# START, get a LiveJournal. **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [June 27, 2005, 12:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/start-get-a-livejournal/309972 "2005-06-27T00:49:58Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![jayjay](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jayjay/32/6765_2.png) [@jayjay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jayjay)\ **Post date:** [June 27, 2005, 4:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/start-get-a-livejournal/309972/41 "2005-06-27T04:35:08Z")
I’m putting in a vote for “being played”. And I include the “dead brother” in that category. ---
**Author:** ![inkleberry](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/f17d59/32.png) [@inkleberry](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/inkleberry)\ **Post date:** [June 27, 2005, 4:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/start-get-a-livejournal/309972/42 "2005-06-27T04:54:29Z")
> [@jayjay](#): > > I’m putting in a vote for “being played”. And I include the “dead brother” in that category. Link? ---
**Author:** ![Ooner](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/c67d28/32.png) [@Ooner](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ooner)\ **Post date:** [June 27, 2005, 5:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/start-get-a-livejournal/309972/43 "2005-06-27T05:14:46Z")
For a long long while I’ve been torn between “total 100% fake” and “total 100% retarded teenager” and evidence for both sides keeps coming up. I would guess, just based on the fact that he is still around, that he’s fake. Why would someone so stupid stick around a community that clearly has nothing to offer him and he can never have anything of value to contribute to? The only reason to stick around is for the amusement of watching people eat up your fake stories and offer their support and suggestions. Of course, it could be a combination too. Maybe the stupidity is real and the just the stories are fake. It’s times like this that I find it unfortunate that demanding proof on the internet is something that so many people find inappropriate. Maybe a little heartless, sure, but I’d like a scan of the dead brother obituary. ---
**Author:** ![Monstre](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e274bd/32.png) [@Monstre](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Monstre)\ **Post date:** [June 27, 2005, 5:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/start-get-a-livejournal/309972/44 "2005-06-27T05:17:32Z")
> [@jayjay](#): > > I’m putting in a vote for “being played”. Well… I, for one, know that if he turns into a Korean transsexual, I’m going to be a tad suspicious… 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Ooner](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/c67d28/32.png) [@Ooner](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ooner)\ **Post date:** [June 27, 2005, 5:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/start-get-a-livejournal/309972/45 "2005-06-27T05:20:06Z")
> [@inkleberry](#): > > Link? > **[I pit the worst day of my life FEBRUARY 11 2005](https://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=301951)** > > I was having the best sleep of my life when early this morning my step dad bangs on my door and tells me to get out of bed and get dressed. I didn’t want to wake up it felt like it was still night and I asked him why and he told me that an ambulance... ---
**Author:** ![straight\_man](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/straight_man/32/3027_2.png) [@straight\_man](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/straight_man)\ **Post date:** [June 27, 2005, 5:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/start-get-a-livejournal/309972/46 "2005-06-27T05:24:10Z")
In every one of START’s threads up to this one, I saw very plausible situations. Either START was telling the truth, or he really truly understood how teenagers worked. Certainly his attitudes and ways of expressing himself fit the behaviors of a recovering jerk to the T. Though I do not share his mindset, I could see it perfectly in his posts, and it made sense. This latest thread, I’m not sure. It seems… well… too off-the-wall. A teenager myself, I could see START’s behavior in the car, though it’s not something I’ve ever done. I just couldn’t see the rapid transitions in behavior, back and forth. My best guess: START wasn’t brave enough to follow the advice of the Dopers and apologize to Laura, so he concocted this story as a follow-up. I think the biggest wierdness is that he got the girl; life doesn’t work that way, period. The counterevidence to my theory: START’s behavior in this thread was a mixed bag; were he [del]falsifying[/del] using his imagination, I would have expected him to be more pro-START. And the whole getting the girl thing was an unwise flub, in that it went a long way to justify other Doper’s claims that he just had a crush on Laura. Surely START would have foretold this, it isn’t rocket science. ---
**Author:** ![WilhelmGefallen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/9f8e36/32.png) [@WilhelmGefallen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WilhelmGefallen)\ **Post date:** [June 27, 2005, 8:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/start-get-a-livejournal/309972/47 "2005-06-27T08:31:07Z")
> [@Monstre](#): > > Well… I, for one, know that if he turns into a Korean transsexual, I’m going to be a tad suspicious… > > 😃 Damn you Monstre, I was going to post that hours ago whilst I was at work but my ADSL crashed… what is the proper pit decorum? you are a goat-felcher? anyhoo, Im not sure Im remembering the right poster but isnt START the one who also complained that he got yelled at by an athiest mother, for saying to her 7 year old son that his father was waiting for him in heaven? ---
