I’m not sure what I thought I’d find when I clicked on a sidebar ad for a model government, but I’m sure it wasn’t a massive community filled with future friends, fake laws, and lively debates. I started out a nobody, and suddenly found myself in the middle of a 19-way election for a lone house seat. I worked hard, campaigned harder, made some allies, and pulled off a win. It was easily my proudest moment on the sim, and I am very grateful to the people who made it possible. /u/animus-hacker and /u/sviridovt: you were amazing. Thank you.
I didn’t stop after that, though. I kept my house seat through midterms and challenged /u/Didicet for Governor of Eastern State. Incredibly hard work by the wonderful /u/RestrepoMU, who shared the ticket with me, meant that we managed to come out on top. I also worked with the magnificent /u/BlkAndGld3117 a few months later for another Eastern State primary. These are two people I respect deeply, and all of you should look to them for counsel and advice. They know what they’re doing, and chances are even if they don’t they’ll be able to help you in some way.

Now, down to the root of what this message is all about.
Effective immediately, I’m resigning my positions as Editor-in-Chief of The New Deal, Admissions Officer, Deputy Chair of the DNC, and Senator from Eastern State.

Why?

I don’t really like the person I’ve become on the sim. Last night, I took an axe to /u/MDK6778. I was cruel, vicious, and utterly heartless in a relentless assault on his character, values, and actions. I like MDK. He’s someone who I count as one of my first friends on the sim. He endorsed me in that first primary, and he’s been a good moderator. I’ve also pointlessly attacked /u/daytonanerd over transportation infrastructure. I did it multiple times. I’ve also gone after /u/anyhistoricalfigure over what really was a minor disagreement, so add him to the list of people I like but ended up attacking anyway. I’ve also seen some people that I truly respected do things that I don’t think I would have believed to be possible when I first met them. Things that made me lose that respect and make me doubt everything I knew about them to begin with. It wasn’t those incidents which made me want to write this, though, it was my own actions towards MDK and others that made me feel this was necessary. I've been thinking about doing this for a while now. It isn't something that I'm doing in the heat of the moment, but what happened last night definitely settled the matter in my mind.
To clarify: I don’t think this sim is inherently harmful. I’ve seen wonderful people stay good people - /u/PavementOnWheels, /u/Didicet, /u/idrisbk – and many, many others. I just don’t think that this is right for me. Who I’ve become is not who I want to be, and it’s not who I am in real life. Even after everything I’ve done, though, I can’t deny that I have had some truly wonderful times. The sim is a fantastic place for communication and to break through the divides that exist between political ideologies in real life. It is one of the best ways I’ve ever seen to teach people about politics and the legal process.
I don’t want to leave completely. I’ve made some great friends, and had some truly enlightening discussions. I’ll come around to Discord and Skype every so often, and maybe drop a few memes with Didi or chat about the constitution with some of the Libertarians. The one final shoutout I’d like to make is to /u/Walripus – one of the best people I ever knew in the party. If you never had the privilege of knowing him before he left, ask Idris about Parker sometime.

It’s been a wild ride, it really has. Despite everything, I don't regret it at all. I'm hoping for the best for all of you.

Signing off,

PK