A Wolf Among the Sheep

Now I'm curious as to how Kyrin will reply?

Will she act out the sheep role and call foul on Zenchi's comment?
Will she act out the wolf role and put out a nasty comeback?
Will she act out the sheepdog, and refocus her defense on making it about the integrity of the Temple, and not an attack on herself?

Will she simply skip the victim triangle, and call out Zenchi on posting an irrelevant comment?

Stay tuned for the next episode!

Senan wrote: This topic and the responses to it has opened my eyes once again to behavior I consider common in this forum. There is a whole lot of conformation bias going on here that is based more on the person creating the thread than the actual words being typed. The original post, while it could easily be directed at a specific individual and considered passive aggressive, can also just as easily be read as directed at society in general and the common experience of not fitting in everywhere we go. It can be an agreeable opinion or not, and we should be able to discuss it without demanding to know the specific purpose or intent of the author. I doubt people knew what Plato or Socrates were talking about half the time, but the ideas were discussed anyway.

It is most disappointing to me that a conversation that included some pretty insightful commentary along these lines has turned into a debate about the "proper" methods of sharing an opinion; a debate being waged mainly by some people who have been here for quite some time and should've learned by now that there is value in these interactions for others even if we as individuals don't find it for ourselves. It is particularly sad that a Knight here would openly refer to it as "talking s&#t" and accuse someone who is taking a risk by sharing this opinion in the first place of "hiding behind an avatar and keyboard." Out of respect for Kyrin, I won't fight her battle for her with specifics, but one might consider actually asking her about the meaning behind the avatar before engaging in the conversation this way.

Honestly, If I had written this original post and received some of these reactions, my answer would have been quite simple. If you don't get the point of the post or your questions are not being answered to your satisfaction, why are you still participating? There are plenty of others threads to participate in, or one could go start there own. Nobody here owes anyone a satisfactory answer about anything. If we did, the constant assertion here that "everyone walks their own path" would be wrong and our Doctrine wouldn't be open to interpretation the way it is. To me, that was the message of the original post. Sometimes we feel like a lone wolf, fighting a battle that others don't understand. Sometimes we feel like we don't fit in, and yet are compelled to continue trying anyway. Sometimes we pretend to be something we aren't for the sake of being included, or we remain true to ourselves and end up alone. The reactions here have demonstrated this to me just as well as the original post did, so that is what I'm taking from this.

Now now, Senan. Unless I've mistaken, I believe Kyrin has made it clear in the past that her shindig at our lovely temple revolves around challenging it with conflict. She has made her bed, I think we can let her sleep in it, no?

Zenchi wrote: You talk alot of s&#!

So do you. So do I. What's your point?

Or not. I don't know that I'd feel particularly confortable in Kyrin's place.

Respectfully, we adapt to the environment we are in, and here, our words shape that environment. I prefer an uplifting one, so I made an uplifting post. Let us re-frame this discussion to something more positive. Any takers?

Let's focus on the ideas being discussed rather than attacking individuals please.

rugadd wrote: I prefer an uplifting one, so I made an uplifting post. Let us re-frame this discussion to something more positive.

You already have, my friend.

I might be moved to post here how much I appreciate Kyrin, but she already knows that.

And I feel she has more fun keeping it rough in the forums, she's always up for a challenge.

Proteus wrote: Now now, Senan. Unless I've mistaken, I believe Kyrin has made it clear in the past that her shindig at our lovely temple revolves around challenging it with conflict. She has made her bed, I think we can let her sleep in it, no?

Yes, challenging us, challenging herself, challenging ideas and opinions, challenging authority improperly wielded, and so on. This does create conflict, and it isn't always necessary or productive. It is a method of interaction that rubs a lot of people the wrong way and elicits some strong responses. Kyrin is learning, as many of us have, that it often makes the path way more difficult than it needs to be, but she can still choose to walk the more difficult path so long as she remains within the confines of our rules. This behavior from Kyrin doesn't justify condoning behavior from others that makes her intentionally uncomfortable, you know, like calling her a bitch or accusing her of talking s&#t. Especially when it is coming from a Councillor and a Knight. It seems too easy for people to ignore the egregiously bad behavior of some people while claiming that Kyrin has earned that sort of treatment. Maybe she has in the eyes of many here, but that will never excuse other Jedi sinking below her level in response. We're supposed to be better than that, and if we aren't, then how about we give the hypocrisy a rest until we figure out exactly what is an acceptable way to interact around here.

An excellent suggestion:

I feel often I am alone against the outside world. Specifically, this whole "Us vs Them" scenario I witness so often. As if there MUST be sides and we MUST be on one or the other. It is this built in assumption that everything has an absolute answer and we need to pick one and that it somehow makes anyone who thinks differently and enemy.

I'm not on any one side, I'm on all sides. We all are. We just lose sight of that.