How's Your News?

Okay, it appears that I've been given a tip off that there are some fun things going on at equine-ranch.com! Branik has made yet another change! Yay! Why don't you guys send me your thoughts on the endless modifications made to the game? You know, the ones that you didn't know were going to happen until AFTER you paid for your account?

What's the News?

Things have been interesting, haven't they?

Politics

Branik suspended Crossin Dixon's account(s?). Why? Apparently, she was rude. (Oh no, this again!)

I highly doubt that Crossin Dixon and I would be "friends" in real life because we have different views, but I understand that people feel strongly about things that I may feel the exact opposite about. I don't think politics are a good discussion for a game forum. That's my opinion. It is something that people feel very strongly about and can easily get fired up about. I don't bring up politics with strangers. Ever. I vote as I want, do my own research, and only offer my views if it is asked for. That's it. I'm very non-confrontational.

That being said, I want to address some things I read in that thread.

People had a lot of different opinions. Some love Obama, some love McCain. Pretty much ALL of them are doing what they think is right. In their heads, they think that what they have decided is the best. I commend everyone, no matter who they voted for, for taking them time to get out there and trying to make a difference.

As far as this black vs. biracial thing - it's learned folks. I had no idea that there was supposed to be a difference until I was taught that in elementary school. People were people to me. I always hated having to refer to someone as black or Asian because everyone is just human to me. Honestly, as soon as people stop pretending that they're different beyond what shade of foundation they need for their face we'll stop having these issues.

I think its also very likely that we have had a president with African blood before. I met a girl that is part black, part Native American, and part white and she looks like she just stepped off the boat from Scandinavia. A bunch of pasty white British people had a DNA test done and found out that they have close genetic ties with a family group in Africa. Branik herself is part Native American (as well as a few more people I work with) and they are all blindingly white. Every picture I saw of Branik (that she posted on her forums back in the day) screamed white. Then she posts this gem:

"You are obviously not a person of color.

We -are- our skin color to everyone around us. We -live- our skin color every day. Ever notice there's no biracial box to check on forms? We are what we live as. If our skin is not pristine white, we aren't white.

To every racist ***** out there we -are- colored I don't care what tone our skin is or how many of you want to define us as "biracial" or "breeds" when it suits you. They don't beat us half as hard just because we have a white ancestor or our skin is light.

The man is black.

You clearly know nothing about this topic so please just stay quiet."

Funny. The person she posted that for happened to be of "colored skin." Congrats, Branik! Open mouth - insert foot.

The other day I was walking around the city and saw a group of African-Americans calling some Somali immigrants "monkeys." This was because the Somali people were the color of freshly brewed coffee instead of coffee with cream. Branik's post reminded me of that. Also - get over yourself Branik. You can be proud of your ancestry, but stop acting like a racist. You said that this posted wasn't a person of color and couldn't understand their plight and you were wrong. What about women? They are considered a minority, shouldn't they be able to have an idea of what it's like to be "oppressed."

Ugh.

Can we just replace the word "black" with "exotic" when we talk about people? Obama is the most exotic president we've ever had, imho.

There! End of argument.

"Honestly? I don't care what color he is. That's really not why I voted for him. I wish people would stop making this about race." - a forums member

That's also my opinion. Obama didn't win "in spite" of being black, like Branik said, but rather that a large number of people have realized that human beings are all human, no matter where their ancestors came from, how dark there skin is genetically or artificially. Honestly, I've seen a bunch of white girls that had skin so dark you'd swear they had a parent from the heart of Africa, but it was tanning. I've also seen "black" girls so light that you mistaken them for a white girl. At least, I have that problem. I guess Branik has a special sense to smell the origins of people's families just by looking at them.

"I know y'all are starstruck" - CrossinDixon in reference to Obama

What she's saying is that, in her opinion, Obama is very charismatic and a talented politician (true) and she fears that once he's in office he won't be able to accomplish what he promised.


Oh! I LOVE this quote by Branik:

"If you were giving a description to the cops of a guy that shade of black that just robbed you, you'd say "he was black" not "he was biracial.""

The part that I love is how she uses the example of a robber being black instead of being non-racist and saying that the person was a hottie walking down the street.

However, I agree that this whole gay-marriage-ban stuff is absurd. Marriage started as secular, then became religious when the church wanted to control it, and has now become legal (ahem, religious still...) because the government wanted to... control it? If I had my way there would be no "legal" definition of "marriage." You can have households, just not a ceremonial marriage. I'm not saying that you can't have a marriage ceremony, but I don't think the government should have anything to do with people's love lives.

Here is an EXCELLENT quote from a forums user:

"This is what proves to me that this country is not ready for a black President: we all have to point out that he's black, get offended by people who try to diminish that fact, debate his ancestry, whatever. The day this country is really and truly ready for a black (or woman, or gay, or transsexual, or whatever minority you want) President is the day nobody even mentions that he's black; the day a President is a President regardless of colour, ethnicity, gender, sexual orientation, etc."

This person has it figured out!

At this time Crossin Dixon comes in and makes her final comment. It includes this sentence:

"There's 2 things in life that are pretty much too touchy to discuss without feelings getting hurt and tempers flaring...that's politics and religion."

