answers_for_truth daf Before starting...a request: Accept this please. It's a bit too much to ask a brother to indulge in answering questions in this manner. Please..whether that is true for you or not. It is true for me. From my personal perspective questioning isn't always the best way to answer questions. Life and its living are for answering questions. Action and observation seems to produce much more satisfying and complete answers. I have a blathe devoted to answering questions in this way. It's called ask_dafremen. Anything goes there. Have at it if this blathe proves insufficient to your curiosity. Truth...here is the answer to your question: There is still so much to learn before we move on from this place. So much about myself that I do not know. So much about you..and who you are that I haven't yet explored..and that I am so anxious to understand. So many things, particularly in the beginning of this life..made no sense about the way we relate to one another in this world. There are many that still don't. Why do we all want to be loved..but instead find ourselves isolated and alone? Why do people who have no REAL differences scream, fight and kill each other? What leaves people so twisted and scarred that they are directed to hurt children? Who are we? What are we doing here? Why do we choose to limit ourselves when freedom is calling so insistently to my own heart..and all so apparently..to the heart of us all? What do we fear...and why? If we are unhappy, what can ease our unhappiness? If we are lonely, what can comfort us in that isolation? And are we alone at all...ever? These aren't simple questions to answer. Opinions aren't sufficient. They've been pondered numerous times by fools and sages alike. They've been expounded endlessly upon reams and reams of paper..clay tablets..birch bark. But the answers are there. Piece piece..event by event..impulse by impulse small patches of sky are seen through the clouds of illogical confusion. To understand you better..to understand myself better...to understand the reality of our situation..the depths of our predicament..means engaging. Circles in my skull will not tell me the things I so long to know. Bantering back and forth with another can only provide answers to these questions when the words are ignored and their intent..and indeed the perceived intent of them is explored through experience. All of the intellectualizing and debating about things has done very little to broaden my understanding when the words were taken at face value. Everyone has a different take when they talk about it. But the energy..that's a different story. There are very few responses. There is negative energy..there is positive energy..there is no energy. And with energy in mind, the words take on a whole new meaning. But still, these are only words. It is the energy behind them that I'm interested in. Sometimes, depending upon the path curiosity decides to follow, a little injection of chaos and antisocial behavior pulls out the reactions..the responses that provide pieces to the puzzle. What is the effect of human ego upon communication? (Both my ego..and the egos of others..) How does it manifest itself. What are these strange reactions threatening to well up in my throat when such and such is said? Why is that? How do I address this involuntary reaction within me? All of these questions and more are answered for me..personally by expressing..engaging..observing..noting..correcting myself where it's feasible..watching myself where it isn't. Before blather..there was no place to learn of these things in this manner..regardless of how quickly and effectively the approach cuts through the words to the heart of the matter. You'll perhaps be appalled, perhaps relieved to know that I engage in similar inquiries in a game called Quake2. The cause there isn't freedom as it is here. There it is ethical behavior within a free environment. There it is finding the reason for these pointless circles we do in the name of money. (points = money) Learning how the promotion of shallow gain has led to tedium and restless people..how it has become the justification for some to abandon their principles and join the crowd in the spiral into meaninglessness. Perhaps that's enough elaboration. Perhaps there is enough here for you to understand..if not agree. Expression serves many purposes and just as u24 uses his expression to indulge his particular interests and technical abilities..and it is art..so to do the things I do have their own nature, their own reasons for being the way they are. Being different from everyone else was never a goal...then again neither is being LIKE everyone else. I, like you..am an individual with my own manner of expressing, writing, living and learning. While that sometimes means flying in the face of and being rejected by the PEOPLE here at blather..in the end...blather has never rejected me. Blather accepts the words when I click [blather], whether it likes them or not..they are received and stored, displayed as written. Blather doesn't change me by imposing it's perspective on me. Blather trusts in my ability to take care of that for myself..in due time, and as events and lessons learned dictate. Blather loves me. And I love blather. That's all you need to know. Thanks for the concern and good luck man. If you have any more questions that need to be addressed directly through words..on demand: ask_dafremen Otherwise..just wait...watch and assume that I love you all. Such an assumption can alter the way our words are perceived..changing everything. 