That applause for my post was just what I needed, actually. I got bothered by what someone said in another forum, and I came here and found someone actually agrees with me. thanks for that!
About him being banned, I would say don't make my argument be the spark--as much as I didn't like the guy. But now it seems like he was genuinely breaking the rules in the worst way, therefore good ban.
About positive thinking (is it not the same as hope?), I really wish I could subscribe to it more often as so many here and elsewhere have suggested, but I'm too bothered by the short-term results... things rarely work out for me. I'm not someone who has ever succeeded at anything. I have ADD and learning issues, I'm insecure and awkward. If you had a checkbox for "life skills," I don't think I'd have a check next to any item, which in my observations is quite rare.
Positive thinking, therefore, is at least a strange fit for me. I think the greater issue for me is not my realist-depressive, low-confidence outlook--although it is a problem--but problems with actually getting anything done.
If someone believes positive-thinking could help me surpass the problems caused by learning challenges and ADD, I'd like to hear it. But my life experience automatically makes me skeptical.