I grow so weary

[Kookaburra]

of the condescension on the GD board (aptly named, if you ask me). Good grief!!! You ask a simple question because you're curious and you get trampled by people. I gotta stay away from that place (vexations to the spirit).

[mysticalchick]

1. Yeah, it's a sucky place ...

... mean comments, snotty answers and know-it-alls. I rarely venture in there because the vibration is *so low* that it just feels like I'm being dragged underwater.

(What happened to prompt your comment, K?)

[Kookaburra]

2. Completely innocent question

I wanted to know if the same principle was behind homeopathic treatments and allergy shots. They took great delight in trying to make me look like a fool. One person had the decency to explain to me why the 2 are completely different, which I still don't think I believe.

Thought maybe with the "shift" moving along people would have become a little more patient and giving, and to be fair, there was one person who took the time to give an answer that wasn't snotty. Guess it just took me by surprise -- don't know why, because it's been that way for quite some time now.

If my BF suggested this I would throw something at him, but it is possible I'm PMSing, because usually that kind of stuff doesn't bother me. I just leave. But this time it just flew all in my face.

Oh well -- chocolate covered pretzels will take care of it.

[BanzaiBonnie]

3. Sadly, they are the ones who are ignorant

They have blinders on that keep them closed down. There are some people that will not be open to the possibility of anything that does not fit into their narrow paradigm. Yes, I said it, they are narrow minded.

I'm sorry you ran into that. There is far too much snottiness, when kindness would do so much better.


I'm working on healing my knees. Osteoarthritis. I'm doing psychic surgery. I practice every day. And I can usually go whole days without pain and swelling. I keep practicing because I'm pretty sure I'll get it completely healed up one of these days. And in the meantime, I hurt no one by my practice.

In another healing modality, I'm working with one person on her gluten intolerance and another on Crohn's disease. I'll let you know how it goes.


She Who Walks

[Delphinus]

4. Ooh,

you should never, ever, in a million, gazillion years enter Health, Science, or General Discussion and let the word "homeopathy" exit your fingers.

[get the red out]

5. I unrecced that sucker!

I don't dare post in threads like that because it absolutely depletes me to be trampled on and put down like I'm not even a human being, but when I see them I unrecc them. The miserable lot that gets no pleasure from anything but mistreating others can't do a THING about that. The way I figure it, they only ever bring up any alternative therapies in GD as a trap for people who derive benefits from them, then they get the joy of battering them/us like we are nothing but ants under their feet. I see many threads put up in GD on various subjects that I see as nothing but traps. People like this must have no joy outside the temporary power they feel in putting others "in their place". They are absolutely like right wing Christians, same arrogance, same desire to impose their will. In fact, the "religion" posts nearly always seem like traps for anyone who isn't atheist to get battered by that faction of atheists who are as mean and angry as Jerry Falwell's ilk. If these people could impose their will on everyone they would very quickly loose the "Democratic" from Democratic Underground.

[OneGrassRoot]

6. Granted, I'm in a most foul mood...

:mad:

but I just can't stop thinking this morning about the arrogance of human beings.

And, honestly, it's religious fundamentalists, atheists, spiritualists (new agers), healers, scientists...it really doesn't matter. It's everywhere. There is an arrogance that I KNOW THE TRUTH amongst a certain percentage of all of these groups.

I think that personality type is especially prevalent here at DU, so we see it so much here.

I can honestly say I don't KNOW a damn thing....I don't know for a fact how anything works, as I'm open to the possibility that there are so many things we can't wrap our human brains around just yet and/or things that are beyond the scope of our comprehension.

And, as I've said here repeatedly, I also believe (not know, but believe/feel) that what is one person's absolute truth -- which I respect completely, as I do believe people can know things beyond a shadow of a doubt for themselves -- isn't necessarily a truth for others.

This arrogance is everywhere...it's a mindset and way of being in this world that makes me want to stay under a rock and not interact with people.

And by simply being more mindful of tone and wording, that attitude of arrogance can be avoided. Then again, I do believe many are so immersed in that arrogance that it's their only way of Being and surviving. Heaven forbid they doubt anything...that is seen as weakness, evidently.

