Locked Out

Dear Lise,

Just after I hit the send button to reply to Segodon's post, I got your "locked" message. Oh, man, devasting. I had crafted the most brilliant, wise, intelligent response the likes of which I'm convinced are unparalleled. And OMG, I can't even think of the meticulous punctuation and spelling that I so labored over...gone. My one great piece of wisdom and no one will ever know I had it in me. Dang.

But lately I've been thinking about anger; seems to be a lot going around. Is it a primal emotion developed in the 6,000 year-old time line that Kozan refers to? Was it something we needed for survival? Is it still relevant today? And why do we kowtow to it so quickly? Why do I take an impersonal statement make it personal and then become angry? Or even if it is personal, why can't I just weigh it and see if it holds muster?

To be frank -- and brave enough to stand up to the embarassment to follow - maybe Pollyanna wasn't so off the mark!!!



(Name withheld)

:-) My deep sympathies, Mokuan!

Actually, as someone who also labours (British-English spelling) over "punctuation and spelling", I appreciate your fine attention to detail. (What's the distinction between the "--" and the "-" in the last paragraph?)

I think you have written a wise and thoughtful post on anger, making good points...and it wasn't even intended for public consumption! Signs of a true sage!!

Also, I find it helpful to look at/recognise the sadness/pain underlying anger. It may surprise one to know that there is any, or what it's about! But (note deliberate flouting of traditional syntax rules: this is 'jazz') in that space we may find our honest true concerns (and they are not always related to illusoryself-grasping and error (sorry about the excess of brackets)): it 'feels real' for us, even if we can do sweet nothing about it. I shall now go away and weep inwardly... (-:

Mokuan, I agree with Anne, excellent points you've raised. And I'm sorry for the thread lock - we will try to give notice going forward unless immediate action is needed.

Sometimes I type in Word or another text editor if I'm working on a post that's getting a lot of time and effort put into it. I've been thwarted by the forum software often enough to no longer trust it while composing. A cut & paste from a saved file seems to be the safest route.

The recent anger-flares on the forum have taken some of us by surprise - especially the sarcasm, personal attacks, name-calling, etc., which even a casual reader of this forum would recognise as being out-of-place and not in keeping with the community standards we've worked hard to build over the last two years. Possibly it is wired into us after thousands of years, to go on the offensive when a comment feels personal or strikes a raw nerve we didn't know was there.

Humans compete endlessly, don't we, to be right or more right than someone else, or more persuasive, or at least louder and more forceful if our arguments haven't the strength to convince anybody. Grrrr! Dogs tussling over a bone, I think sometimes that's all we really are . . .

"Dogs tussling over a bone, I think sometimes that's all we really are . . ."

There's the imperfection of communication as well, particularly by text where your tone is not always obvious. Anyone feeling "disgruntled"?

Emoticons may be girly, but they may help indicate how you intend your post to be read.

I know I was hot (not in the good way) after the speculations piled up about RM Eko's telephonic activities. Then I took it out on Isan. Then I was a bit depressed. The End.

:-) Girly?! Girly, Dan??!! What do you mean???!!! It takes nerves of steel to risk being thought a complete (girly) twerp before even one word has left my fingertips...! (-:

Anne wrote:

:-) Girly?! Girly, Dan??!! What do you mean???!!! It takes nerves of steel to risk being thought a complete (girly) twerp before even one word has left my fingertips...! (-:

Anne,

Not only do you start and end with a smiley/emoticon, but you reverse one so they are perfect bookends - now, that's girly...LOL

:-) Nerves of steel...Isan...nerves of steel!...

It looks like I am starting to hog this place, so I'd better shut up. Have a field day, chaps, and enjoy yourselves! (-:

Hey I'm not scared of 'em.

Lise wrote:

The recent anger-flares on the forum

Heh It wasn't that bad.

Funny thing: I showed my big bruth the M Little thread to find out what his opinion was. The only thing he replied (on google+ chat) was:

"OMG that is one polite argument!"

Maybe we were just throwing energy around.