080602 ... They call me Truth So you insulted and taunted to experiment and better understand the reality of this world? Okay, I understand that clearly. I have been working on a book that I am doing as an independent study in which i do experiments, personal experiments, to see what is behind what I do and the reasons for what I do, and also, to overcome my fears of not doing them that way, in an effort to liberate myself from habits and expected behavior. For one, I took a vow of silence for a week, where my dorm was my only safe zone (yes I am in college) and in another I wore the same clothes for a week (i have to do that over because i disguised it so well no one noticed...it was an interesting attempt at preservation) another one i wanted to do was tell the truth without omitting anything for a week. I have others but unfortunately i have to wait until i return for my senior year in the fall to continue my experiments. I have 25 more to complete. It has been an interesting experience thus far. 080602 ... daf Interestingly enough...two of your experiments could very well lead to profound changes in perspective. (Not that the third couldn't as well.) As difficult as this may be to believe..I ALSO took a vow of silence. I went so far as to make silencing my thoughts part of the vow. Mind blowing. I also undertook the "telling nothing but the truth" experiment..and again..not just in the action...but within the confines of my thoughts as well. I refused to even entertain the POSSIBILITY of lying or half-truth fudging. Again...the results were SPECTACULAR. I have to admit, I'm a bit intrigued by the "wearing the same clothes for a week" experiment. Were bathing and/or washing the clothes off limits? Was it a funk-a-delic effect you were going for? Or simply exploring the reactions of folks to a person who didn't change outfits? I like the long hair versus short hair experiment..and the bad breath experiment. Interesting results there. People can be so shallow..and not just on a conscious level..but on a subconscious one as well. (On one occasion..during the bad breath experiment..I offered a guy a breath mint while right up in his face..explaining that he could probably use one. It was educational and hilarious.) 080602 ... They call me Truth The clothes thing was more for me than anyone else. i have always been uncomfortable if someone saw me wearing the same outfit that i wore the last time they saw me. I had a phase where i was very fashion oriented, and I wouldn't wear the same outfit. I would buy a new outfit when i was going somewhere in order to not repeat an old one. That phase didnt last long. I also went through a brown phase in which all i wore was brown and sometimes black...I rarely wore anything else. It became a constant discussion among my friends. I am still in that phase. But I would have to say that there was one particular experience that convinced me that i should do it. I decided to wear a suit jacket for no apparent reason (i like suit jackets and i LOVE ties). There was a ribbon on this one, one that i had left on from since my grandmother's funeral. I decided that i would keep it on. I went to lunch with some friends and it became a whole discussion: "Why are you wearing a pink ribbon?" I wondered what the problem was. This one girl seem particularly appalled and asked the table if they would allow me to get away with wearing the pink ribbon (she was the one making the most fuss about it) I finally just told them that it was from my grandmother's funeral and i just never took it off. The girl wouldn't stop apologizing. It seemed to me that fashion was too important if a little pink ribbon violated some code of fashion that should never be violated and would prompt such a response. I decided that i would wear the same outfit for a week, not only to test myself and overcome it (i had never done it before so i was afraid of what kind of experience it would be) but also to see how people would react to it and why . I made rules for the experiment. I would wash the clothes everyday and I would shower regularly so that the only real problem would be the clothes. But it didnt work. i suckered out by disguising the outfit with different things (it was a black button up shirt and a black pants). i wore different ties, i would wear different jackets, and i would wear different shirts underneath and leave the black button up unbuttoned. Only one person noticed. SO i have to redo that particular one. My vow of silence experiment was different. I communicated through quotes on sheets of paper. Some were from my favorite authors and some was even from myself. So i walked around for a week with a folder full of papers (over 60 different quotes) and I would just give them to people to read and I would not say anything. It was an