Archived posting to the Leica Users Group, 2000/11/05
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We might consider the possibility that if the LUG is generating more
messages about personality conflicts than Leicas, it is because there is
currently as much (if not more) interest in the former than the latter. We
get what we want--even if we aren't aware that we want it.
I have noticed that some messages invite (however unwittingly)
reactivity--typically by being defensive or personal from the start ("people
may think such and such about me, but..."). We ALL do this from time to
time: it's a deeply conditioned (and eminently human) attempt to protect
oneself by launching a pre-emptive strike, however subtle. Ironically, it
achieves just the opposite: it draws attention to the personal, and breeds
counter-attacks; it's as if the ego believes the best defense is a good
offense, and so everyone's defense buttons get pushed and the ad hominem
messages go flying.
We spend a lot of time looking at the world through our viewfinders. Maybe
there is an undercurrent here summoning us to have a look in the other
direction, too.
Well, that's my fifteen minutes of playing Dr. Laura, anyway. :)
Dan