confidence in my point of view on these issues (cannabis and universal health care specifically) but when I don't like to be the center of any attention - especially bad attention - it can rock me to the core especially when I am being accused of a point of view so vastly different from what I really believe! I'm UBER liberal (as you know) and he was essentially labeling me a conservative - just to add to the stress! I'm not an attention whore - despite what people might think of people who blog. I started this blog, overcoming a great deal of trepidation, to push myself to do something I wouldn't normally do. I don't regret it for a minute because I've met some really wonderful people through comments and on other people's blogs. But WHEW - that was an experience I hope not to repeat anytime soon!

I'm sure he's already over the episode. He does this every day for two hours and people like that can usually recover pretty quickly. For someone like me - someone who HATES being the center of attention whether it's good or bad attention - it takes a little longer. It's been more than two hours since the whole event took place and my heart rate is slowing back down though not back to normal. I'm only a little shaky now and my color is starting to fade back to its normal pale shade. My nausea is even beginning to subside. By tomorrow I expect to be back to my "normal" self. Unfortunately. ;o)

But the essential point I was trying to make was this:

Prop 19 will NOT take anything away from MMJ patients anymore than Universal Health Care would have taken anything away from Medicare/MedicAid recipients! When everyone is included how can anyone be denied? To say otherwise is just plain missing the point of the law and that kind of ignorance keeps too many people criminals that don't have to be! If they're telling you to vote "NO" - ask yourself why! And if they're giving you the "I got mine" point of view ask them why they don't want you to have it too! VOTE YES ON PROP 19!

And if you heard the whole thing during the show - yep that was actually me on air!

The Trash Heap has spoken!