I'm an English Major and a Loner!

[supernova]

I am not a homicidal maniac.

I am not suffering from the side effects of anti-depressants.

I don't own any guns, nor do I like them. I have however shot a rifle for target practice a time or two. (I live in the country afterall. :P) I once shot down a piece of mistletoe for christmas.

I do enjoy people and relationships, just not in large doses. I enjoy my family and my nieces and nephews. I enjoy my friends, most of whom are on DU. :hi:

I enjoy movies and music, not all of it violent. Some of it is downright sappy.

I do read John Donne ... for fun.

I excercise, pray, and meditate because it relaxes me and I take pleasure in communing with things larger than myself.

I walk in the sun and bask in the moonlight alone.

In short, I am alone because the pleasurable feelings and sensations I get, I can't get in a crowded room or on a never-ending list of people to call back on my cell phone.

I am alone because the beauty and the pain of being alive is so vivid to me when I am; I sometimes hate to leave it. But there it is. Because we all need others, of course. But finding the right balance, ah there's the mystery for each of us to discern.

[Mandate My Ass]

1. and a liberal!

Get thee to Gitmo. Stat!

[supernova]

4. Yes, I should be

put away for that alone!

:D

[Mandate My Ass]

6. I guess I'll see you there

I'm a Dennis Kucinich supporter. We get first dibs on bunks. ;-)

Great post, BTW. I'm a loner too and you summed those feelings up beautifully. :thumbsup:

[supernova]

15. I want the bottom

bunk.

I'm no good trying to climb down from the top in the middle of the night.

Thanks for your kind words.

[jody]

2. They're watching you now ! n/t

[supernova]

5. My nefarious plan

to have dinner by myself no doubt will keep them up for hours!

[jody]

22. ROFL

:rofl: :thumbsup:

[annabanana]

3. I see you.

I am a noisy boisterous bumptious sort of person, so I would probably annoy the daylights out of you. I don't blame you for treasuring your more solitary path. (some envy here)

[supernova]

8. Ha Ha!

Well, hey there party girl! ;-)

It depends. There have been people I've walked away from because interacting with them felt like being next to an energy vampire. Not healthy. But I don't get them from most folks I interact with on DU.

[Xenotime]

7. mistletoe can be sneaky....

I hope your experience taught you a lesson.

[supernova]

11. It taught me

mistletoe is much easier to get at the store! :P

[Igel]

9. But ... but .... but .... your NAME says otherwise!

English major, loner, *and* a giant mass of exploding plasma set to take out any life in your area and irradiate nearby solar systems.

[supernova]

12. Well, we've

still got several billion years together!

[whistle]

10. Do you own a knife....also supernova what gender are you?

[supernova]

13. Kitchen knives

I have a couple of really nice chef's knives and a boning knife. Does that count?

Like a lot of kids around here, I used to always have a penknife. I liked whittling, but I haven't done that in ages.

edit: I am a member of the estrogen brigade. :-)

[whistle]

52. I have many knives including a fine chef's set but I seriously doubt if I could

...ever kill anything that slithers, crawls walks on four or more legs or speaks in tongues. I can cut a wonderful butterfly tenderloin though and cut up and de-bone a raw chicken carcase. I don't believe you could hurt anyone either supernervana!:hi:

[Donnachaidh]

14. hands where we can see them son!

kidding!

Being a loner is a good thing. I was too in college. :headbang:

[ecstatic]

16. Do extroverts go on killing sprees?

Curious...

[supernova]

17. I was wondering that myself

If some of these killer "loners" aren't infact "failed" extroverts. Good question.

[ecstatic]

18. That's an interesting question, since a true introvert

doesn't mind peace and quiet and isn't dying to be accepted. However, one can only begin to imagine the mental anguish an ostracized extrovert might feel.

[supernova]

21. We were talking about this

on another thread here in GD when it was revealed he was from Centerville, VA, with a large Korean community. There is immense social pressure within the Korean community here. Pressure to succeed. It's entirely possible that some of that played a role and became twisted within him.


edit: "role" not roll

[SayWhatYo]

25. Hitler... :P

[supernova]

28. Never thought of that

but he does fit. He was colossally disappointed he didn't get into art school in Vienna.

[Gregorian]

31. Hitler was another social failure.

The original thread poster here is a social success.

I see a common thread. Socially successful people don't go on killing sprees. Social failures are the only kind who might.

[supernova]

39. Thank you

for the compliment, Gregorian

It gets hard sometimes convincing people you're just a quiet dreamer who likes communing with the cosmos.

