Replying to John Constantine Sherri Malouf said:
>I am glad people felt they could write to this list about their
>experiences. I am glad people chose to put their names on or keep them
>off. I am glad Rick has supported this thread. To me it means we are
>creating something of value. A forum where people can say what is REAL!!!
>Thank you Rick and all the people who have contributed including John!
>Because I do not exclude John's concerns as being legitimate. I just
>disagree with censure in order to be safe.
I share Sherri's joy that we have created a forum - with Rick's persistent
facilitation - where people can feel comfortable speaking about very deep
dark personal feelings, and can feel connected enough to each other
("behaving as people behave when they belong together", as Donald Kerr
suggests) to attempt to learn collectively from the experiences which
generate those feelings.
I rejoice that she has acknowledged John's contribution to the dialogue in
spite of her disagreement (although I think you meant "censorship",
Sherri, surely not "censure" which no one has suggested). I too disagree
that the personal nature of some of the contributions warrant maintaining
silence or even only privacy.
But I also share John's concern for the potential dangers inherent in this
conversation, and I think we all need to be careful when addressing these
issues since the very openness of the forum has the capacity to open very
deep wounds and cause great pain. I don't know exactly HOW "to be
careful", but I am possessed with a real concern for the welfare of some
of our readers in this context and feel compelled to surface my concern.
[Host's Note: Thank you to Jack, John, Sherri and others who have
commented. I had some concern in opening this territory with the two
"anonymous" messages. The concern is that we are not set up here to give
counseling or to support those who might seek it. In particular, I'm not
medically trained, and I think the concerns expressed by Jack and John are
real. I did distribute the messages because I thought it was a healthy
sign for the anonymous posters to be able to talk about this and because I
thought the messages would be of help to others. If anyone has advice for
me in my task as host, please write me directly. So far, I'm impressed by
the sensitivity and consideration expressed in the responses. Thank you,
everyone! ... Rick]
--Jack Hirschfeld What would you do if I sang out of tune? jack@his.com Would you get up and walk out on me?
Learning-org -- An Internet Dialog on Learning Organizations For info: <rkarash@karash.com> -or- <http://world.std.com/~lo/>