She also has it figured out. Her feelings were crushed by this! This goes against what she believed and she has every right to be upset. How come Branik can lash out at the poster that she felt had no right to discuss the plight of people with slightly darker skin than Norwegian natives and Crossin Dixon not lash out about her country falling to shambles in front of her?

A reply from another poster:

"Furthermore, while politics and religion (and about a zillion other subjects) can get very touchy, it is imperative that they -are- discussed. No one should shy away from speaking their mind on such matters for fear that doing so will rouse the tempers and sensitivities of others. Discussion and debate of "sensitive" topics is an integral part of the governance of our country"

I hate to be the person to say it, but when you tell people your opinion when it is the exact opposite of something they feel strongly about, they're probably not going to like you. It's human nature. You have to learn how to present things in a calm, collected way. Despite my liberal ways, I can see where CrossinDixon was coming from. Her feelings were hurt, her temper flared, she got suspended, and her opinion was not swayed. If anything I feel that it helped her feel more strongly about her beliefs. There is a time and place for everything, including debate, but I don't think an online game forum is the place. It takes the fun out of the game.

Crossin Dixon also apologized for upsetting people (still suspended). Branik's reason?

"Crossin Dixon Cowgirl has been suspended from the game for being racist."

I don't think Branik really had the right to call that player racist when she herself is speaking some rather racist things.

CuttinDeep also posted some opinions that Branik didn't agree with and sparked her rage, but I don't feel like getting into that right now. Perhaps another day, if I remember.

Backup

It is a GOOD idea.

Demonmare's Reply She Wanted

I never questioned your intelligence. I never said you were a teenaged girl.

How am I not dealing with it well? I have yet to throw a hissy fit and close my blog because people on the internets are mean.

I also never called you young.

I never went into Branik's house. Like I mentioned before, her game is akin to her going out and putting up a booth in the town square. Her game is on the internet. She made it so everyone in the world can come and see it as well as talk to her.

We are all very aware that age doesn't mean maturity, but the part we have a problem with is just plain nastiness. Whether or not you are "right" doesn't mean you can ridicule people. You're supposed to try and use tact.

I mean, we're talking about a woman who told me, in her forum, that she bred dogs just to get puppies and she didn't show or work her dogs. Unfortunately, she has since destroyed all of this evidence. She is pretending to be some amazing mother figure to everyone, but she's not.

Sure, we can all tell she did a nice job with her game. We can all tell it is very time consuming. I know its her livelihood, but hard work can't change the fact that someone is mean.

I can't honestly tell why she thinks this blog could ever possible hurt her game. This was meant to discuss how her anger issues and foul language drops ER down a few notches. The only part of ER that sucks is Branik.

I don't care if she reads this blog, or if anyone reads this blog. Its been around since before I posted anything on her blog. I just post things that others are to scared to.

The reason why this is about Branik and not Jim is because Jim is rather quiet. I don't see him going to other forums and calling people a "cunt." I don't see him constantly ripping people a new one.

BTW, all those deleted posts you see are deleted by the people who wrote them. I can't help that some people chose to lie, but there is no way for me to prove that.

Branik has worked with customer oriented businesses for long enough that she should understand that people repeat questions. People ask dumb questions. People get mad and send you nasty letters. It happens. That's life. There is no way you can stop it from happening short of shutting down the business.

Being called a groupie isn't even being called a name. I wasn't using it in the derogatory sense.

"The term "groupie" is often used derogatorily, but also used casually and sometimes interchangeably with another word with dual connotations - junkie. E.g."My husband's the football junkie, but I'm a basketball groupie.""

I was using the last one, but you jumped to conclusion because you knew I didn't like Branik. I was using it with the definition of "fan."

If you took that the wrong way I will apologize.

I will also apologize for not replying to your comments sooner, since it appears to have upset you.

I also believe in doing things for myself. I put myself through college, worked since I was a teen, built my own computer, bought my car with money I saved up, do all of my car repairs myself, etc etc. My parents were never able to help me with anything. I had to deal with a war and my family being displaced because they were the wrong religion. We all have our own things to deal with, I understand that, and I applaud everyone who has pulled through.

All of that being said, can you really tell Branik, as her friend, that her public humiliation of Jim_Craig was called for?

This blog is as passionate as an Onion article. Its half a joke, half a sad look at a topic. If you think that I get fired up by any of this, you're mistaken. That's most of the reason why I never replied to you. It is a lot of writing and I just don't really care that much.

Again, for those of you who told me I should quit - I did quit. I quit so much I left Branik's blog. I left her alone, short of writing this. I met a bunch of people before I ever had a run in with her that felt the same way and even more afterwards. There are a bunch of people that want to be able to discuss this, but are afraid of being suspended or banned. This is rightly so!

If you don't like this blog, you are free to leave. There is a new game in the works that we will all go play. Those of you who love ER will still have it. It is silly to think a blog can end a game, even an Internet one. The only person that could possibly ruin it is Branik herself.

Guest Speaker Part Two

Hello Campers! It’s me, Ladybird again.

