When I first came to joeuser, I was looking for a blog site where I could begin to write articles to grow as a writer. I have received much more from JU than I ever expected. So, in many ways, this is more of a "Thank You, JU" thread than a Sir Peter appreciation thread, but I don't think any thank you for JU would be complete without mention of one of the individuals who helped me grow more than many others.

See, when I first got here, I was easily as offended by SPM as anyone here, but I didn't feel writing an email to be an appropriate response. Encouraged by many of Petey's adversaries, I began looking at SPM, and trying seriously to discover who he was.

what I discovered was a sharp tongued satirist. SPM's intelligence cannot be denied, nor, in fact, can the consistency of his character. He created a persona that satirized virtually everything and held nothing sacred. This stepped on a lot of people's toes.

But what SPM gave me was a better understaning of satire, which, despite past exposure to it, I had never truly been able to grasp in any cohesive fashion before SPM. I began to understand that a TRUE satirist can hold nothing sacred; if they do, it weakens the strength of the satire.

I know and understand that Peter has upset individuals on this site. Frankly, I was one of them before I came to understand him. But JU is full of sharks, and as soon as you get rid of one, ten more pop up.

And once you've tangled with the biggest shark, the rest of them are tame by comparison.