What I always loved about Gary Zukav is how he very intentionally -- and sincerely -- would share his opinions and insights by saying, "I suggest that you may want to look at it this way...."

He never said, that I heard or read, "I know this is the way it is."

He suggested. That's a huge difference. And, maybe because I have the type of personality I do, I respond to that approach so much better and can absorb what is being suggested...versus being TOLD.

Perhaps others respond to the other approach much better.

That's just me though. I don't know a damn thing and am not embarrassed or ashamed to admit it.

My only words of advice for my daughter are to simply do her best. Beyond that, I don't know anything, though I may suggest things. ;)

I do fear arrogance may be our ultimate undoing...beyond the obvious ways our arrogance has affected Mother Earth.


ON EDIT: I thought I'd better jump back in to fully acknowledge that it is judgmental of me to feel what I shared above...about arrogance of others. Yes, it is judgmental but it's how I feel.

:hi:

[mysticalchick]

7. I'm with you on this one ...

... and I see it all over the place. There's another "woo-woo" forum that I visit and the arrogance is so off-putting to me. People will ask for an opinion or whatever and others offer it as THE DEFINITIVE ANSWER and that pisses me off no end. With regards to matters spiritual (as well as lots of other topics) you can't be absolutely sure of anything. It's all in what you've experienced and seen/heard/felt etc. (IMO)

Just like you, OGR, I know what has been MY experience of things but I am totally open to possibilities that I cannot even fathom. I take pains to make sure that I phrase things as being part of MY experience and offer ideas that may or may not resonate with others. So, it's part of my own particular achilles heel when I see others state things in absolutes.

So, I feel ya. I truly do.

[OneGrassRoot]

8. ...

:hug:

Thank you for that. Thanks for understanding me.

:hug:

[Kookaburra]

9. You know what they remind me of?

Did you see Shrek 3? When he goes to the high school, he tries to ask these 2 kids playing chess where someone is, and they insist on instead making condescending non-sensical jokes at his expense. He finally says to them, "I know you're busy not fitting in and all, but could you please just tell me where he is?" or something like that. Maybe that's the way I should have approached them.

[OneGrassRoot]

14. LOL....

That may be an approach to try next time around, if you have the energy to engage. :hug:

That would be funny. Maybe we should get a standard cartoon or video clip or something to insert in such instances. :)

I'm not in an engaging mood; I'm still licking my wounds from the last time around, and I wasn't even arguing with anyone! :rofl:

[get the red out]

10. I'm right there with you

My problem is that I tend to want to be an asshole right back! But I have noticed for the longest time that the same personality type is both the fundamentalist Christian and extreme "Science" only types. They are condescending in exactly the same way. They hilarious part to me is that the Bible was shaped by political leaders for power in the past, and presently we see more and more how industry controls so much of scientific study for power and profit. But the absolutists can't permit themselves to consider these things, even when it's right in their faces, but they sure know what we all need to think!

The frightening thing is that these people are quite authoritarian in their thinking, what if either group got too much in the way of power (the Christian fundies have just about accomplished this in many areas of the country). If anyone wanted an end to anything resembling a democracy in this country, this is the personality type that would work for that.

[OneGrassRoot]

13. Yep....

"absolutists."

That's the word. I think it's a survival mechanism. I grew up around people with this worldview and way of Being. I used to wish I could be like them, as their black-and-white view of the world seemed much more straightforward and easier. For me, life has always been gray...wanting to consider other perspectives, and take into account that my perceptions are likely based on my own personal experiences, and thus can be skewed.

This may seem really random, but I want to share an excerpt from a book I'm reading, "A Different Drum" by M. Scott Peck ("The Road Less Traveled").

It's about authentic community, and I'm learning so much. It pertains to this "absolute" approach to life as well.

Community seeks out diversity, welcomes other points of view, embraces opposites, desires to see the other side of every issue. It is "wholistic." It integrates us human beings into a functioning mystical body.

The word "integrity" comes from the verb "to integrate." Genuine community is always characterized by integrity.

That hit me because the word "integrity" is one of my mantras this year, and never really thought about this particular meaning, which is so profound.

I'm not sure what I'm rambling about...lol...but this all seems to tie in in some way.