**Author:** ![Rilchiam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/2bfe46/32.png) [@Rilchiam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rilchiam)\ **Post date:** [June 27, 2005, 8:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/start-get-a-livejournal/309972/48 "2005-06-27T08:37:47Z")
Yes. And, having done a search, I’ve been reminded that this is not the [first time](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=307043) he’s been the crush-object of someone not worthy of him. ---
**Author:** ![clairobscur](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/839c29/32.png) [@clairobscur](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/clairobscur)\ **Post date:** [June 27, 2005, 8:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/start-get-a-livejournal/309972/49 "2005-06-27T08:39:50Z")
> [@Ooner](#): > > Maybe a little heartless, sure, but I’d like a scan of the dead brother obituary. Not a little heartless. Completely off-base. I was going to explain in detail why, but actually, it seems so outlandish that I won’t bother… ---
**Author:** ![Futile\_Gesture](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/f05b48/32.png) [@Futile\_Gesture](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Futile_Gesture)\ **Post date:** [June 27, 2005, 9:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/start-get-a-livejournal/309972/50 "2005-06-27T09:54:23Z")
I believe **START** is for real. He rambles a bit, but his stories have the kind of trivial idiocy that is life when you’re a teenager at school. And they’re not any more pointless or irritating than 50% of the rest of MPSIMS. He just put his latest one in the wrong forum. And he doesn’t deserve this pitting. It’s mean spirited, without foundation and displays **exactly** the same kind of social bullying that so many are quick to hand lectures out about when they see it in his posts. You don’t want to read about his trials as a teenager? Don’t read his threads, don’t post in them. Hands up who in this thread, other than the OP, is too stupid to figure this out?? ---
**Author:** ![Rilchiam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/2bfe46/32.png) [@Rilchiam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rilchiam)\ **Post date:** [June 27, 2005, 10:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/start-get-a-livejournal/309972/51 "2005-06-27T10:11:11Z")
> [@Futile Gesture](#): > > I believe **START** is for real. > > He rambles a bit, but his stories have the kind of trivial idiocy that is life when you’re a teenager at school. And they’re not any more pointless or irritating than 50% of the rest of MPSIMS. He just put his latest one in the wrong forum. No. It’s what **Uvula Donor** said: “His posts nearly always prove to be pretty devisive - some Dopers call bullshit on him while others help fend off the “attacks” and throw an arm around his shoulder to offer sincere advice; not only that, but START’s OPs seem deliberately written to elicit exactly that type of response.” > [@](#): > > And he doesn’t deserve this pitting. It’s mean spirited, without foundation and displays **exactly** the same kind of social bullying that so many are quick to hand lectures out about when they see it in his posts. Nobody’s bullying START. People have been pitted before when the veracity of their posts seemed questionable. People have been pitted before when it seemed that they were acting as provocateurs. This is nothing like the behavior he describes in his OPs. > [@](#): > > You don’t want to read about his trials as a teenager? Don’t read his threads, don’t post in them. Hands up who in this thread, other than the OP, is too stupid to figure this out?? Don’t call me stupid. Not reading his threads and not posting in them is exactly what I’m encouraging people to do. Stop giving him the attention he craves, and he’ll stop posting about the latest jerkass thing he’s done (or claims to have done). This thread would be an exception, its purpose being to highlight the pattern he’s established so people can recognize it. ---
**Author:** ![Kitchen\_Wench](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/f08c70/32.png) [@Kitchen\_Wench](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kitchen_Wench)\ **Post date:** [June 27, 2005, 10:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/start-get-a-livejournal/309972/52 "2005-06-27T10:31:47Z")
I tend to avoid actively participating in threads that debate a poster’s true intentions, but I feel the need to say something here. At first I considered START the real deal, albeit misguided and often foolish young man. Hell, when I was his age, I knew lots of mean-spirited, impulsive boys who hadn’t yet activated the filter between the brain and mouth. But I was impressed with the fact that he was fairly articulate. However, I’ve noticed that (especially) since the dead brother thread, his composition has gone downhill, along with the actual content. It seems to me that his writing style has been intentionally “dumbed down” to better match the subject matter. Honestly, I would expect a teenager who is able to put a decent post together to have a higher level of maturity. Our other young Dopers accomplish this, and they’re a joy to have around. I’d expect START to have the ability to understand that he’s gonna get some flack for posting about his poor behavior, and stop posting about it. If START isn’t here _just to get a rise out of people_, he’s pretty stupid for making this his confessional and he needs to find a better outlet. My bet is he’s **looking for** and enjoying the responses he gets. Which is the very definition of the word we’re not supposed to utter. Just my two cents. (on preview) I agree with **Rilch** on this one. ---
