No offense, but how did this "piece of writing" make it into Salon? It reads like someone just sat down and transcribed an episode of "Jerry Springer."

The article left out the final paragraph, which reads as follows:

"Course I never voted till 2000 when I voted for George W. Bush. He just spoke to me somehow."

this really sucks.

Like, I know now after three weeks to not read this feature anymore. (I almost made it through the first page this week!)

And, like, that's fine. There's plenty in Salon I don't care to read. It just seems like, like, there's less I like to, like, read here.

And I have to decide in a few days if I should renew my premium subscription.

Hmmm...

I think I speak for many when I ask....WTF??!

Each week this feature garners the same kind of comments from Salon readers... This person is from a Jerry Springer episode blah blah blah... As a family therapist who has worked with folks from families with no money, abuse/substance abuse issues, and less perceived opportunity to "better oneself," I am very familiar with this terrain. I think each of the features I've read has held some compelling elements.

The most compelling part of them has been the speakers' realness and honesty. I am sure that so many of us would like to see ourselves as totally honorable in the realm of relationships. But I will speak for myself when I say that, as a young person, an adolescent, I was just figuring stuff out. Not all of my choices were compassionate, kind, or appropriate. As a survivor of an abusive parent, and the lucky child of a wonderful mother who left him, as one who is educated, went to grad-school and enjoyed prosperity enough to go to therapy for several years, I can share that I intentionally incited my husband's anger for a couple of years, just to keep around the "devil I knew" as opposed to the "devil I didn't" The devil I didn't know was being able to relax, let down my guard, and love someone completely, and to receive that person's unconditional love.

Keep in mind that many people have terrible models for relationships that they are subjected to as kids. This man has done some soul-searching, and is able to look back and see many of his mistakes, the times when he "blew it." He also refuses to white-wash his true motivations in the past, thus letting us into the complicated world of a young person who grew up with abusive/substance abusing parents, experiencing adolescence. I see nothing but honesty here. The "likes" and "ums" are very typical of oral history.

Salon readership, get over yourselves! Instead of attacking with the obvious criticisms that the educated and privileged can throw at a person like this, appreciate his honesty and look deeper into yourself. Maybe something about this person's narrative has triggered you? I think what many who have grown up without respectful, compassionate care from trustworthy adults go into their adult lives without the capacity to love unconditionally themselves. They make choices that appear totally selfish, crass and narcissistic to us lucky people who did get good care.

The miracle is that, through hard work and experiences of real trust and love, or even just by opening up to unconditional acceptance and acknowledging their agency over their lives (such as happens in AA and other 12-step programs) that people can heal and begin to approximate and attain the kind of love they were never shown when they were so vulnerable and small. So don't act superior. Be amazed that this man attained the insights he just shared with all of us.

This one is definitely interesting, and was worth the read. I don't think I've ever watched more than about 10 minutes of Jerry Springer at a time, and certainly don't encounter trailer parks on a regular basis, so maybe my unfamiliarity with this kind of life makes it a lot more interesting.

I wish Shawn the best on his journey of discovery. I admire his self reflection and honesty. I do hope he stays away from the 17 year old. It's highly unlikely to have a happy ending...

Shawn could probably benefit from being a part of a community of people who would care about him, that could encourage and support him, that could model positive behavior. Sometimes faith communities do this well. Too often they don't (Of course, I feel the same way about therapy which Shawn could also use.). Still if he found the right faith community for him,it could be really good for him. While we all have to walk our own path (carry our own cross if you will), we don't have to do it alone. Shawn strikes me as a man trying to figure it all out on his own. No one should have to do that.

Good Luck Shawn. My thoughts and prayers are with you.

I wondered a little about this piece as I began to read, but then realized that this is a snapshot of real life. Maybe not the typical Salon reader's life, but a real life just the same. Perhaps we should all try to put on those other shoes sometime and imagine life as it could've been for any one of us. Last I checked, none of us get to pick our parents...

Some of the detractors would have been more impressed if the same events had taken place in more middle class environs, and the story had been rendered in standard grad-student English...

Sarcasm aside, Motherhoodrocks has it exactly right.

I have had Lynyrd Skynyrd in constant rotation since I read this piece.

Shone rocks!!!!

I have never encountered, except in film and literature, the kind of life Shawn describes; the abuse, the culture, the constant irresponsible childbirth are foreign to me. This man is not well-spoken, he's not remarkable in any way, and I sort of despise him for leaving his family and getting involved with a 17-year-old.

But there is something compelling about this narrative, and it's not the unending string of screw-ups or any sort of prurient joy we get from reading about them. It's his honesty, his willingness to uncover his motivations. This story is completely raw and without grace, and somehow because of that, it's effective.

It's true that this is the kind of person who voted for George Bush, or who doesn't "believe" in evolution, etc. But rejecting him out of hand, or seeking to delete his experience from American culture, just isn't right. What the rural South needs is dignity in the form of education and public health programs, not scorn and mockery from the middle class.