On fighting

Apparently I missed some fighting

And then there’s buhdy’s Yay we are fighting

Much as I love buhdy, I can’t say Yay and we’re fighting in the same sentence that way.  If there’s one thing that there is too much of, here, there and everywhere, it’s fighting.  Inside families, outside families.  I fought plenty with my mother, now she’s dead.

We don’t need any more fighting.

I didn’t trace this round of fighting back to its source.

We have some of the usual suspects.  The subject this time seems to be racism.  And accusations of racism. And accusations of race-baiting.

I didn’t follow it back to its source, and I have no intention of doing so.  Feh.

Do Black people ever race-bait? Only a racist could say no.  Of course some Black people race bait.  You know why? They’re human.  Like White people.  And, likewise, some gay people are hypersensitive.  I can’t imagine why.  No one’s ever really been anti-gay! Of course not!

And race! Sheesh!  I mean, after a couple thousand years of White people treating Black people with total compassion and respect, the thanks the White people get is that some Black people race bait!  The NERVE!

I mean, white Christian males are, by definition, followers of Christ, right? So, none of them can ever throw that first stone, unless they are without sin.  Right? So, all the Christian people throwing rocks must be pure!  Stands to reason!

Then, a certain well-known front-pager starts calling out the kumbaya brigade.

Jeeze.  Let’s fight more, folks.  That way, we won’t have to concentrate on the real enemy.  Wouldn’t want that.  I mean, if we win….if we really do elect some progressives, if we really do start changing things, then what would we do?

So, fight amongst yourselves.  Go ahead. Meanwhile the real bigots will continue the real oppression. Insult each other.  Insult each other for being racists, for being rude, for objecting to people being rude, and for objecting to people objecting to being rude.

Call each other names while the world burns.

Go ahead.  I won’t stop you.

But if that’s what this site is about, include me out.

I thought this site was about changing the world.  Fighting isn’t a change, fighting is old.  We’ve been fighting for a couple million years, and look at us now.

It’s time to stop.

It’s time to stop fighting amongst ourselves, and start saving the world.

If that’s what this site is about, then cheers to us.

If it isn’t, then I am out of here

That’s what *I* want to do.  What about you?

Free your mind, and the rest will follow.

114 comments

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    • plf515 on November 30, 2007 at 02:45
      Author

    we know who the enemy is, and he isn’t here.

  1. Nice thoughts….not realistic but nice!!!

    Do you mind if I move ythis off the FP before commenting further? I would rather keep this in the recent/recommended column….and save the FP for saving the world stuff.

    Is that cool with you?

  2. please read or re-read On Civility.  It is entirely acceptable to disagree here, there is no expectation that anyone at all is immune from the harshest criticism.

    On Civility

    If you’re not tough enough to withstand my saying your ideas are stupid acompanied by a Wrong! or a Hide without complaining about it OR worrying that it’s somehow going to negatively affect your “popularity” you are showing the same kind of craven cowardice we decry in our elected Representatives.

    Think about it.

    YOU ARE NOT YOUR FUCKING HANDLE!  YOU ARE NOT YOUR FUCKING UID!  WHY DO YOU GIVE A RAT’S ASS WHAT I THINK!  IF I HURT YOUR FEELINGS GET OVER IT!

    Maybe you’ll agree with me next time.

    But don’t expect anyone to act toward you in any particular way, because they don’t have to.  It’s up to you to control how you act.

    You can’t be afraid of words.

    “Your ideas are stupid and you’re a poopy head.”

    Really? How so?

    “You smell like farts. Hahhahahahahhahhahah!”

    Pfui.  I’m done with you.

    And stay done.

    The whole concept of this site is for you not to be afraid to say what you think, but you can’t go around afraid that someone will disagree with you.  And that’s what it is.

    If you have the courage of your convictions engage.  If you’re not impressed don’t, you control your own actions and reactions.

    What ever you do don’t whine and complain about how mean and unfair it is when somebody says Wrong! “Your comment makes me question your motives and/or intelligence.”, either with words or with ratings.

    I didn’t sign on to be a hall monitor in a kindergarden.

  3. Give me idealism every single time, straight up, no chaser.

    Thanks, plf.  

  4. …I dislike fighting over dumb things.

    And the world doesn’t need saving.  America does.  Human civilization might.  The world, however, is fine.

  5. … I get to be the contrarian here.

    I’ve seen this over and over again.

    Someone gets into a fight that involves a situation you are not involved in, you have no stake in.

    So your viewpoint is entirely objective.

    And you urge peace.

    Then, maybe a day later, or even a week later, you post something that is intensely important to you, something you simply cannot be objective about.

    And someone makes a very insensitive joke out of what you are saying, or reveals something that just sets you off, pushes your buttons.

    All of a sudden you are fighting.

    And then someone else comes in and says “oh fighting is terrible!  Can’t we all get along?”

    It all depends on your involvement, I think.

    Let me put it this way — has anyone on this thread ever lost their temper?  Ever?

    If the answer is yes, then that is the point of my comment.

    Is anyone here always civil?  Can anyone here say definitively they have NEVER hurt someone else’s feelings, even unintentionally?

    If you answer yes, I will call you a liar.

    It’s not the fighting, imo.  It’s how we handle it and whether or not we can stay engaged.  It’s everyone’s choice.

    Some will stay and some will leave.  But I defy anyone here to show me a community that doesn’t have fighting.

    As far as Jay’s comment on “fighting over stupid stuff,” I don’t think racism is “stupid stuff.”

    Maybe it’s just very uncomfortable to think that this site isn’t as racially sensitive as we’d like to think.

    But I hate to even limit it to racism.  We all have prejudices.  And we all have flaws.

    So no, I don’t think anyone likes fighting and getting hurt.  But I also don’t think it can be avoided just by saying so.

  6. to add that have me concerned.

    First of all, as I travel around a bit and see what’s going on, I think most people have at least something I agree with and something that I don’t. I see people be incredibly wise one moment and an asshole the next. And yet there is always this pull to “take sides” in order to try and at least weigh in. I don’t like that feeling. And sometimes I just can’t type enough words to cover all the thoughts I have about various issues raised.

    For example, I agree with alot of what your said in this essay plf515. But I don’t agree that its just the Republicans we need to take on. For one thing, I think the Dems are falling down the rabbit hole pretty quickly these days. And when in comes to racism, we all have a long way to go and need to be challenged by each other on that front regularly.

    And secondly, I do think we get pulled into seeing things a certain way by our attachments to particular people. We see the wrongs more clearly to them and can be blind to the wrongs they have inflicted on others. I think that is human nature – but something we can work to be more open about.  

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