**Author:** ![AngelicGemma](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/439d5e/32.png) [@AngelicGemma](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AngelicGemma)\ **Post date:** [June 27, 2005, 10:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/start-get-a-livejournal/309972/53 "2005-06-27T10:46:11Z")
I must admit, when I read that thread I rolled my eyes. I am very interested to see what START will have to say in this thread. Assuming he makes an appearance. ---
**Author:** ![Futile\_Gesture](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/f05b48/32.png) [@Futile\_Gesture](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Futile_Gesture)\ **Post date:** [June 27, 2005, 11:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/start-get-a-livejournal/309972/54 "2005-06-27T11:07:55Z")
> [@Rilchiam](#): > > No. It’s what **Uvula Donor** said: “His posts nearly always prove to be pretty devisive - some Dopers call bullshit on him while others help fend off the “attacks” and throw an arm around his shoulder to offer sincere advice; not only that, but START’s OPs seem deliberately written to elicit exactly that type of response.” Have you met any teenagers? He doesn’t know what he’s doing. He gets a lot of things wrong. Sometimes he likes to hear what others think about what happened. Of course he’s looking for a response, but is it his fault that people react differently? We’re talking about Dopers here; plenty of opinionated people who could start an argument in an empty room. That’s what discussion forums are for. Do you really want a SDMB where everyone has the same experiences, the same life and the same opinions? > [@](#): > > Nobody’s bullying START. People have been pitted before when the veracity of their posts seemed questionable. People have been pitted before when it seemed that they were acting as provocateurs. This is nothing like the behavior he describes in his OPs. What exactly in his post is unlikely? What is different about it from about a dozen threads I could link to in MPIMS where a Doper shares a long involved tale of what’s happening in their life? All are in the hope that someone will read it, and maybe share an experience, offer advice, or just empathise. What’s different about **START** that means what he gets in reply is “stop posting this BS, jerk!” “ **START** ’s different, so we don’t want him at our party. Oh no, **START** ’s here. Go away **START**. This thread’s for people who think **START** ’s a big dumb liar and don’t like his posts. Everyone ignore **START**.” Sure sounds like bullying to me. It looks to me that you don’t like **START** ’s thread because you don’t indentify with it and it doesn’t interest you. Would you be saying the same if it was a tale that struck a chord with issues in your life? If **START** was someone just like you? Maybe **START** isn’t the most coherent poster, maybe not the smartest, maybe not the most together teenager on the board. But so what? Are we running an elite club here? Someplace everyone knows everything and no-one admits to getting it wrong or, heaven forbid, is looking for answers? If **START** ’s post’s don’t interest you, don’t read them. If you think he’s an attention whore, ignore him. Personally I find him sometimes tiresome, sometimes funny, sometimes interesting, sometimes self-involved. Like a teenager in fact. > [@](#): > > Not reading his threads and not posting in them is exactly what I’m encouraging people to do. Stop giving him the attention he craves, and he’ll stop posting about the latest jerkass thing he’s done (or claims to have done). This thread would be an exception, its purpose being to highlight the pattern he’s established so people can recognize it. So to kick off this campaign of ignoring him, you start a Pit thread with his name on it, so that the pile on can begin. But thanks for pointing out what he’s doing (in your opinion). :rolleyes: Why do you care what he posts? Why do you care if others reply to him? ---
**Author:** ![Rilchiam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/2bfe46/32.png) [@Rilchiam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rilchiam)\ **Post date:** [June 27, 2005, 11:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/start-get-a-livejournal/309972/55 "2005-06-27T11:50:19Z")
**Futile** , START has posted over and over about the same basic issue: he was a jerk and claims not to understand why people reacted to him with hostility. He claims to have provoked: —People who are low-income —People who do not embrace Christianity —People who are not beautiful and thin —People who are different in some way Those conditions apply to so many Dopers, and more than one to some of them, that I can’t help but think that START is creating these tales **in order to** strike a chord with issues in Dopers’ lives. Except that they’re identifying with the targets of his jerkishness, not with START. At the same time, though, he also gives off an air of humbleness and confusion that softens the hearts of some posters, apparently including yourself, and inspires them to defend him. This is creating an unnecessary rift, and I do not appreciate that. Furthermore, it is tiresome to hear about someone who seems to be