interesting experience. without worrying about what i had to say my mind became less hectic and i was less stressed. One person got mad at me for not talking. That was interesting too. I haven't done the truth one yet, but I hope to do it as soon as i get back. I decided that i would do 27 experiments in all (don't know why i picked that number) but i can't seem to think of more than 5. I will figure it out. If you have suggestions i would love to hear them. 080603 ... dafremen The asshole experiment is one I keep going back to. It seems to me to hold a lot of answers to the question of human conflict. Not just the asshole mind you, but the reaction to the asshole. Which seems perfectly normal to me..some guy gets in your face..you tell him off. what's not natural about that? Right? I determined through much of the experimentation that our common responses do little but exacerbate the problem. the easiest ways to disarm an asshole are to disengage or to react with positive energy. I highly recommend the fasting experiment. Don't starve yourself..but get off of sugars and meats. Mine involved water and beans mostly. If you haven't tried it yet, you'll want to determine what's comfortable for you. Also the "there is nothing to think about" experiment is a good one. You just walk around like an airhead all of the time..responding to the current situation as seems warranted. (No one seems to notice the difference when I do it. I have something of a "surfer do0d" personality. I'm usually smiling and saying silly things to make people smile..unless they are uptight..then it usually pisses them off..or they think I'm stupid and try to come at me. I just smile..and say a cryptic sentence or ask them a question.) Oh yea..definitely try the humble, down home character who doesn't use big words. A lot of people are disarmed by the simplicity of it..and intellect can be threatening to some folks. I try not to smack folks around with brainpower in real life. It's not nice and keen intellect is only a tool..like having big muscles or being a fast runner. I try to use intellect to help folks around me that seem like decent people. I also use it to defend them against sociopaths and bullies if the situation warrants it. (Ohh ironies abound.) But mostly..I'm just this simple guy...who laughs a lot and cares too much..out loud. Stupid people keep touching my heart..Grumba Mumba grrr. It's been a much better personality for me than my early days as a teen where intellect was this bitter champion taking on all comers. Let me see. Here's one I like to do one the first day of a new job, class, group or anything where you're going to be introduced to a large number of strangers: Wear something fucked up...or..gel a big COWLICK into the side of your hair..slightly near the back so it looks like you missed it. Then when you show up for the group or work or whatever..watch the reactions. The snickerers and pointers..don't ever trust them with any personal info or secrets while you work there. They are generally gossips. The folks that come up and try to talk with you despite your strangeness..they are usually worthwhile to know. The second day..I go in dressed normally..act like myself and over the course of the next couple of weeks..the stigma attached to the strangeness dies away...but the information about co-workers' natures remains. Pretty neat trick huh? 080603 ... unhinged my brother did the clothes experiment in high school because someone bet him $50 he wouldn't wear the same clothes for 18 weeks. he wore the same hoodie and shorts for 18 weeks, washing the clothes and bathing regularly. at one point his math teacher (who was also my math teacher) pulled him aside and asked him if he was having trouble at home because he'd been wearing the same clothes for so long. his classmates probably teased him, but my brother has an iron will and stopped giving a shit what people thought about him when he was about nine years old. and i guess my issue with all that's been going on lately is that i do not find it valid to instigate people or call them names for the sake of an experiment. i am trying hard to steer clear of this whole thing now. but my last word disease is not yet cured. 080603 ... unhinged (actually my brother is super sensitive and has always cared what people think, but bristles and pretends he doesn't and gets in people's faces when they hurt his feelings. he has pretty big gauges in his ears and a big septum piercing with a quill in it and shoulder_length dreads and a lip tattoo to prove to the rest of the world just how much he doesn't care what they think....he goes overboard sometimes) 080603 ... dafremen perhaps if the answers found in the experiments with a few people who have the right and ability to disengage at any time will improve one's relationships and interactions with many, many people in the real world throughout a lifetime..then there may be some reason..and in fact overall benefit to the experiments. readers harm themselves..thats why the last email received from a guilt-tripping friend was deleted without being read. it helps to know our rights as readers. 