Posted by ElaineM on December 29, 2006, at 20:36:21
In reply to Re: Would it be helpful or even possible/poss *tri, posted by Phillipa on December 29, 2006, at 18:42:29
>>>>How do you know if someone is crying wolf?
I think that's a touchy subject. To me, "crying wolf" (like from the actual story) suggests a calculated repetition of a statement/gesture because of the immediate personal gratification that an individual believes the process will bring their way. Crying wolf then connotes a knowing - a manipulation - a fabrication of a level of danger. I don't think that it's possible to prove 100% if a person is doing such a thing -- that is unless a person admits it to have been such after the fact. Which I believe would thereby make future/repeated pleas suspect -- unfortunately. I think it's a self-defeating thing to do, but unless a person is aware of a self-defeating behaviour and its consequences, and is willing to work on reeducation, then it likely will only repeat. That's why I'm personally sensitive to "suicide" being used as a synonym for emotions - but of course, that sometimes requires a personal judgement to be made (again unless an individual clarifies after that, now that they are in a different emotional place, it would've been more accurate had they said that they had felt X instead) In the story, it is proven that the boy has repeatedly lied because the actual wolf is never present when they arrive - its immediately verifiable. In this case, the wolf isn't as easy to prove or disprove because it's an emotional state, and expressed only through words on a screen without even any possible accompanying visual cues.
I think that it's natural that people will make their own private decisions about a persons honesty or intent, and use that to determine when they interact and when they self-protect, but I'd never try and quantify a number of repeated suicide/"suicide" posts needed to prove someone is only a "wolf crier". Cause even if someone did that fifty times, doesn't mean that the fifty-first time won't be the real thing. Something like that could never be guaranteed. Plus I think that "only" crying wolf doesn't necessarily mean that a person is not troubled or in pain. That's why I'm all for someone discussing suicide, self-harm, suicidal ideation -- real or fabricated. I definately think online communication can have an impact. I think it's a good thing, if conducted in a way that's respectful of other community members.
I was trying to type my thoughts on the last half of your post, but it just comes out like a jumbled mess, so I left it out. Plus I haven't even been around a year, so I'll leave that for others.
blove EL
poster:ElaineM
thread:717121
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/admin/20061228/msgs/717434.html