endlessly repeating a pattern of behavior and expecting different results each time. People have been ostracized on the boards for doing just that, whether you think it is fair or not. I’m not pitting him because he’s not the most together poster or the smartest or the most coherent. I’m pitting him because either A) our collective chain is being yanked, or B) START has been submitting his “I was rude to someone do you think this was a good thing and why not” OPs for over a year, has been repeatedly told, “It was a bad thing, and you should modify your behavior,” and has learned nothing from any of it. I am not the bully here. ---
**Author:** ![Coin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/779978/32.png) [@Coin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Coin)\ **Post date:** [June 27, 2005, 12:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/start-get-a-livejournal/309972/56 "2005-06-27T12:40:33Z")
My guess is START’S sister or mom or best friend is gonna kick the bucket shortly after he reads all these responses. ---
**Author:** ![joyfool](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/df788c/32.png) [@joyfool](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/joyfool)\ **Post date:** [June 27, 2005, 12:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/start-get-a-livejournal/309972/57 "2005-06-27T12:42:46Z")
I know you weren’t addressing me, but I thought that perhaps another poster’s view might help clarify _some_ of the responses that have been gotten. IMHO. > [@Futile Gesture](#): > > Have you met any teenagers? Yes, many. > [@](#): > > He doesn’t know what he’s doing. He gets a lot of things wrong. Sometimes he likes to hear what others think about what happened. Agreed, if all the ones I’ve known (and been myself) are any example. > [@](#): > > Of course he’s looking for a response, but is it his fault that people react differently? No. > [@](#): > > We’re talking about Dopers here; plenty of opinionated people who could start an argument in an empty room. That’s what discussion forums are for. Again, you are right. However, _that is_ what discussion forms are for. And for anyone who’s been on the internet for any length of time, and certainly around here, they should know and _expect_ varied responses. _That_ is what Dopers do too. > [@](#): > > Do you really want a SDMB where everyone has the same experiences, the same life and the same opinions? No. However, I think out of all the sincere replies and concerns, one would hope for a modicum of honesty and respect in the form of ammended behavior. Definitely if there is repeated advice requested. > [@](#): > > What exactly in his post is unlikely? You see, I’m actually of the camp that think _this particular post_ could sound about right, as far as real life can be screwy and emotions all over the place. But that’s not the issue. What is is the pattern. Why seek out input if you have no stake in said answers? Furthermore, if your lack of change eeks out adversarial feelings, why continue on with the same things over and over again? > [@](#): > > What is different about it from about a dozen threads I could link to in MPIMS where a Doper shares a long involved tale of what’s happening in their life? Perhaps the seamlessly never-ending amount, all of the same sort of ilk. > [@](#): > > All are in the hope that someone will read it, and maybe share an experience, offer advice, or just empathise. Correct. That many have, ad naseum, should say a lot. Everyone’s patience eventually wore thin with **IDBB** too. > [@](#): > > What’s different about **START** that means what he gets in reply is “stop posting this BS, jerk!” Nada, that I can tell. Several posters have been called out on this very thing. It appears a very staple attitude around here. YMMV. > [@](#): > > “ **START** ’s different, so we don’t want him at our party. Oh no, **START** ’s here. Go away **START**. This thread’s for people who think **START** ’s a big dumb liar and don’t like his posts. Everyone ignore **START**.” That belief isn’t apparent to me. Instead, this comes across as majority vote of taking his sagas to some place more helpful, like Live Journal. If he truly is only after validation, with the friends only option, he could get that (and nothing else) without any trouble. That could be argued as the main point of blogs anyway. > [@](#): > > Sure sounds like bullying to me. Obviously, I disagree. Though the wording used could have been different, the sentiment expressed is a sound one. > [@](#): > > It looks to me that you don’t like **START** ’s thread because you don’t indentify with it and it doesn’t interest you. This is purely an unfounded assumption. Unless of course, you can vouch for your knowledge of **Rilch** ’s thought process. Can you? > [@](#): > > Would you be saying the same if it was a tale that struck a chord with issues in your life? In my case, yes. As with **Kaitlin** / **NumberSix** , we had a lot invested. When it turned out to be false, there was hurt caused. Now maybe there shouldn’t be online. But, it was there none-the-less and to folks who _did_ have a stake in that very sort of struggle. I’d recommend checking with them on the outcome. > [@](#): > > If **START** was someone just like you? Please see above. > [@](#): > > Maybe **START** isn’t the most coherent poster, maybe not the smartest, maybe not the most together teenager on the board. But so what? Irrelevant. As previously stated, it has nothing to do with those things. Merely a suggestion one way or another. To **START** for a more sympathetic environment or growth in his (at least) public, as