080603 ... unhinged i don't view human relationships in that cold scientific manner. i don't believe that other people exist for my betterment. i believe that i exist for the betterment of others. if someone addresses me, i acknowledge it by at the very least reading it. which i admit, i wish i didn't do sometimes. at the very least, it's a good way to learn to let_go of frustration. 080603 ... They call me Truth lol, you are indeed very interesting. I really don't think I would do the asshole experiment. It goes against my nature and I don't see it helping me get over any of my personal fears. I have been an asshole before and I just don't like it, what it brings out in me or the reactions that come from it (of course i wasn't doing it as an experiment at the time and it would have been interpreted as mild asshole-ness, but it still bugged me). It does show that people are reaction based and that they fight against things that are unproductive. An insult should not bother people if they are content and confident in themselves, and fighting back against one only perpetuates the same problem. I heard once that the brain is a reaction-based organ. It doesn't say anything about who a person really is. It says no more than a freckle at the end of a person's nose. (That was from a movie called PEaceful Warrior.) I think when you stop letting the thoughts control you, then you are truly free. But people go off of knee jerk reactions to things and so they surrender to slavery to their mind. The work thing does sound interesting though, but i wouldn't do it just for the sake of discovering which coworkers i could trust. There would have to be something that would help my own personal development as an individual, that would cause me to rethink things about myself and the reasons why I do things and the fear attached to doing things another way. Seeing the reactions of people is a secondary thing. Insulting someone to me just seems like a harmful act, unprovoked, and it doesn't teach me anything that i feel could positively impact me, though i do agree that positive response is the best way to handle an asshole. (There was this guy whose girlfriend i was really close to and knew for a while and she came over to talk to me late at night and her boyfriend flipped. When he came to pick her up he asked to talk to me and started insulting and yelling and threatening to "fuck me up" and i responded as calmly as i could while expressing that i didn't appreciate him threatening me outside of my home. He responded with more threats and insults and I walked away after awhile but waited at a distance because he was now yelling at his girlfriend. He seemed like he would hit her so i approached again and stood there. He started insulting me again. I just had to make sure he wasn't going to hit her because then i would have had to step in. I laughed a little at the entire spectacle. He then said something that made sense to me. He expressed that his girlfriend and him had a discussion about me and she had expressed that she would have gotten with me in the past if things were different. I then understood his anger (not making an excuse for his actions) and i apologized to him and told him that she would not come by my house again. He calmed down and I told them to go home. Later he apologized for the whole situation.) I think that a lot of social rules and the pressure of conformity cause unnecessary stress in people's lives and they stop people from truly living and doing what makes them happy. They become slaves that do not even realize the extent of their freedom being caged away with their own consent. I realize that there are so many things in my life that i do and think and worry about and i don't know the purpose behind it. So my experiments are an attempt to remove those things, to test them, to discover the underlying fear underneath, to break free of this mental cage that i have built, and perhaps, if at all possible, to inspire people around me to start breaking theirs. Maybe I should paste my I hate list here, so that you can know specifically the things i want to challenge and you could offer me some specific experiments that I can do to challenge them. 080603 ... They call me Truth you have a very good perspective unhinged 080603 ... They call me Truth This is my “I Hate.” This page will consist of a list. This list will consist of everything in everyday life in which I abhor or question. Each one of these “things” on this list will be undermined with an experiment of some kind. The results of these experiments will then be documented. 1. I hate when people speak only to cause uproar, not to inform or help others. 2. I hate when people express their take on something and it is immediately shut down because other people do not agree. 3. I hate how many treat the elderly. 4. I hate how everyone never talks about themselves, their personal weaknesses and insecurities in normal conversation, but are quick to point out the weaknesses of others. 5. I hate gossip. 6. I hate the ridiculous scrutiny people place on fashion (including myself). 7. I hate that I must always have a comeback or something to say. 8. I hate that overwhelming urge to always want to be the best at everything or be right as a way to prove myself. 