Gigi:

It is my impression that you -- and to some degree Bruce -- are seeing hatred in posts of mine where none was inserted in the orgination thereof. This is a common problem with written thread exchanges, because there are many clues missing that would be present verbally. I get impatient and exasperated, but hate is not something I put into my posts except on rare and very extreme cases.

I do use strong language, on occasion, to make it completely clear what I am seeing and talking about, but to add to that element an interpretation of hatefulness is inaccurate.

I think we all get angry when seeing our precious viewpoints messed with, to some degree, and the degree to which we allow some time for reflection before jumping uin response to that temporary irritation is really the measure of civilization in this kind of messag exchange; I cannot tell you the number of times I have abandoned a half-written message because I concluded it was reacting to something that possibly wasn't actually there. Or because I concldued it was taking up a gauntlet not worth bending for.

There are a few things I do hate, and one of them is promoting the need for violent assault on others, the selling of war as a "good idea". I know of no conditions under which war is a good idea, even though I have to say I have known some where it seemed unavoidable. Being stuck in such a view of the world is, to my way of thinking, one of the most dangerous conditions a person can be in; offering W as a case in point should allow me to rest my case on that issue.

Aside from that, however, although I am often energetic, I do not feel a smidgen of hatred toward you, toward Bruce, toward Hillary Clinton, or even to John McCain, whom I respect in many ways despite my disagreement with his militarism.

One thing I am constantly returning to, when sparks fly here, is the ancient spiritual rule about seeing, in others, what one is, oneself, generating, popularly known as projection. I do this, and it is an inherent human flaw. I try to remember it whenever I find myself outraged or aghast or annoyed at _______ (fill in the blank). Because at some level I know that for me to be so sensitized to _____, I must have generated a certain amount of same my own self.

This is a healthy perspective and exercise, which I recommend.



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