Give this place some credit

I have seen a ton of talk in my time here about " people being driven away", "people treating each other poorly", " people needing to act according to the values of the Temple" ect ect ect. It all always boils down to someone is upset at something someone else did or did not do or say and suddenly that issue is endemic of some huge issue within the Temple.

Its almost as if we have forgotten totally what the outside world is like. Have you ever been to any other web forum, social media site, or really anywhere on the web where people communicate? If you have then you see what the debates turn into and fast. They turn into swearing, name calling, and basically an all out brawl within ten posts half the time.

If you are a member of those sites you will follow the rules or you will be banned and pretty fast. The rules can change at any time and you have no say in the matter. You will deal with it or you can leave its that simple. There is no open line of communication anywhere. You can complain and a mod can laugh and thats that. There are some forums that will ban you just for publicly complaining about a mod or admins decisions.

Yet here at the Temple our debates even the most heated you have ever seen hardly ever even get warm by outside standards. The Mods and Council are open to suggestion, very very forgiving of rule breaking, and allow any complaints we wish. Further they are fairly open to changing things and responding to request. Some how that goes unnoticed.

Then there is the complaint that will come up " But we are Jedi" or " we are better then this" oh really? Jedi are not capable of emotions? Being irrational at times? Coming in tired and taking offense easier then they should? Are we not all at differing points in our growth? Do some of us sometimes not need to be called out? ( I have needed and gotten that in the past and am better for it) In short a favorite saying of mine that I saw here ( and could someone PLEASE tell me who I found this from) is that we are practicing not perfect Jedi. We will all make mistakes and slip up. I dont care if its the Council, a Knight, or the Dalai Lama himself we are all capable of getting mad and saying things we dont mean.

That doesnt mean there is some huge issue or that people here dont care. It means we are freaking humans that sometimes miscommunication or are just tired and emotional. So for crying out loud can we please please give some freaking credit where it is due?

This place is without a question the kindest, most level headed, and open collection of people I have ever met. And frankly I am tired of seeing it bashed. Are there people I have had and even still have issues with? Sure. But guess what I have found if I speak to the person in private as a person 9 times out of 10 we can come to some accord and walk away ok with each other. I have done it more then once. Heck recently I came to have a whole new respect for Jamie Stick someone who in my early days here I butted heads with repeatedly. We spoke in public and private and I saw her in a whole new light and now greatly respect her as a person even if our views dont always mesh. If I as stubborn and dogmatic as I came here can manage to reach a middle ground I see no reason for others not to.

So this is a plea from someone who greatly loves this Temple to all those who are saying such things about the Temple, its Council, its Knights, its members, or even various individuals. Please before you write things off, before you decry and defame this place or the people here take a second to honestly look at things here vs outside and tell me if its really as bad as you think. Because I for one frankly dont think people here or this place in general get enough credit for being as great as it is.

I was speaking to someone recently about family and arguments within families. What I learned with that discussion is that families don't always get along, or rather people don't always get along within families, but I think there is a mutual level of respect within a family that allows all of the family to be called a family

I hesitate to post this as it will doubtless offend some, and for that I apologise and suggest this is certainly not true of all people it could be applied to.

It occurred to me last night that the vast majority of the problems we have seen lately, and, indeed, ever, tend to relate to very new members, members who are part of the wider community, or people who come here but refuse to engage with what this place is actually for rather than considering themselves TOTJO members.

So I checked it out, and that impression matched the evidence I found.

What we actually have here, what we actually do here, with people who stick around, aren't here just to pick holes without getting involved or to contrast how lame TOTJO is compared with other sections of the community, is pretty fantastic, I think.

My garden is beautiful. I come here often, to appreciate it, to learn about life, to find my peace. Sometimes I brush against the thorns of a rose, and sometimes I step on the stem of a tulip. But I do not blame the garden.

The garden is beautiful and I am happy it is here.

I think in general we tend to build up an image of who Jedi are and how they should behave based on the movies, and thus when the behavior of a member here clashes with that stereotype, it can shock some.

But, the important thing to remember, and I'm sure it has been said before, is that more than Jedi, we are human. And humans make mistakes. If we were all the perfect Jedi we hoped we were, then we probably would have no use for this place.

Besides, what better way to practice our Jedi values than amidst conflict? :laugh:

That's actually a really cool analogy Rugadd

and could someone PLEASE tell me who I found this from) is that we are practicing not perfect Jedi.

Your master is the author of that one

Edan wrote:

and could someone PLEASE tell me who I found this from) is that we are practicing not perfect Jedi.

Your master is the author of that one

THANK YOU! I was sort of thinking it was a quote of his but I wasn't sure and it was driving me nucking futs. I hate when I cant remember the proper person for a quote and its right at the edge of my mind.

For the record, lol, had the temple followed through with how many forums operate, I'd have been kicked out on my sweet derriere ages ago. Perhaps I'd have found another forum to haunt and troll (because that's what I did in the early days) that would have tolerated my smart ass, regardless I doubt I would have learned as much somewhere else as I have here in the last four years, off and on site.

I've changed, and that's not patting the back as they say, but genuinely and profoundly changed thanks to the tolerance & acceptance found here coupled with observing others that, (very painfully at times feels akin to that of pulling teeth,) remind me of myself in those early days.

Many will say it's rather nothing special, or that it's just a forum full of emotional crippled Individuals. Take a good look at my journals as well as my angry rants towards others (from both accounts) over the years, take a REAL good look. I am living proof the temple changes lives for the better, if people are willing to do the work...

*sigh* I am guilty of this. I just have incredibly, insanely, unimaginably high standards for what a Knightly Jedi should be. So much so that I have refused knighthood many times. Someday that will be broken down. Every time I break it down logically and consciously, it sticks in my subconscious.