In honor of Points in Case's 10-year anniversary, our editor Court sent out an email to the writers inviting us all to participate in the celebration. One of the things he planned as part of "A Decade of PIC" was for us to write a follow-up article: "Have you always wanted to respond, add to, or set the record straight on a PIC article? Here's your chance. Pick ANY article on the site and write a follow-up to it."
Points in Case is a place where I can share my crazy thoughts, say irreverent and outlandish shit, and basically tell the "normal world" to go fuck themselves.At first glance I thought to myself, "Don't we all do that in the comment section anyway? I mean it isn't like any of us are shy and have been holding onto our thoughts all this time." So I quickly dismissed the idea of setting the record straight on anything that hasn't been said a million times already. However, upon further thought, I realized that the reason I felt that way was BECAUSE of what Points in Case really is.
Points in Case is a place where you can share your thoughts freely and almost completely uncensored. I'm not sure if everyone realizes how unique that is in the writing world. Other sites/publications edit your thoughts and feelings often to the point where you can barely recognize yourself in the pieces any more. Points in Case simply edits your shitty spelling/grammar, adds some bells and whistles to make things look more refined, but keeps YOU as a person virtually intact within your writing. That's pretty amazing when you think about it. We as writers put our blood, sweat and tears into our work, believe it or not. Our work contains our fucking hearts and souls and when some random editor chops it all up, it often feels like you're really losing pieces of yourself. So the answer is, "Yeah Court, I'd like to set the record straight on a few things in honor of Points in Case's ten year anniversary."
First let me say that as some of you may or may not know, I am one sarcastic son of a bitch. I don't take much seriously and people who know me personally often describe me as "a big clown without the makeup" or "an organ grinder monkey whose purpose in life is to amuse others." So, for this special PIC anniversary occasion I am going to do something that most people have never actually seen me do here: I'm going to be serious for once. Are you ready for it?!
I fucking love this site. I am a person who is often misunderstood, regularly misjudged, hardly ever goes with the flow, and is constantly pushing the envelope of "accepted society." Most of the time (in the real world) I am stifled to the point of pure suffocation among other more "normal" people. Sure, I bust out of the shell that society puts on all of us as much as I can with family and friends. However, in this crazy world of the straight and narrow, a loon with a view like me often has to play by rules I don't necessarily agree with in order to avoid the other people's bullshit. Points in Case is a place where I can share my crazy thoughts, be as sarcastic as I want, say irreverent and outlandish shit, and basically tell the "normal world" to go fuck themselves. For that alone, Points in Case is a place I consider a virtual home and that actually means something "real" to me.
This is where a big part of me lives.
People have often remarked about how much time I spend answering comments vs. actually writing articles. Well honestly, I am a "weekly" columnist so despite all of your wonderful requests for me to write more, the definition of "weekly" sort of says it all. In addition, Court only has SO much time on his hands and sometimes articles I submit sit waiting in the wings for weeks until he can get to them. However, whether or not I'm penning an overly long thought for you to read, or crafting a snarky and admittedly long-winded response to a commenter, make no mistake about it, I am CONSTANTLY writing for this site. I write for it because I actually care about it. I try and respond to each and every comment on my work to demonstrate HOW MUCH I care. Whether or not you're praising my work with laughter or telling me what a complete tool I am, I care that you took time out of your busy day to share your thoughts with me. So I feel the VERY LEAST I can do is actually respond to you and thank you for the time and passion that you put into your comment. Seriously, whether it's hate or love you're expressing to me in comments, THANK YOU, for spending that time with me and sharing a piece of yourself here. It means the fucking world to me that you care AT ALL to even give me even a second of your time in this crazy, selfish, busy world.
Many of us here at PIC certainly have our differences. Like any cross-section of the planet you're going to have varying degrees of people NOT seeing eye to eye on subjects. Too many times people try to convince each other that something is either great or terrible on this site, but let's not forget that humor has ALWAYS been subjective, just like everything else. That's what makes this planet so fucking great! It's the diversity. It would be completely boring if everyone agreed with each other and thought exactly the same thing. So we struggle, we fight, we desperately try to sway each other with our ideas, but in the end, all we're really doing is connecting with each other as humans and sharing a part of ourselves with each other. I'm not one to hold grudges or get petty when it comes to something as fluid as an idea, and despite the war zone that Points in Case often is, we are all forever connected in one way or another… or at least until Robert King's latest article RE-crashes the site due to hate comments.
We are a "family" here at Points in Case, and as fucked up and dysfunctional as this family is, we are still a part of each other, like it or not. That isn't going to change, despite our differences, and no amount of bitterness or hatred will change that fact. So to all you writers AND readers out there, I want to personally and sincerely thank you, from the bottom of my heart, for the time and energy you share with me every day. I really DO CARE ABOUT AND LOVE ALL OF YOU, more than you even remotely realize, despite all my sarcasm.
Writers on this site often complain that they don't get paid to write here, well I beg to differ!* Sure, we don't get actual money lining our pockets, which frankly would kick some serious ass, but don't get it twisted people, we certainly get paid and we get paid VERY well. If you don't believe me then ask yourself why we all still come here and do this? Frankly, all things considered, the amount of time and energy some of us spend on PIC is staggering. I can't speak for the other writers, but personally I do it because it means something special to me. It is a part of who I am as a person. I enjoy bringing laughter into people's lives for no other reason than to hear/see/feel their laughter out in the world and around me. When I write or read something on Points in Case, I actually connect with the person on the other end of that article. As a writer, my thoughts are inside the reader's mind for that small fraction of the day (or maybe even longer), and conversely, as a reader myself, your thoughts are inside of my mind. If I can elicit laughter/passion/emotion, in any form, in another human being, or they can elicit those things in me, then for a small moment in this world, we have touched and influenced a part of each other's lives. That's a fucking incredibly special and very real thing and Points in Case makes that possible for all of us.
So please, do me a favor and turn the volume WAY UP on your computer and raise your glass for THE FUCKING MAN, William Courtney Sullivan, who makes it all possible!!! (Yeah that's Court's real name. No really, I'm still being serious here!)
Congratulations, Court, on a decade of laughter and thank you for letting us all be a part of this amazing journey!
Here's to another ten years of Points in Case and let's keep the laughter flowing strong everyone!
*Actually, Court really does pay me. It kind of sucks that he doesn't pay all of you though.
More PIC 10th Anniversary articles »