far as we are participants. And/or to the other Dopers to avoid distress by skipping over that which may turn out to be painful. Slightly or no, doesn’t matter. When you care about someone, even a stranger, their actions _are_ personal to you by your degree of involvement. Just sayin’. > [@](#): > > Are we running an elite club here? You’ve got to be kidding, right? Anyone able to pony up the money has the right to be here. Where is there any advocation that he shouldn’t be here **at all**? I’m witnessing the encouragement I just outlined. > [@](#): > > Someplace everyone knows everything and no-one admits to getting it wrong or, heaven forbid, is looking for answers? Once more with feeling… bwahahahaha. Alone (and I haven’t been around nearly as long as plenty) I’ve read, it seems, four bazillion threads of that very thing. Admitting wrong-doing and learning for it. I’m sorry you’ve missed them, because they are very uplifting, serve as positive role-modeling and just downright represent real life. IMHO, as I say time and again. > [@](#): > > If **START** ’s post’s don’t interest you, don’t read them. Exactly. But with if they _do_ and you wish to help? > [@](#): > > If you think he’s an attention whore, ignore him. Another valid choice, regardless of the idea behind your definition of him. > [@](#): > > Personally I find him sometimes tiresome, sometimes funny, sometimes interesting, sometimes self-involved. Like a teenager in fact. We’re on the same page here, despite different outcomes. > [@](#): > > So to kick off this campaign of ignoring him, you start a Pit thread with his name on it, so that the pile on can begin. What’s your idea? Especially when the motive has been done to death in what _he_ has written his self for our consumption. To be clichéd, “fighting ignorance,” of any sort, I suppose, _is_ the listed motto of this place. > [@](#): > > But thanks for pointing out what he’s doing (in your opinion). :rolleyes: I’m pretty sure that sarcasm won’t further **START** ’s maturity either, if that is indeed the overall plan. Isn’t that what you are saying too? > [@](#): > > Why do you care what he posts? Why do you care if others reply to him? Lots of members have given you (including myself) the response to that, so let me turn it around to you then. I’m only curious, but why do you? Last of all, I apologize for the length of this and the “line by line” thing. The only way to do it though, in my estimation. It _is_ annoying. Forgive me, but I felt it deserved it because of the very derision between factions noted. Just possibly, this will describe one little corner of one side of the mindset. (Yeah, so I’m redundant. Sue me. :p) Hope that helps 1/1,000,000,000th out of the bunch, it being solely anecdotal and all. ---
**Author:** ![TwistofFate](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/cdc98d/32.png) [@TwistofFate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TwistofFate)\ **Post date:** [June 27, 2005, 12:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/start-get-a-livejournal/309972/58 "2005-06-27T12:43:15Z")
I’m avoiding the threads and waiting for his 10 minute slot on “Ricki Lake”. ---
**Author:** ![Garfield226](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/9e8a1a/32.png) [@Garfield226](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Garfield226)\ **Post date:** [June 27, 2005, 12:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/start-get-a-livejournal/309972/59 "2005-06-27T12:48:54Z")
> [@Futile Gesture](#): > > What’s different about **START** that means what he gets in reply is “stop posting this BS, jerk!” Well, he’s an [admitted liar](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?p=5891774&highlight=older#post5891774), for one thing (and I think he even lied about that: He’s said he was “at least 18” before, but now people seem to think he’s 16. More than “only a year or so,” in my book). ---
**Author:** ![Genghis\_Bob](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/45deac/32.png) [@Genghis\_Bob](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Genghis_Bob)\ **Post date:** [June 27, 2005, 12:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/start-get-a-livejournal/309972/60 "2005-06-27T12:53:21Z")
See, here’s the thing about friend START: he doesn’t really want to change. The events of the thread in question happened after his “Should I take shit” post, which was all about feeling bad about his past behavior, wondering what his relationship with Laura should be, etc. etc. Now this thread, in which he comes upon a random group of strangers: > [@](#): > > I walked by a little slower to see what was going and Connor happened to be there and recognized me. I got introduced to everybody and found out that they didn’t like Laura either. I hung out for a short while and then walked back home. So how does one just happen to find out that “they didn’t like Laura either”? How exactly does the topic come up? Does it begin with START saying, “so, what do you random strangers think of Laura?” Or perhaps, “say, I really don’t like that Laura; what about you?” It all just reads weird. Either he’s making it all up, or he’s not interested in learning from his experiences, and thus his stories and constant needs for affirmation of the “new me” are all just bullshit. Or he’s an idiot; that too is possible, especially considering he’s a teenager. If that’s the case, there’s hope for him with time. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/start-get-a-livejournal/309972.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/start-get-a-livejournal/309972.md?page=4)