Posted by obsidian on June 29, 2007, at 0:20:40
In reply to Re: conflict, posted by Dr. Bob on June 28, 2007, at 12:23:33
so...I thought about this post and I suppose part of what it was about, and only part, is that sometimes (perhaps it's hard-wired) we are vigilant of possible ill intentions of others- and maybe we see it even when it isn't there ...
> >
> > I do think we like to argue, to find wrongs, to criticize....
> > why do we do it?
> > and we really tend to see evils in "authority"
> > is it a matter of convenience, a place to store the uncomfortable within ourselves? ...
> >
> > obsidian
>
> Thanks for reflecting on this process. There are a number of angles that could be examined, including:
>
> 1. I and the deputies are vigilant for incivility, and others may model themselves after us.yes, I know what is expected on this site, and it sometimes keeps me from posting certain things
...but, I'd like to think that I'd stop and think anyway - the anonymity however might be too tempting ;-)> 2. People may be vigilant for "evil" in authority now because they've experienced it before.
my goodness yes! I have certainly experienced this...we learn to distrust those people who would be the ones we are supposed to "listen to"
we start to doubt their intentions, to test them and maybe finally to reject them
>
> 3. We may also "hold" uncomfortable parts for others. Such as?well now isn't this a complicated question?
well, let me see now....I'll just pick one thing : anger
for instance...I am not comfortable with anger..it makes me feel guilty, however if I am met with a despicable foe, full of malice and worthy of no compassion or consideration, then I can be angry as I want to be at them...and I need not feel badly about it (it is funny just how many people like these I can find ;-), but seriously
but who am I in this instance??
an innocent victim, exploited, with good intentions, with fleece as white as snow, saintly, virginal, all that good stuff, etc.
but where is my self-centeredness, my lack of concern for other people, my ignorance, my mistakes, the false assumptions I make??
so.... somewhere in between lies the truth
so back to my hating conflict...it would seem that resolving it would require some identification with the person with whom you are in conflict, an understanding of their understanding, a recognition of them in you...if they live on a whole other planet (or so it feels) then it isn't so likely
and if you are one of "us" and they are part of "them" well...
the antonym of "evil" is "righteous" which would seem to suggest to me that rage against what is "evil" can be considered sanctioned, can be "right", and then one can debate endlessly about what is "right"
....to summarize - I don't talk politics or religion unless I want to take on a very uncomfortable and conflictual position...uh... NOT!
poster:obsidian
thread:765530
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/admin/20070605/msgs/766607.html