Posted by jane d on April 8, 2003, at 14:01:20
In reply to Apology and explanation to Phil and other posters, posted by Alara on April 8, 2003, at 5:21:21
> At the time I wrote my post, I was seriously disillusioned about human nature in general. The post was never intended as an attack on Americans - but after rereading it I can understand why it was perceived in this way.
Alara,
For whatever it's worth to you that is how I read your original post.
Perhaps we should identify an "off limits" subject as one where people cannot say what they mean without being misunderstood. Sooner or later people get angry at having been misunderstood so badly. You didn't mean to attack Americans and I'm glad you haven't chosen to get angry about being misinterpreted. I know that many people who have decided they support this war, or JUST DON'T KNOW, lose sleep at night over those same images that bother you. And have the same questions. And they will get angry when someone seems to say that they don't care about loss of life.
Frankly I'm nervous about posting on this subject at all despite this being the big subject right now. It has so much potential to drive us apart. I don't worry (much) about disagreeing with my closest friends here or in real life either. I know that we have enough invested in friendship to keep it going. And my family needs to put up with me no matter what I believe. So I can talk out my doubts about this with them and feel sure that no matter how strongly they disagree we will work that out. But I worry about the potential friends here. People who, in a few more months or years, would someday also be the kind of friends I could disagree with and learn from. People who, if we disagree too strongly today, will just walk away from me and me from them.
As a final note you may want to stay away from both "terrorist" and "atrocity" in your posts. Both words are just too loaded with extra meanings these days. And since we all understand the meanings of words partly from the context in which they have been recently used, and since American's and others are not hearing exactly the same speeches and media clips, they are sure to have extra shades of meaning for each group that the other doesn't fully understand.
Jane
poster:jane d
thread:216112
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/social/20030407/msgs/217458.html