9. I hate having to dumb myself down or minimize myself so others can feel comfortable. 10. I hate how everyone stays in their little corner (especially me) and never comes out to actually truly interact with another human being. 11. I hate lies. 12. I hate half truths. 13. I hate obligation. 14. I hate being inconsiderate of others 15. I hate being inconsiderate of myself. 16. I hate not being able to love myself the way a person loves their lover, in admiration and esteem because there is some taboo that says that makes me arrogant or proud. 17. I hate how impersonal things are. 18. I hate our inhumanity to one another. 19. I hate how no one asks a simple question or makes a simple statement that would change someone’s day. 20. I hate the obsession with wanting to be cool. 21. I hate how everything seems to need to be modified and we can’t just take things as is. 22. I hate complexity. 23. I hate simplicity. 24. I hate empty talk. 25. I hate empty politeness. 26. I hate materialism. 27. I hate letting Life get in the way of Love. 080603 ... daf there is no way that these observations about reaction could have been found quite so directly. its not cold. that's absolving people who react of all responsibility for their reactions. whats not cold about attacking someone who disgusts you? isnt it your personal perspective that creates that negative energy? its certainly not the perspective of the asshole that he should be yelled at..although many hope for it i suppose. and what of the asshole? how does one go about understanding his or her perspective? mere contemplation? again..to me..questioning is a matter of inquiry through life experience. i understand the line from the Who song that goes: "Noone knows what it's like..to be the bad man...to be the sad man..behind blue eyes." it's understood not in the way that a child understands advice that he's been given..or that an academic understands a psychology book he's read..but in the way that a child who has touched a lit stove understands that it's hot. no amount of contemplating will answer that question satisfactorily. nor will any amount of interviews do such. i find that trying to understand the perspectives of others DOES improve my own character...my own ability to relate and be a better person for our brothers, sisters and neighbors. as well as the asshole..i've played the not-so-smart guy..the geek...the fat guy..the weak-willed yes man..and the overly critical conspiracy theorist. ive played the part of the religious zealot...the part of the humble but pious..the rich man...the poor man and the clown. ive known the bus driver's place...and ive known the painter's place..and i know the musicians shoes as well. ive been in the role of the plugged in..and the dropped out as well. this is my life...not yours. it doesnt matter what you think of my actions. they are what they are..and the ability to accept that there are things in this world that we find hard to accept..has always been a rallying call..at least to me, to understand the things that are difficult to accept. there are limits of course. i do not have any intention of understanding the cold-blooded killer. the child-molester can keep his perspective..i dont want it. there is no room in my head for the maniacal power issues of the rapist or of the racist..although having grown up in the often culturally isolated agricultural community..there is even an amount of that ignant perspective which is at least understandable to me. and finally...realize that their weaknesses are OUR weaknesses to a great extent. there is a reason that society is the way it is..an underlying cause..based on an underlying perspective. thats worthwhile beyond the sensibilities of a few people who eventually will get over it...and certainly should learn to not be bothered by it in the first place. consider the experiment one of many tests cases for their resolve in finding peace of mind. there is nothing cold about it. if you dont understand people...then you go around adding to the chaos in their lives..often without knowing it. IGNORANCE of perspectives is the cruelty there. not simple experiments to improve ones ability to relate. not by a long shot. preaching to the choir (ie. communicating positively with those who accept your mode of communication) is a bit of a cop out..and certainly a somewhat isolationist attitude. it's where there is DARKNESS that we should learn to communicate our light. not just where it is acceptable to do so...spewing our opinions and our indignation at those who need to be understood the most. and thats my opinion. it took many years to understand the flaw in escaping into "peace of mind" without first understanding the nature of our common difficulties in finding universal peace of mind..it's a selfish thing to do. a person in pain hides away in religion or philosophy while the suffering goes on around them. how cold is that? 080603 ... dafremen Points 2 and 10 on your list. Woot there it is. 080603 ... unhinged reasons, intent are one thing. methods are another. i try to cultivate_compassion and take my bodhisattva_vow to heart. i try to smile at strangers even when i don't feel