This message is for the Queen Bee herself, Branik.

I would just like to offer you my deepest, most heartfelt apologies. I never should have actually said positive things about your game. And I NEVER should have told people to actually try it. This was my mistake.

And I most CERTAINLY should have never posted them off of the game. No, you obviously wanted me to plaster them all across your bandwidth, and I have failed you. Again, I apologize. I grovel at your feet.

But you, you tried to be a good role model. You tried to teach me this lesson. Next time, I shall not fail you. I shall only write things that you seem to like, which I assume is the opposite of the positive things that you banned me for. I, misguided youth that I am, have learned a valuable lesson when it comes to human character.

Because I want you to know that I learned my lesson, and that I have decided to try and be as awesome and uplifting as you are, I have decided to file a complaint with the BBB in a completely mature fashion.

Hopefully this show of maturity will make you proud, as it is you, dear Branik, who has taught me such.

See you around!

This Keeps Getting Pushed Down

The AlmightyBeefy has written this polite comment:

"...things she's done in her past for the better of anyone and everything around her."

Ah yes, I forgot. Teaching people the many uses of swear words is indeed a great service.

"She worked her hind-end off and paid monetarily and in ways that you would never even know about to create this game just for people to play."

When we assume things like that Branik calls us an ass. I feel comfortable thinking that you're probably not. However, I KNOW how hard it is to code all of that and how much these things cost.

"The customer is always right" was a business mentality that was brought about because, in the not too distant past, businesses were ALL run how Bran runs hers. Monopoly. Branik has a monopoly on that particular type of horse sim and therefore can get away with a lot. When that happens you get a superiority and invincibility complex. Being humble used to be a virtue, but Branik won't hesitate before telling you how much of a genius and a gift from God she is.

"throw a temper tantrum in the emergency room because the headache that they've had for the past four days without even trying Aleve"

Jumping to conclusions again... how about the person who had a headache for three days, didn't try Aleve because it never works for them, and was told they had to flu. Then, a real doctor comes by and they have menengitis. Hmmm? Are they a PMSing bitch? Its called empathy. You step back and think what could have made this person upset.

"The customer service representative has no right to ask you to calm down or hang up on you when you get completely belligerent and cuss at them over the phone?"

As far as I'm concerned, the customer service representative has every right to hang up. BUT! The case we're talking about here is the customer service representative who calls you a bitch because you forgot to make sure something was plugged in. Sure, it was a mistake, but it doesn't warrant being called names. I've worked where you could kick a customer out for poor behavior, but you could NEVER stoop to their level.

"Treat others as you wish to be treated." - Branik said this once. We treated her exactly as she treated us and she had a breakdown. Explain that one. She's the one who can't take the crap back that she throws. She wants to tell people what to do, but not lead by example.

My username is exactly what it was in the game. Other people might be afraid of being harassed, which is legitimate. Branik and some others don't exactly hesitate before lynching people.

"you're obviously lacking in your mental capacity for learning and should have never bitched about E-R in the first place. Not Bran's fault your IQ is so low that chimps are more intelligent than you."

I bolded this statement because it is interesting. This is the type of behavior I'm talking about. Here you are, telling complete strangers that they are mentally retarded. Does that make you feel good about yourself? What are you trying to accomplish, other than inciting anger? You're sounding like a Branik Youth.

"change a grown ass woman"

We're not trying to change anyone? I don't understand why everyone is assuming we're attempting to change Bran. We're expressing our feelings. If you don't agree with us there IS a place for you. It's called Branik's blog.

"You are obviously really young, inexperienced about the world, and do have a lot of growing to do. Don't even bring up the fact of my age...I was raised completely different than you as I can tell from each and everyone one of your posts."

Its funny how you're calling us young, yet we're pretty much all older than you. You sound like your mimicking Branik now. Apparently we were raised to think that etiquette was the appropriate thing to consider using around strangers.

"Honestly, if you don't like something or someplace, just leave."

I did leave? In defense of other people - if you want to watch cable TV and there's only one cable TV company that provides the channel you want, you're going to go with them. People still play Branik's game because it has something they want, but if something else comes with that same thing they WILL leave.

"One other good point...you people have shown falsehoods against Branik and her game. I smell an easy lawsuit...and I bet mommy and daddy wouldn't like that, now would they? Court costs are really, really expensive!"

Sorry, everything I said is what I believe to be true. As far as law is concerned I'm fine. I've checked and I'm allowed to have an opinion. Freedom of Speech. People might remember it as a right that was guaranteed to US citizens. (Note that Freedom of Speech doesn't include swear words)

It is so sad that everyone who posts for Branik here sounds just like her. They use similar terminology and phrases. I sense a variation on Stockholm Syndrome.

Finally: "Oh yes, one point I forgot to mention...Bran's blog requires a log-in to read any of the material on it. So, the question is, where are the parents when that little 12, 13, or 14 year old signs up for it?"

That's a new occurance. What about all those 13 year olds that signed up for it BEFORE she changed that aspect? Nice of you to bring up a recent change an expect that to nullify everything she has done in the past.