Moving some posts over to here because of a conversation on the topic of how we can respond to public figures we do not like, so that we don't get drawn down into the pit of negativity. Please weigh in! My goal is not to shame each other. I have made so many mistakes if going low when they go low, so I welcome ideas on this topic. Going high when they go low does not mean becoming soft or not standing up to injustice, prejudice, or negativity. To me, it means focusing on the words and behaviors I don't like rather than generalizing my disgust, if you want to call it that, to their looks, their accent, their state or country, or anything larger than the very words and actions of the offensive person. That's my view. What is yours?
@deetoo oh believe me Ms Crossfit "wrestles in the mud" a lot...there is an old Southern saying " Don't wrestle with pigs, you'll just get muddy and the pigs like it" She is notorious for multiple affairs and her Crossfit craziness as well as other attention grabbing behaviors. That is what it is all about with her.. the attention and the notoriety.
@journeywithme2. She is actively and intentionally working to be Trump Part II.
Well, as DUMP has a big horses Patute and Q-Anon Barbie (MTG) has a horses face it may just come to be. And if things don't quite work out for her in that endeavor, she could run in the Preakness next year! Always something to look forward to with crackpot Margie.
@mickiemac now that made me laugh and feel nauseous at the same time! No small feat. ??
How far will outrageous, disgusting behavior take you? I hope it takes her back to Milledgeville, Georgia and soon.
Dear beautiful gentle people: I'd like to weigh in on recent references we've made about Marjorie Taylor Greene (MTG) and other people we don't like. -- too many to name over the last few years. I too can't stand what she says. Her utterances and actions make my blood boil.
But when we make references to her physical appearance, my cringe meter goes up, and I want to stop and think about all the things I've said or posted about people whose statements and policies I don't like, and take myself to a higher place.
I've been guilty of saying and posting awful things about people. And I want to stop that.
The problem is that when I am repulsed by their behavior, I also feel repulsed by their looks. I don't even like the state they live in or the part of the country they come from. Or the faith they embrace. I start generalizing, stereotyping, and in some ways, I'm as low as I think they are. Now I'm not saying that is what happened today in this thread, not at all. But it got me thinking about all the thoughts and words I've expressed as recent as this week about people whose politics I consider to be horrid.
So to go high, I want to confine my displeasure to what they say and do, not how they look or where they live. I am even trying not to assume I know what motivates them. How do I know what they really feel inside that makes them say things abhorrent to me.
I am asking that we do our best to go high, no matter how low they go. That we do our best to confine our disgust to what they say and what they do, rather than their appearance, their state or region or country, or even their very selves. Nor to assume they are evil, when we don't even know their inner lives.
Any thoughts will be appreciated!
P.S. please do not feel I am judging any of you here, any more than I have judged myself. Because no one here has posted anything I haven't thought or said myself. I just want to go higher, and I hope you will come along with me.
@bluebelle @deetoo @lovendures
@jeanne-mayell. I appreciate your thoughts and know I have written things about the former guy in the heat of the moment that were not from my higher self. Today, I find myself aggravated by the former guy’s sycophants and followers. It’s gotten to the point where I, too, blame regions of the country for blindly believing the big lie, for racism and for voter suppression. However, if we attack these people on a personal level or make derogatory comments, that damages our own spirits. That hinders us from achieving the higher vibration of loving kindness. We have a choice in how we respond to these people who are damaging our country and my intuition says we have more power against them by holding ourselves to a higher standard.
@lowtide, regarding your comment that you saw a Native American warrior in MTG's countenance, I'm willing to remove it as you have requested, but it doesn't seem offensive at all. I thought you were intuiting something from looking at her face, not denigrating her appearance. I thought you were seeing a strength in her - a warrior. Still, if you say the word, I will delete it.
As for anyone feeling shamed by my comment, I deeply apologize and did not mean to do that. As I wrote, I am trying to rise every day in how I respond to adversaries. I have learned from people here and elsewhere who model it, and I hope we can rise together.