like smiling. i take my headphones out at the busstop when someone tries to talk to me. i give people cigarettes who ask for them. i say please and thank you to waitresses. in my own way, i do what i can to alleviate the suffering around me. i don't feel the need to think of it in terms of an experiment. and when i feel myself reacting, mostly negatively because i still haven't walked far enough to dismiss the positive reaction as only a reaction, i sit and look into my own mind as to why that is. i am not far enough on the path to do anything more, but i try hard as often as i can not to do any less. in some details, it is just a fundamental difference, and i don't agree with you. period. just stating my own opinion. right_action right_speech right_intent right_life 080603 ... unhinged i'm not shutdown, i just don't agree with you. but i'm quite engaged with you on the topic now for_better_or_worse 080603 ... unhinged and how many people that are engaged in your experiments actually know it? (your co_workers for example) 080603 ... They call me Truth Daf i would have to disagree. You can find peace within yourself and still work to give peace to the world...i think many people have done so. I would not say that your asshole experiment is wrong, because for your reasons they make sense to you. I have alot of passion on me. There are things that greatly trouble me about this world, and I feel that is my inspiration to try to change things and i think promoting the positive is the best way I can do so. In this world of endless wars and selfish and greedy people we need to find ourselves, find the love to inspire others to love, gain the knowledge to educate others. We have been enslaved by so many things and afraid of so much and I want to find a way to move away from those things. We all find our ways to actualize ourselves and impact the world, and I don't think that is shameful or self-centered and there is no requirement to do things a certain way. I have to be honest though Daf, there was one thing you said above that bothered me. It reminded me of the ends justify the means argument. "realize that their weaknesses are OUR weaknesses to a great extent. there is a reason that society is the way it is..an underlying cause..based on an underlying perspective. thats worthwhile beyond the sensibilities of a few people who eventually will get over it...and certainly should learn to not be bothered by it in the first place." People suffer, and you don't know where people are and what they can take, and I know you can't possibly know all experiences but insults can be hurtful and if you are looking to understand people and love them, you also have to understand that weakness. It is a profound aspect of a human being and it affects everyone to some extent. By trying to get to the bottom of it all, you might miss some of the things right here, things that you can learn from, experiences that can be shared, love that can be expressed. That should never be sacrificed to a role. And if you are concerned with roles, why don't you try the role of the person being insulted, even with their fragile feelings that they should get over but haven't overcome yet. Why don't you take that role of the oversensitive individual being insulted by the person who is experimenting with human experience. There may be something there to discover as well. And, one more thing, in case you forgot, please when you have the time, help me with my list!! I have been drawing blanks for a long time. 080603 ... unhinged thanks. for the uncountable time, someone a little bit more level_headed than me makes the point that i was missing in my reactivity. 080603 ... unhinged (and i don't understand why sensitivity and fragility are something to overcome; isn't that where tolerance and acceptance come from?) 080603 ... dafremen i have no sympathy for a man who opens a book..reads something he doesn't like..then says..that book should never have been written...and continues to read. I have no way of relating to a man who says..you have done me no harm..but you are experimenting with the days of your life..in your interactions with me..no one should live their life that way. Who are ANY of us to say what another should do if it does us no harm other than that harm inflicted by our own issues? Is it innocent then, to walk around with those reaction issues, unconsciously inflicting them on others? There's no innocent party there. Lemon Soda munched popcorn while it was happening in religion_vs_philosophy. What was the harm to him? And which of my words weren't displayed for him..that were displayed for the others? Did he have some magic..way of reading my words in tra-la-la's? Or did he realize that HE is in control of HIS reactions? How does that relate to war? Feuding? Factionalism? Violence? Is it REALLY the worlds fault that we hurt? Or is it our own for refusing to deal with our issues..instead splattering them throughout society..willy-nilly in our ignorance? I confine my ASSHOLE experiments to blather. If you don't like the asshole part...don't read it. I'm very obvious about it. 080603 ... They call me Truth that is a good question...I can see your point and it