For some of us, genuine integrating -- which, to us, involves considering others' perspectives and opinions -- is how we survive and move along in this world.

For others, the absolutists, they survive by NOT considering others' perspectives, as it shakes what may be a very fragile foundation as to how they see themselves in the world. So, they hold tight to these rigid beliefs and are threatened when others don't believe the same thing.

It's cool to have a rigid belief, in my humble opinion...to each his/her own. But to try to impose those beliefs on others, even with a subtle approach of "Oh, I pity you that you don't see things as I do" if not the brow-beating approach we often see in GD and from thumpers and such...that's what I find potentially harmful and certainly not productive.

From my perspective. ;)

[BanzaiBonnie]

11. I agree wholeheartedly

To say we KNOW anything is probably a fantasy.

It's the being close-minded in any direction that I see as problematic. Anyone who says, "follow me, I know THE answer... " Well, you'll likely find me looking a different direction.

I have my own ideas about things, but I don't know anything for sure. And I KNOW that I don't know much. ;)

[OneGrassRoot]

15. A new club....

Those Who Do Not Know Anything for Sure (and okay with it!)


;)

:hug:

[mysticalchick]

18. Can I join?

I'll bring treats to all our meetings! :)


:hi:

[OneGrassRoot]

20. Treats! Yay!!!!

:bounce:

Sounds good to me! :hi:

[Kookaburra]

22. Those rice crispie/marshmallow thingies?

Yummy-yum-yum!!! Love that stuff.

[Missy Vixen]

23. I like to bake, too

Chocolate chip cookies coming right up for everyone! Let me know if you like another variety -- Snickerdoodles, anyone?

I'll admit it. There are some subjects in GD that make me so crazy I can't see straight. (See bullying towards fat people, for instance. I'll put on my steel-toed boots and wade the hell in there.) At the same time, I agree with all of you. I don't know everything. The older I get, the clearer it is to me that no matter how hard I try, I'll never know everything, either.

In the past thirty years, I've gone from fundamentalist Christian to an agnostic. I pray and hope someone is listening. If I was wrong about that, maybe it's best to keep an open mind, because there's much more to learn about all things.

Kookaburra, I'm so sorry that I didn't even try to help at all.

-MV

[MorningGlow]

21. I'm in! n/t

[MorningGlow]

12. You know it

That's why I gave up posting in quite a few forums here. Apparently everybody has THE answer and won't hear word one about a possible alternative. I can't argue with those people because I can't be so forceful in my beliefs. What I believe works for me. I don't want to convince those who want to argue or challenge me that I'm right because I know they'll never accept what I have to say, what I believe likely won't work for them anyway, and I can't guarantee I'm right. I admit that--I CAN'T GUARANTEE I'M RIGHT. Nobody can. And I don't care if it's a sign of weakness that I'm not willing to "debate" (oh that's a good one--what's out there that they call debate...)

Hey, my watchword is the Wiccan Rede, "An it harm none, do as thou wilt." In other words, I don't give a rip what other people believe, and they can leave me the frack alone to believe what I want, thank you very much. But they don't. They attack and rip and shred and maim and belittle and insult...and enjoy it. That is entirely foreign to me. Oh, sometimes when I'm feeling feisty or cranky I'll insult back, but I can't sustain it, like FWWM's suggestion of fostering hate for several minutes. Can't do it.

If only people would ask questions and actually consider the answers instead of surging into battle with their spiked maces flailing... :(

[OneGrassRoot]

16. It's friggin exhausting, isn't it?

Well, it is for me. That shit sucks the life right out of me...it truly does.

I wrote above we could start a new club for those of us who don't know anything for sure.

I think "being broken" is part of that.

We're all broken in some way. You and I shared that moment of synchronicity weeks ago with that phrase.

I quoted above from the same book ("A Different Drum") above...the same book which reminded me that we're all broken in some way, shape or form. We all have that as a common denominator...even if we all don't realize it yet.

:hug:

[Fire Walk With Me]

17. "...the GD board (aptly named, if you ask me)."

I'd never thought of that, thanks for the grin :)

And yes, stay out of contentious places!

[Cleita]

19. GD has always been a lake of fire here.

Get on your asbestos suit when you venture in there. :hug: