Gummed-Up Works or Got Lives?

Lee Berman · 16 Dec 2011, 18:30 · from 2011-December.txt.gz

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From: severiansola at hotmail.com (Lee Berman)
Date: Fri, 16 Dec 2011 13:30:52 -0500
Subject: (urth) Gummed-Up Works or Got Lives?
Message-ID: <SNT123-W12E7EC80127A6FC3AAA72CFA00 at phx.gbl>

>Daniel Petersen:  I simply don't understand you very well, Lee, and Quinn I feel I do
>understand to some degree but find his seeming obstinacy about....

You seem like a gentle, considerate soul Daniel, which I think is great. But do you 
believe in the adage, "it takes one to know one"? Gerry and I understand each other very well. 
I recognize him as a social manipulator and his retort to that is to accuse me of the same.
Gerry, in his desire to win every debate, cannot admit to this shortcoming but I appreciate
his honesty in not trying to deny his own mechinations.

I freely admit to it. My explicitly stated goal in rejoining this list a couple years ago
was to restore a sense of freedom of expression, the lack of which had previously stifled the 
list for a number of years.  I have employed various strategems to achieve this goal. Have I 
suceeded at all?

I think your confusion about Gerry is that you underestimate and oversimplify him. You wonder
why he employs certain strategies when they seem counterproductive to what he is trying to 
achieve. But, as I said, I don't consider him an object of pity. Is it possible Gerry is
getting exactly what he wants from this list? Why else would he continue his very consistent
pattern of communication?  Gerry also has goals for this list. What are they? (I'll let him 
answer) Has he succeeded?

>Nor do I think my comments betrayed that I was 'missing something', especially
>not 'a recognition of human diversity'.  I am (they are) calling for just such recognition and 
>celebration of human diversity - belligerence and'over-stubbornness' do not facilitate this.

I think I understand your point of view Daniel. It is a wonderful one. Belligerence and pig-head
stubborness do cause a lot of problems in this world and it might be a better place without them.
No fighting, no killing, no hate.

But the truth is, if we managed to eliminate those things, the world would be a less diverse place.
Currently, aggression IS a part of the human experience and a pervasive, influential one at that.
Much of my professional experience has been in what some might call the "dregs" of society and I
have thus been quite familiarized with the dark side of human nature.

Though I've always preached a message of peace and understanding in my work, I also came to know 
that there are some people who are inherently aggressive. You simply cannot reach such people
with a message of peace and understanding. It doesn't register. So what should we do?

The answer is what societies throughout history have done with such people. Channel the aggression
toward productive or at least harmless activities. Sports and other competitions are a good
example.

So, I hope you can see what I'm saying. For some people, preaching the use of respectful, considerate
language here is a lost cause. Instead, embrace the conflict. Encourage the expression of hostility
in a place like this instead of in the real world. Not only does the energy of competition drive
some people to do intense scholastic research they might not otherwise do; it just might be making
the real world a more peaceful place by reducing domestic violence, pub fights and perhaps even war.

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