is a very good one... 080603 ... daf See also: world_of_rippled_water 080603 ... They call me Truth Daf, you posed some interesting questions too. No it isn't harmless for people to walk around with their unconscious issues. But they are unconscious issues. It is a different thing when someone does something as experimentation, with intent involved. Don't get me wrong, I understand your perspective, I just was being honest. I am not arguing that you should change your behavior, i was just offering a different perspective. If you found any use in it then good, if you didn't thats not a problem either. You expressed that you have no sympathy for that type of person and no way of relating to such a person and that was my point exactly. Fill that role. Get that perspective. See where that person is coming from, with their unconscious issues, splattering them about society. I believe (and this only applies to me personally) that any hurt that i may have is rooted in my own personal issues. Any lack or need that I possess comes from desires within me and that I should not burden people with trying to fill those needs. I need to find a place of contentment and fullness so that i can love freely. But i am not perfect, and sometimes I do things that do not promote this belief. We all have things to work through, and thats why we are here, living, trying to work through them. Perhaps you can relate to that. Perhaps not. Perhaps you can see that you have sometimes put the weight of filling your needs on the one you love, require them to fill your need to feel happy and be loved, and perhaps you have reacted in anger when they did not fill it the way you thought they should, perhaps you were hurt. Perhaps sometime in your history you had a moment where someones words hurt or their actions caused you hurt, and perhaps it was your inner issues, and perhaps their actions were rooted in their inner issues; they were trying to figure things out and they did it in a way that was hurtful to you, but they were trying to be true to themselves. Its hard to find harmony between people. Their wants and desires, their issues and their weaknesses, cause problems and clashes. Perhaps that was a moment you had, a long time ago. Maybe you moved on from that place. You stop blaming people for your hurt. You stopped requiring them to act a certain way or be a certain way or say certain things to please you. Maybe that happened. Maybe you overcame that. So can you understand that person, that requires from the world that it eases their hurt, that does not want to be insulted because maybe they are not too confident in who they are just yet. That they are insecure. Maybe you felt that before. Maybe you can experience that often experienced aspect of humanity. We all are going through a journey and if we were perfect there would be no reason for the journey and no matter what we think or how we see the world, our issues will cause us to hurt or be hurt. It is one of the most basic of human experience. Aren't you trying to explore that. Then why not explore that role as well and maybe, perhaps it might teach you something. 080603 ... dafremen I used to be that person along with many others. Can I relate? I suppose if I chose to. I don't. If you engage the asshole because you haven't worked on yourself..then you are half of the problem. And you deserve the same amount of understanding..as the asshole gets. Get it? 50/50..right down the middle. No one is railing against the reactor's asses. EVERYONE is railing against the assholes..I'd say they are covered. Time to work on the other half of the problem. 080603 ... dafremen In fact..people pat the reactors on the back for railing against the assholes. As if giving into their issues was some heroic thing. Some noble fucking purpose. Some great work that they did. No..you were just half of an argument. You were just the other half of a war..hypothetical dipshits. Why are we patting you on the back? Why aren't we as mad at you as we are at the assholes? All the assholes did was bring your issues to the fore..which never happens if you're surrounded by happy, friendly comments all of the time. Deal with your issues. And hug an asshole some time. They serve their purpose. "No one knows what it's like..to be the baaad man.." 080603 ... They call me Truth yes daf, you have a point...but the asshole needs to look at himself just as the reactor should. And I think it should be 100/100, but that is just me...We all make our choices... 080603 ... daf if he'd looked at himself..he wouldn't be the asshole anymore. thanks for the fine discussion. well discussed...everyone. Thanks for your time do0d. 080603 ... They call me Truth It is a pleasure to have conversations with you. Thank you and you are welcome. 080603 ... daf "You take yourself too seriously," he said slowly. "You are too damned important in your own mind. That must be changed! You are so damned important that you can afford to leave if things don't go your way. I suppose you think that shows you have character. That's nonsense! You're weak and conceited!" - Don Juan Matus from Journey to Ixtlan by Carlos Castaneda 080624 what's it to you? who go blather from