An exercise in applying your Jedi training - A real life example.

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12 Dec 2016 09:09 #268098 by Loudzoo
I hear you Lina and Triss on the 'block' and 'move on' response but such a course of action can have some important side-effects. First, if we block everyone who disagrees with us we merely end-up in an echo chamber of our own beliefs, thoughts and views. This will likely probably result in a warped view of 'public opinion', fact and awareness of what is of concern to others. Clearly it is not optimal to expose yourself to vitriol, hate and bigotry on a continuous basis but I would argue the 'block' should be a last resort. Second, the block creates a gap rather than a bond - in this case a bond to someone who, it seems, is really making a cry for help.

I suspect the Jedi response to this post would be compassion. The author of the post seems to be wounded and in pain, and like a cornered animal is lashing out in desperation. The things we tend to accuse others of being, tend to be precisely the things we are most ashamed of in ourselves. This poor person was so desperate they have resorted to bigotry (def: intolerance towards those who hold different opinions from oneself): they have said precisely the kind of things that they hate other people saying.

When considered in this way, I would suspect that the post isn't really about the election - it is about this persons anger, their hatred, and their self-pity. A Jedi would try to connect, try to get get to the bottom of that, without getting into the politics of who was the 'better candidate' or whether 'all Trump supporters are villains' (which may be the case in a pantomime but, is almost certainly not the case in reality).

At this time of year, the Samaritans take a lot of calls from people who can't cope with Christmas. These calls are almost never about Christmas, they are about the struggles and strife that people contend with all the time - manifesting in a more acute way at Christmas. I'm certainly not arguing that Trump = Christmas but there are similarities, from a certain point of view.

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Master's Thesis: The Jedi Book of Life
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12 Dec 2016 14:09 #268116 by Manu

Loudzoo wrote: I'm certainly not arguing that Trump = Christmas but there are similarities, from a certain point of view.


No one does Christmas better than I do. I am the best at Christmas. Santa Claus always needs those reindeers, weak. Outsourcing jobs to elves, loser. I like winners. I'm gonna make Christmas great again. It's gonna be huge! :laugh:

The pessimist complains about the wind;
The optimist expects it to change;
The realist adjusts the sails.
- William Arthur Ward
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