Posted by jane d on January 8, 2011, at 10:04:06
In reply to Re: Truly disillusioned by this entire thread, posted by SLS on January 7, 2011, at 6:28:37
> > This was a private dispute. That one party has tried to make a public one by claiming it's about general principles. It wasn't. I really thought that people would see thru that. I'm beyond disillusioned that so few did.
> >
> > Does anyone else have a cow that's mysteriously sickened? Jump right in.
>
> When one of two parties has made public the alleged behaviors of the other by posting them or referring to them on the Internet, it is no longer a private matter, regardless of how desirable it might have been for the two parties to communicate privately. Here, we have one party accusing another of behavior that is deleterious to one or more people. It is not a matter of principle. It is a matter of hurt or harm.
>
> I would not be so quick to suggest that to blame one party vindicates the other. I think this thread deserves to continue, but should perhaps become more focused on the general and less on the acts of named individuals. I don't usually use this phrase, but "it is what it is." This thread has had legs for specific reasons. I would like to know what they are. I don't believe that this is about pack mentality and bullying. I think it is more about hurt and fear.I agree there are general issues. I've replied to those in a new thread here which I hope is allowed to stay separate and I hope remains general. It's here: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/admin/20101201/msgs/976183.html
Neither hurt nor fear excuse everything. The witch hunts in my allusion were carried out by people who were afraid. And in some accounts people with personal grudges used the fear of others to settle those grudges. Terrible things are done by people who are afraid.I thought pack mentality was a kind interpretation of what's been going on. It presumes, as I would very much like to, that the individuals would have acted very differently if they'd been acting as individuals. You can often trust an individual dog with a cat or a child but not be able to trust the same dog once it's become part of a pack. Dog packs can be very scary. It may be a human tendency too but it's definitely humans at their worst.
I'm still disillusioned.
poster:jane d
thread:975555
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/admin/20101201/msgs/976185.html