Posted by Tamar on July 14, 2005, at 16:24:41
In reply to Lou's response to aspects of this thread-vrusmodl? » Lou Pilder, posted by Lou Pilder on July 14, 2005, at 14:15:09
Hi Lou,
> It is written here,[...as a way of protecting myself (...not read....}...].
> I am requesting to those that are thinking of posting to this thread to consider the following:
> A. Is there the potential for one to have the potential to think that Dr. Hsiung's statement in question could lead one to think that some here need protection from me? Or that my posts could cause harm to someone?
> B. If so, what do they need to be protected from?Sorry if I didn’t explain myself clearly. I hope these answers will help:
A. I don’t think so. However:
B. I do think that people might want to protect themselves from the discomfort of their emotional reactions to the things that are triggered when they read aspects of posts that trigger them.Here’s an example. I didn’t reply to your post about the Nazis boycotting Jewish businesses because when I read your post I interpreted it as making a comparison between posting strategies on Babble and Nazi strategies against Jewish people. That might not have been what you intended, but that was how I read it.
I am not ignorant about the strategies the Nazis used against Jewish people. I knew about the boycotting of Jewish businesses, and other strategies. The thought that posting strategies on Babble could be compared with the abomination of the Holocaust was a thought I found very emotionally troubling. I don’t know if you intended me to have that thought, but I had it anyway. I felt shocked and outraged when I thought of a comparison between Babble and Nazi Germany.
I felt especially shocked because I do not believe that members of this community are stigmatizing other members on the basis of religious or cultural identity. Therefore I felt that the comparison between Babble and Nazi Germany was inappropriate. I realise, of course, that the comparison was based on my interpretation of your post, and that you did not explicitly make that comparison. However, those were my thoughts and feelings on reading your post, whether or not you intended me to have them.
So I decided not to reply because I thought my reply might transgress the civility guidelines.
At that point I could have thought that your future posts had the potential to trigger me. I could have decided to stop reading your posts for a while until I felt less emotionally vulnerable.
If I’d made that decision it would have been to protect myself from the sorts of feelings I experienced when I read your post about the boycott of Jewish businesses. I don’t believe I need any protection from you as a person.
Of course, I could also have asked you to clarify what you were driving at, but at the time I read the post I was feeling too emotional to think of asking you that. My own interpretation was so emotionally disturbing that I wasn’t able to think rationally about the possibility of alternative interpretations.
I realise I’ve been quite forthright here, and I hope you understand that it’s in the interests of communication. I hope you don’t mind that I picked your own post as an example; I chose it only because it was in this same thread.
For what it’s worth, my feelings and thoughts about the post have changed a little. I am still upset at the idea of a comparison between Babble and Nazi Germany, even though that comparison may be one of my own making. However, I am also concerned at the idea that you might feel stigmatized on the basis of your religious or cultural identity. I realise that this idea too may be one of my own making, and perhaps you do not feel stigmatized. If you are willing to talk about your feelings, I’d be interested to hear what you have to say.
Best wishes,
Tamar
poster:Tamar
thread:525619
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/admin/20050628/msgs/527602.html