Most of you who are writing in response to the LW are pointing out what an idiotic and self-centered creep this guy is. He knows this already. You do, however, miss out on the point that ranting makes him feel good. I find myself quite sympathetic to his plight. Haven't we all had days when everything seems to go wrong? When you analyze the elements of the day, notice how many of the mishaps occur because people have not done their job correctly, treated you poorly, know that no one can complain effectively anymore (to whom? to what end?), and that these all combine to lull us into a resigned "chalk that one up" stance.

I don't get too angry when these things happen - though I've had to limit all exposure to airports to make this feasible. I try to treat it light-heartedly; I mean, no one got out of bed that day just to make my day miserable.

being outraged by the word "fuck" is the puritanical use of the phrase "the F word." Everyone knows what word is being referred to, yet to hide behind the veil is seen as somehow maintaining decorum. This dodge is remarkably childish and ultimately extends the dirty life of fuck: Ooooh, he said the F word. How about putting things in context, when it is blasted over the airwaves? Used as an exclamation or as an interjection, we should continue to consider it vulgar but essentially harmless. However, we should continue to consider its use as a verb as exceptionally coarse and beyond the pale.

I wonder if the parents and other siblings are putting a lot of financial pressure on the gay member of the family because we all know that gay couples make tons of money, have no kids to spend it on, and can go another year without that trip to Florence. ("Well, they're calling it a honeymoon, but you know. . .") If you think this mentality is an anachronism, think again. Just wait until there is only one parent left; then the fun begins about who gets to take care of the survivor. This, methinks, is a foretaste.

Now that you've recognized the problem. . . Is it only when you watch the Olympics that you "turn into" a horrible, condescending jerk? It sounds like you do when people approach you with their own attempts at athletic endeavor, when people are idiotically inspired by an athlete's prowess, or, as in the case here, when someone pays you to say, "I am a jerk." What Sey calls smug condescension, I call poisonous self-regard. The peremptory dismissal of armchair fans (forgive me for not paying to see you perform) is intriguing. Does any Olympian believe that they would be so fruitfully subsidized should their sport lack general interest? Ask the Jamaican bobsled team. I would never in ten lifetimes be able to begin to think that I could have the slightest clue about what an Olympian must go through to reach the Games, but at least I'm aware of it. Sey's elitism is unfortunately deployed in insult and calumny. It repellent in the extreme, pointless, and far, far below Salon's usual regard for its readers.

Isn't it great to take a principled stand? Isn't it great to demand that others hear your voice? Isn't it great to wallow in hurt feelings yet be able to cloak it in ethical drapery? Won't it be great if McCain wins Ohio or Florida by the 538 votes of people who twist themselves into endless contortions, desperately hoping to convince the rest of us (who are trying to move on) that they did so with courageous conviction? Aren't you looking forward to the day when you have to listen to those who are about to shoot themselves in the foot complain about the "healing process"?

The lack of insight, the insistence on making it about your feelings, the path-of-least-resistance of victimhood -- Christ! So take your ball and go home, but if you think you're only punishing the candidate or the DNC, you're as wrong as you are foolish. Stupid, stupid, stupid.

I love your writing Glenn, and we desperately need you to continue criticizing the pundit class, but it's "pundit," not "pundint." This version seems to be overtaking the correct (only!) pronunciation of the word, and it is as wrong, wrong, wrong as "nucular."

Cary was really on target with a lot of his advice about setting up activities and scheduling things to get the student of the couch. He really helped the LT, I bet, when he reminded the LT to say that it is OK to be uncomfortable in sticky situations. I, too, wish the LT said where he is; is language part of the problem? The bit I would add (from a vaguely similar experience) would be to seize the opportunity to get comfortable being alone, being dependent on no one but yourself, and even be OK with looking like a jerk. I once held up a long line of angry Brussels commuters because I could not figure out how much a subway ride cost. To this day I remember the glares I got almost as much as I remember the sympathetic glances from people who had probably been in the same situation at some point. So, LT, embrace your loneliness, and remember that you are there for you, not for the envy your sojourn will arouse in others, not for the bragging rights, not for the pride your parents will take, but for you to learn what kind of person you are. You can do it, even if every second is one miserable experience on top of another. Life is not necessarily enriched by an endless stream of stituations in which you are comfortable. Suffering setbacks, no matter how many, will foster your personal growth too.