Divide and Conquer

Jnana · 08-06-2009, 04:07 PM

I think disagreement is to be expected. People who are awakening come from so many different backgrounds and face such a mess of conflicting information that we inevitably will end up with different points of view. Challenging another point of view can be good if it's done with kindness, respect, and attention to what your own justification is for feeling as you do.

This is serious stuff. People are making major life decisions based on the information they find. Some people may even think they are helping to save lives by persuading others to their point of view. I think it's to be expected that some people will become a bit overwrought from time to time. Kindness in responses is appropriate even when somebody goes off on a tirade.

Plain text on a screen can be difficult to interpret emotionally. What the poster thinks as a simple statement of fact may trigger an extreme emotional response in someone else. I've had this happen to me. All attempts at clarification failed. What can you do?

It is unfortunate when someone with valuable input decides to leave, but that's their decision to make. Who knows, it may give them time to accomplish something valuable in real life that they weren't getting done because of all the time spent on this forum!

The lie of division is pervasive in our culture. It's not that surprising that even people who are well aware of it fall back into the trap from time to time. We're not perfect. All we can do is keep trying to be the best we can be.

08-06-2009, 04:07 PM	#11
Jnana Avalon Senior Member Join Date: Sep 2008 Location: Indiana Posts: 653	Re: Divide and Conquer I think disagreement is to be expected. People who are awakening come from so many different backgrounds and face such a mess of conflicting information that we inevitably will end up with different points of view. Challenging another point of view can be good if it's done with kindness, respect, and attention to what your own justification is for feeling as you do. This is serious stuff. People are making major life decisions based on the information they find. Some people may even think they are helping to save lives by persuading others to their point of view. I think it's to be expected that some people will become a bit overwrought from time to time. Kindness in responses is appropriate even when somebody goes off on a tirade. Plain text on a screen can be difficult to interpret emotionally. What the poster thinks as a simple statement of fact may trigger an extreme emotional response in someone else. I've had this happen to me. All attempts at clarification failed. What can you do? It is unfortunate when someone with valuable input decides to leave, but that's their decision to make. Who knows, it may give them time to accomplish something valuable in real life that they weren't getting done because of all the time spent on this forum! The lie of division is pervasive in our culture. It's not that surprising that even people who are well aware of it fall back into the trap from time to time. We're not perfect. All we can do is keep trying to be the best we can be.