Community Chat

[Demitra1]

I have often thought about this. We always think that (optimistically) all countries and leaders should get along. However, neighbors can't get along, sometimes friends and families don't get along, and I heard today on the radio that a basketball game tonight will be between two teams from neighboring towns that don't get along. (I don't know if it is a rumor or not, but I heard the National Guard will be a presence at the game.)What I am saying is, the big picture is dismal, at best, for a "live and let live" world. I also think about this...what if aliens really did attack earth....do you think HUMANS would finally come together? Gee, I'm really not wording this all very well, but I am so tired of the hatred and negativity we hear on a daily basis. Even here, obviously. Is there hope that people will calm down any at all? And, no, I'm not drinking. Lol. I get in these reflective moods and wonder if the hatred will ever diminish. Discuss, if you want. Demitra

[Marmalade_1]

No hope at all I'm afraid.

[Still Raining]

I think that since we are social group beings that we like to have an "us" to belong to and be a part of. So it follows that there has to be a "them" who is not part of our "us" and it is all downhill from there. It could be a national thing or a religious thing or a race thing, but there is some "them". Check out this board for starters.

[chickenbutt]

Some people will never WANT to 'get along'. They cannot see, and don't even care to see, beyond their own circle of concern.

Some people will only believe what they are told to believe and think what they are told to think.

Some people are deeply ingrained with hatred and ugliness, and some people are deeply ingrained with compassion and positivity.

It's just a tough nut to crack to bring some folks to the point of seeing things as others see them, and feeling things as others feel them. Some will get a sudden light bulb, some take years, and some never will.

I think those things apply to all different kinds of 'getting along' on all levels from the most rudimentary to countries getting along and, of course, the two rival towns with basketball teams will be in the middle somewhere.

I guess in all of this I just wish more people could have some inkling of how things feel from the POV of others - to understand how, from the most fundamental level of experience, things really feel for somebody else. I see so many things written, and hear them spoken, by people who just honestly have no idea that things are experienced so differently by others. They don't even know that there are different POVs, only their own. Some don't even CARE to know what it feels like to be somebody else.

Yikes! I could go on but then it looks like I already have.

[deepwaterdotter]

On 3/7/2015 Still Raining said:

I think that since we are social group beings that we like to have an "us" to belong to and be a part of. So it follows that there has to be a "them" who is not part of our "us" and it is all downhill from there. It could be a national thing or a religious thing or a race thing, but there is some "them". Check out this board for starters.

I can never figure out if I'm part of "us" or "them".

[bikerbabe]

This isn't going to be popular but I feel a lot less hatred in the air the when I stay away from this forum.

[kittymomNC]

On 3/7/2015 chickenbutt said:

Some people will never WANT to 'get along'. They cannot see, and don't even care to see, beyond their own circle of concern.

Some people will only believe what they are told to believe and think what they are told to think.

Some people are deeply ingrained with hatred and ugliness, and some people are deeply ingrained with compassion and positivity.

It's just a tough nut to crack to bring some folks to the point of seeing things as others see them, and feeling things as others feel them. Some will get a sudden light bulb, some take years, and some never will.

I think those things apply to all different kinds of 'getting along' on all levels from the most rudimentary to countries getting along and, of course, the two rival towns with basketball teams will be in the middle somewhere.

I guess in all of this I just wish more people could have some inkling of how things feel from the POV of others - to understand how, from the most fundamental level of experience, things really feel for somebody else. I see so many things written, and hear them spoken, by people who just honestly have no idea that things are experienced so differently by others. They don't even know that there are different POVs, only their own. Some don't even CARE to know what it feels like to be somebody else.

Yikes! I could go on but then it looks like I already have.

Great post, CB! I was thinking along the same lines, but you said it better. There is a difference between "intelligence" and "emotional intelligence"... there are a lot of very intellectually intelligent people around, but too many of them have no emotional intelligence. They lack the ability to sympathize, empathize, or see things from another person's perspective. They allow themselves to be led around by the nose and once someone has convinced them that something is one way, they will never even try to believe differently. And in many cases, they just don't care what other people think or feel, and on these boards, much of it shows loud and clear.

[SoX]

On 3/7/2015 bikerbabe said: This isn't going to be popular but I feel a lot less hatred in the air the when I stay away from this forum.

I think I know how you feel ... that's why I don't come here too often, either.

[Marienkaefer2]

No, there will always be bad things and people in the world, and people who don't get along and can do horrible things to each other.

However, each of us can do something personally to combat this in our own way. Resolve to be more understanding, listen more, be willing to let things go, not fret over things we can't do anything about, and reach out and help others as much as we can, in any way we can.

If everyone did this in their own way, I think it would go a long way toward spreading more love and positive energy around. At least, in my view, it's better than getting lost in the negativity.

[dooBdoo]

On 3/7/2015 kittymomNC said:

On 3/7/2015 chickenbutt said:

Some people will never WANT to 'get along'. They cannot see, and don't even care to see, beyond their own circle of concern.

Some people will only believe what they are told to believe and think what they are told to think.

Some people are deeply ingrained with hatred and ugliness, and some people are deeply ingrained with compassion and positivity.

It's just a tough nut to crack to bring some folks to the point of seeing things as others see them, and feeling things as others feel them. Some will get a sudden light bulb, some take years, and some never will.

I think those things apply to all different kinds of 'getting along' on all levels from the most rudimentary to countries getting along and, of course, the two rival towns with basketball teams will be in the middle somewhere.

I guess in all of this I just wish more people could have some inkling of how things feel from the POV of others - to understand how, from the most fundamental level of experience, things really feel for somebody else. I see so many things written, and hear them spoken, by people who just honestly have no idea that things are experienced so differently by others. They don't even know that there are different POVs, only their own. Some don't even CARE to know what it feels like to be somebody else.

Yikes! I could go on but then it looks like I already have.

Great post, CB! I was thinking along the same lines, but you said it better. There is a difference between "intelligence" and "emotional intelligence"... there are a lot of very intellectually intelligent people around, but too many of them have no emotional intelligence. They lack the ability to sympathize, empathize, or see things from another person's perspective. They allow themselves to be led around by the nose and once someone has convinced them that something is one way, they will never even try to believe differently. And in many cases, they just don't care what other people think or feel, and on these boards, much of it shows loud and clear.

Those are fabulous posts!

Regarding demitra's scenario of aliens attacking the earth: Unfortunately, we have people who react to emergencies by protecting themselves only, and immediately reverting to a "I'll help myself and you're on your own" mentality. So even though many would band together for the good, we'd still have a troublesome group looking out for only their own interests... not realizing they might be the weak link that causes the demise of the entire earth population.

For that matter, that's what we see when we prove there's dreadful pollution of the earth (such as the ocean filled with garbage) yet certain individuals refuse to see it and continue to act selfishly.