[Colobo]

46. Very true!

[ieoeja]

29. Naw ... they become serial killers.

Extroverts are very introverted about their killing. Hypocrits!

[Bucky]

34. Ted Bundy was an extrovert... quite charming actually

It's less common, but your sociopaths can be introverted or extroverted.

[supernova]

36. Oh yes, I almost

forgot about Ted Bundy.

He could go to a day job and then kill at night. Unreal.

[kirby]

49. Arent many serial killers 'extroverts'?

I know that Ted Bundy was an extrovert and I recall many many more were. I seem to recall some other killers were introverts. So I would say its not related.

[slackmaster]

19. I demand street cred - Let's see some DISTURBING WRITINGS!

:hi:

[supernova]

20. Dammit

I don't ride the crazy train.

Best I can do is a PMS-fueled rant. ;-)

[Bucky]

35. Apparently Cho wrote some quite disturbing plays in his playwriting class

[Boojatta]

23. Short Test

Instructions:

Read the following passage:

I went to the woods because I wished to live deliberately, to front only the essential facts of life, and see if I could not learn what it had to teach, and not, when I came to die, discover that I had not lived. I did not wish to live what was not life, living is so dear; nor did I wish to practise resignation, unless it was quite necessary. I wanted to live deep and suck out all the marrow of life (...)

Now answer the following questions:

1. Thoreau wrote that when he came to die, he did not wish to discover that
a) he had never broken the law
b) he had not killed anybody
c) he had not lived
d) he wouldn't be a big media story for a few days

2. Thoreau wanted to live deep and
a) acquire notoriety
b) shoot people who refused to buy his books
c) suck the life out of people
d) suck the marrow out of life

[supernova]

26. OK, I'll play

C and D

Do I pass the SAT?

[Boojatta]

30. The good news is that you got the right answers.

The bad news is that your above-average reading comprehension is likely to make it difficult for you to relate to your peers. Also, your accuracy and attention to detail is a sign that you are over-controlled and might snap at any moment and violently attack people.

[supernova]

37. Well, I'll have to

make sure it's the appropriate people if that happens. ;-)

[damntexdem]

24. But how are you at creative writing?

I mean, if you are only interested in technical writing, who cares?

But if you are involved in literature -- ooh, Gitmo for you! ;-)

[supernova]

27. Not so good on the poetry

I'm more into personal essays and would like to branch out into film scripts (documentary stuff).

I have more time now that my TW gig is up for the moment. So, I'll see.

[firefox_fan]

32. The Precognition and Crime Prevention Unit will be at your place

very soon. :-)

[supernova]

38. I hope he doesn't

look like Tom Cruise.

Otherwise, I'll be happy to be "arrested." :evilgrin:

[WinkyDink]

33. I'm a former English (Ed.) major, and I'm a loner. Don't own a cell-phone, or even an answering

machine.
Only child. Married, no kids, no pets. Want to improve the lot of my fellows, but not at a party.
But I ain't a-gonna kill anybody, either (not owning a gun helps. Heh.)

[supernova]

40. Nice to meet you

WinkyDink. :hi:

I used to be married, but I have no kids. I grew up sort of alone. My brother an sister are much older than I am, so there are a lot of things we didn't share growing up. I learned very early to be self-sufficient.

[WinkyDink]

59. *Waves to supernova! I credit my book-wormishness---aka, my edumacation---to being by myself and/or

being around adults a lot.
Books kept me quiet and out of trouble. Still do! Hee.

[Monk06]

47. Well you could kill someone softly.............with your song.

[WinkyDink]

58. Oh, that is a lovely, haunting song, is it not?

[ananda]

41. me too

I'm a former English teacher with an MA in English lit..
and I love being alone.. a lot.

Introverts forever.

[supernova]

43. Welcome to the club!

:hi:

We have a lot to offer the world. Just that it's sometimes hard for others to see.

[blueworld]

42. Ask not for whom the bell tolls - it's your editor calling.

Beautiful post - thanks.

I was an English major once, and a loner. Those are two prerequisites for freelance writers. I hear voices (my editor's), see visions (mostly dollar bills flying out my office window) and bask in the glow of monitor light when I have a tight deadline and a loose brain cell.

:crazy:

[supernova]

44. Welcome to DU, blueworld!

:hi:

You're funny. You'll fit right in. :D

If you're interested, we do have a writers forum here.

[Colobo]

45. I'm a Latin American and Peninsular literature grad student, and a social loner!

And I'm not dangerous. I'm, in fact, a lovely human being. :)

Social loner- Known by everyone, lots of "friends", but still a loner! :)

[Generic Other]

48. I am an English major and my writing disturbs lots of people

including me at times. J'confess! Isn't Will Pitt one of us??

