Hey Everyone,
This is serious business.
The following CC members are OBVIOUSLY BAD INFLUENCES and EXTREME CAUTION should be taken when interacting with ANY of them at ALL times:
1.
@Mem mentioned a set of adorable, microwavable plush animals in another thread. Because of her, I am now thinking about saving up and buying one for myself for Christmas -- and I'm torn between The Fox, The Sheep, and, most troubling of all, The Chicken. I DON'T EVEN LIKE CHICKENS!!! Obviously, Mem is a bad influence!
2.
@Snackersmom is always writing compassionate, insightful responses to people here. She puts her whole heart into her writing, and her gentle answers often stop me in my tracks when I think of something more harsh I want to say. Snackers is one of the brave few who actually keeps me in line, just by her grace-filled examples. Obviously, Snackers is a bad influence!
3. Over the years, we've had a lot of posters who write opinions that are very pro-one gender, while putting down the other.
@Subhumanoidal makes some of the most reasonable, balanced answers to these posts that I have ever read. He does this well in response to a lot of others we've seen with black-and-white thinking as well, and his posts often have me contemplating how to better balance my own answers, too. Obviously, Sub is a bad influence!
4. I have often observed
@Cameron143 answering posts with more patience and grace in a single reply to some posts than I have probably shown in all my time on this forum. He has me thinking a lot about how to work harder at understanding the other person's point of view, and how to answer with encouragement rather than criticism. i've also heard he has impeccable strategy when it comes to Pillow Fights! Obviously, Cameron is a bad influence!
5.
@Susanna has gone through a lot of trying times in her life, but she is unabashedly and geninely herself as she strives to serve both God and her fellow humankind. She often has me thinking about how to be more authentic and less afraid of what people might think. Obviously, Susanna is a bad influence!
6.
@TabinRivCA and
@Tall_Timbers are always here welcoming and greeting newcomers, making sure they know they can have a place here. I often wonder if I should follow their example and do less thread writing and more greeting. (I'm praying God will help me balance that out.) But it's been their own examples that have gotten me thinking about this. Obviously, they are both a bad influence!
7. Those of use who have met
@RodB651 can't stop crowing about his Ninja Burger Skills. My stomach loves his cooking, but every pair of pants I own hopes I'll never see him again! More than that, Rod encourages us in our small group chat no matter what questions or controversial things we might say. He'll always tell us, "You're looking for answers, and that's ok!" What's that??!! Encouraging independent thinking WITHOUT immediate criticism or harsh put-downs??!!! Most obviously, Rod is a VERY bad influence!!!
This of course, is just the tip of the iceberg.
* Who do YOU think are BAD INFLUENCES here on CC -- and WHY?
As you've probably noticed, the purpose/twist of this thread is to show a bit of "sarcastic support." The answers should be edifying and encouraging, not evil! This might get interesting if we get a few people who only read the title and not this first post.
And if you can't think of anyone else to claim is a BAD INFLUENCE here, feel free to take pot shots at me!
Shoot, I'd almost feel offended by now if people didn't see ME as a bad influence.
Before I sign off, of course I have to mention
@Lynx and
@cinder as "The Original" bad influences here. Not only do they make me think, but they often say exactly what I wanted to say -- all in one paragraph, as opposed to my 20 pages.
They also help me "round out" my ideas for many of these threads. I often say, "Hey guys, I need a word that means ___________ and starts with the letter __." Yesterday Cinder told me, "There is such a thing as an online thesaurus, you know,"
, but personally...
I'd much rather those two ping-pong all their ideas back and forth!
* And, how could I not mention the Original Bad Influence himself,
@Oncefallen. While sightings of our fearless leader might be scarce and precious, sometimes when he graces the Singles forum with a post -- it's often with some kind of joke aimed at Lynx -- and it's far better and beyond anything I could have ever come up with.
Hmm. I'm thinking, this is the ONE EXCEPTION on this list -- obviously,
@Oncefallen is a very, VERY GOOD INFLUENCE -- when it comes to keeping The Cat in line.
How about you? Who do you think is a bad influence on the forum -- and why?