Reed, the more I read of your writing, the more I realize how incredibly opposite viewed and experienced we are. Strange that we come to so many of the same conclusions that brings us together here.
Two points. I tell you I find a word offensive: "Nazi". You now have a choice to use that word or use another to convey the same meaning. With the rich vocabulary at your disposal I can only assume it's intentional. What purpose did that serve. It's like I said, "don't touch me there" and you go poke, poke, poke.
How can any word, regardless of content, be offensive? Do any of the other commonly offensive words bother you? I'd list a bunch but I would rather not poke harmfully at anyone here.
Now, causing other people pain and frustration is sometimes neccesary. What purpose...what good are you doing for me which outweighs the damage? What lesson should I learn?
To lighten up? When I was in gym, in middle school, these four guys in the class made a ritual of beating me in the arm, always the same place. "Ouch, stop it!" I would say. And they would laugh and tell me I needed to lighten up. At least I wasn't Billy, the Omega male. That guy got the shit kicked out of him, in the showers, in front of our supposed "coach" who just stood there like a statue and handed us towels as we came out. I should have defended Billy, but I didn't have any faith. I've never been a big, tough guy...and to stand in the way would have been puting myself in danger. And for what? Billy was a little...troubled, dysfunctional. Nothing to be gained, personally. It wasn't logical. So I watched my ass, took my shower, and got out as fast as I could.
This is SOOOO strange to me, it is hard to believe. First off - as the biggest kid in school until high school very few people would challenge me. I was really nice as a kid, so all my fights were in self defense, but I won them all handily. I too witnessed other kids having trouble with bullies - every time, regardless of logic I stepped in to defend the loser, and every time I won and gained a friend (except once in high school - where the kid I saved hated me for it - I unwittingly got in between a drug deal gone bad) Nothing happened - but I decided that since I could now (as a young adult) inflict real damage and receive real damage, it would be wise to find another way of confrontation that was less volitile. I have not been violent since. The concept that someone could sit idly by and watch another get a beating makes me sick to my stomach, it is the type of thing that to this day I fight.
It's a pitiful site to see a naked kid cowering prone on those moldy tiles like that. Laughter echos off those slick walls and through the water. You can still hear it, down the hallway at your locker...and it chases you as you run out the door.
I think human nature is inherently oriented towards good. We get side-tracked, and there are compromises, but the needle points north.
>You may assume more confidently (but not flawlessly)
>about human nature in general than about my ideology,
>of which you know little if anything, in particular.
I was making a general statement. I depend on the fact that human nature eventually overcomes ideology. Is that better?
>As above, it all depends upon the intents of the
>practitioner and the practiced-upon, and the personal
>history of each person on this list will most likely
>bear this out (a most likely true observation concerning
>general human nature; see how easy it is?).
Right on, dude.
Do you have any evidence that anyone who claims to understand
"level 3" is intent on anything other than helping people?
What about Richards Statement that "Self-satisfaction" is one of the best uses of level 3 thinking?
About you personally Reed - where did you grow up? What was your youth like?
Bill Roh