[supernova]

50. Deserves a new thread

by itself.

When is "distrurbing" writing indicative of a sick mind needing professional help, and when is "disturbing" creative and letting off steam? :shrug:

I mean, is there really a difference between this guy's one-act for English class and, say Pulp Fiction?

[Karenina]

51. KEEP YOUR HEAD DOWN, KID!!!

Next thing you know, TONY BLAIR will be profiling you!!! :hide:

[Reader Rabbit]

53. I'm a semi-hermit and a crazy neighborhood cat lady.

Can I be part of the loner group, too? I have to admit to being relatively social (I always go to my local on pint night), but for all intents and purposes, I think I qualify as a loner.

[supernova]

54. Oh, absolutely!

Here, have a pint on me:

:toast: :beer:

[Reader Rabbit]

56. Yay!

I was also an English major, a long, long time ago, in a galaxy far, far away.

Still, I think I'm safe. The drinking keeps me from wanting to harm others. :P

[Deja Q]

55. Wow, another post saying the killer was a loner...

and that one DUer is selective as to which loners (s)he wishes to respond to.

Here's the referential post:
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=389x678699#678760

(so maybe I'm becoming psycho if I see need to stress such an infinitesimal point. Whatever. This is GD. truly psycho stuff has been said by others. I just like uniformity so I will spread the word.)

[BluePatriot]

57. Me too

BA English and totally a loner...I bet people will be tiptoeing around me now...

[supernova]

60. *Whispers to BLuePatriot...*

It's us quiet ones you have to watch out for now.... you never know what we are thinking.


:sarcasm:

[Nay]

62. Lotsa killers aren't loners -- they're "failed joiners." There's a

big difference. They desperately want to belong, want to blend in and be like everybody else, but they give off a whiff of 'strangeness' that drives people away. They are 'weird,' 'goofy,' 'strange,' etc. That's a far cry from being a loner. Loners are happy alone, they aren't generally desperate for companionship. They have one or two good friends and a main squeeze, and they're happy.

[BluePatriot]

64. The moral: Kindness to "failed joiners"

Sometimes I feel like I could be in that failed joiner category, but, I have adapted well to solitary hobbies. Also, I realize that for me social skills must be learned and are not instinctive, that it's valuable to have a few and to methodically work at them, and that stumbling along while working on them is an OK thing, because lots of people have to learn and work hard at the introspective talents I happen to have. I feel bad when I come off as strange but there are people in my life I still get on with. DU is also great for picking up on social skills and getting things off my chest.

It does appear people tried to reach out to Cho though, and honestly, I don't think anything could have prevented this, though people will go around blaming guns/video games/the mental health system and legislating the hell out of stuff for a while.

[Nay]

65. I would be the last to suggest being mean to "failed joiners," but the

fact is that people who ARE kind to such people often find themselves being stalked. The mentally ill person latches onto the kindness and morphs it into love, undying friendship, etc., when the kind person simply smiled and said "hi."

It wouldn't surprise me a bit to find out that the girls he stalked (and the ones he killed early in the morning) HAD been nice to him, and he started spinning out the fantasies in his head to the point where, when they tried to let him down easily and said they weren't going to go out/date/see him, he went nuts. In his mind, he was practically married already.

But then I'm just an armchair psychiatrist, and WTF do I know?

[WinkyDink]

61. Do I hear a SONG?! Profuse apologies to Monty Python:

I'm an English major and alone;
I write bad prose and I read John Donne!
(He's an English major and alone;
He writes bad prose and he reads John Donne)

I read a poem, I scan its rhyme,
Iamb, dactyl, trochee!
On Sundays I do crosswords,
With my Parker pen! Tee-hee!
(He reads a poem, he eats his lunch,
...He's an English major....)

I find motifs, I deconstruct,
I Criticize a-New!
I'll analyze a novel, 'til in my face I'm blue!
(He finds motifs, he deconstructs,.....
He's an English major....)

I read Great Books, I wear thick specs,
Tooth braces and a shawl.
I wish I were a Bronte
Of any sex at all.
(He reads Great Books, he wears thick specs,...
He's an English major....)

[supernova]

63. LOL WinkyDink!

:rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl:


Thanks for the laugh! I really needed it. :D

[truedelphi]

66. All English majors are loners.

Groentz, the creator of the Simpsons, cartooned it best: What's a *real* bad day for a poet?

The day when someone else writes a better poem than yours.

But despite your lonely lunacy, you will always have grammar skills, and good spelling (plus the occasional cerebral quote) to help you wield your way through life's solitude.