at first i didn't respond to kallan and cathleen's conversation, thinking that because i don't live with many of you in van pelt, i didn't have the right or the perspective to criticize. however, i can't help but think that our discussions have digressed from respectable debate and even good-natured joking to something mean and unnecessary.
perhaps it is because we're actually trying to create that thing called community. i realize that many of you already have that because of your living situations, but in some ways, i feel our class (moo, tues/thurs, listserve, etc.) offers a community that's slightly different from van pelt. i suppose we're at the point where we're past initial pleasantries and feel comfortable enough to challenge each other. i think that's great--i've seen us question someone's point of view, or jokingly tease someone over our listserve, but lately i've noticed a nasty trend.
instead of evaluating argument, instead of trying to exchange ideas through understanding different perspectives, all i see are personality and character attacks. i think we can try to deal with these sensitive issues in a more humane manner. it's not that i see anything wrong with attacking an argument--it's just that attacking a person seems pretty senseless. because these stories are so sensitive, shouldn't we try to be alert and aware of other people's feelings? cathleen told me that i'll hear very different opinions about some of these topics, and even if i am fundamentally opposed to them, they still have a right to be heard. i agree with her, but if the only way we know how to talk about them is through criticizing the person expressing an opinion, then we'll never create a community.
truthfully, i've held back from commenting on things that i found disturbing about personal relations--that if my opinions and myself were so roughly handled, i'd rather not make that investment. however, cathleen pointed out that many voices can do more than one, and while sending her supportive email might make her feel better, it won't necessarily solve our problem. -emyli ps--i have no ideas how all those apostrophe's got in my letter. ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' 'er ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' '