generaltojo
Sep 6th, 2004, 02:43 PM
Taken from "easternwinds" post in Fight Club...
You have your reality. I have mine. And like it or not, a lot of people think that this board is (and the people who post on it are) are racist, prejudiced, blind, and ultimately, counter-productive (Asian-American "activists" at that). Their reality.
My take: it is what it is. It's whatever you make of it, take out of it. The whole point about personal empowerment is getting all the information you need to make your own informed choice. 44 wants that to happen. If you stay with the site, great to have you with us. If you leave, fine, good luck, hope you took something from it. If you glance at the site and pass judgment that it's "racist, prejudiced, blind," fine, sorry you feel that way. If you're that blind and shallow yourself, we don't want to know you either.
The way I sees it, Asian-American "activists" who advocate one party line are only providing one slanted view of what "The Cause" is all about: "This is what you need to know, and the way you need to behave to bring about change. Any other attitude is only hurtful because it's hateful, prejudiced, blind."
And I say: Fuck that.
All systems are corrupt, and that includes systems set up to counter the system. Activism becomes corrupt when its advocates starts eliminating individual thought because that thought threatens them or the party line. It's an indicator that advocates tie themselves and their ego too closely to their cause and buy into the groupthink. That's not personal empowerment: that's validating yourself based on what other people think. And it's certainly not 44.
The "integral approach" is not a single, heavy-handed party line. If you're willing to take the time out to really read into it, you'll see that we all have different opinions and stances, we don't always agree with each other. No one here claims to know "the truth" - it's just our opinion, take it as it is. We only hammer people who claim to know "the truth," when it just seems like they want to promote an agenda or a blanket statement about something or other - hapas, Chinese, Jews, whatever. 44 will not be party to that, because THAT's the real hate, blindness, and prejudice. THAT's what hurts "The Cause."
44 is not going to toe a party line just because some people think it's "the truth," the right way, the only way. 44 is not going to tell you what "the truth" is. You gotta figure that out for yourself.
44 wants to provide a forum that helps you do that. It's a place where people can air their concerns, maybe vent a little, get stuff off their chest, get more information and different perspectives about issues, and ultimately make an informed choice about their opinions and their actions. And like it or not, the anger is part of that process - it's there for good reason, and we accept that, and even nourish it as long as it gets you to a place you want to be.
But there are limits. There are guidelines and moderation *because* we want to limit (not squelch entirely) stuff like hatefulness and predjudice - I don't think anyone would debate how difficult it is to walk the line between freedom of speech and curbing just enough of the anger such that it doesn't degenerate into something entirely offensive. It's something that our free, pluralistic, democratic society has been wrestling with forever and a day... 44 is certainly not free of that eternal dilemma, and probably never will be.
It's a tough job. And 44 wants to do it. But we need your help. We want your help. Help us make the brand everything it can be and more.
You have your reality. I have mine. And like it or not, a lot of people think that this board is (and the people who post on it are) are racist, prejudiced, blind, and ultimately, counter-productive (Asian-American "activists" at that). Their reality.
My take: it is what it is. It's whatever you make of it, take out of it. The whole point about personal empowerment is getting all the information you need to make your own informed choice. 44 wants that to happen. If you stay with the site, great to have you with us. If you leave, fine, good luck, hope you took something from it. If you glance at the site and pass judgment that it's "racist, prejudiced, blind," fine, sorry you feel that way. If you're that blind and shallow yourself, we don't want to know you either.
The way I sees it, Asian-American "activists" who advocate one party line are only providing one slanted view of what "The Cause" is all about: "This is what you need to know, and the way you need to behave to bring about change. Any other attitude is only hurtful because it's hateful, prejudiced, blind."
And I say: Fuck that.
All systems are corrupt, and that includes systems set up to counter the system. Activism becomes corrupt when its advocates starts eliminating individual thought because that thought threatens them or the party line. It's an indicator that advocates tie themselves and their ego too closely to their cause and buy into the groupthink. That's not personal empowerment: that's validating yourself based on what other people think. And it's certainly not 44.
The "integral approach" is not a single, heavy-handed party line. If you're willing to take the time out to really read into it, you'll see that we all have different opinions and stances, we don't always agree with each other. No one here claims to know "the truth" - it's just our opinion, take it as it is. We only hammer people who claim to know "the truth," when it just seems like they want to promote an agenda or a blanket statement about something or other - hapas, Chinese, Jews, whatever. 44 will not be party to that, because THAT's the real hate, blindness, and prejudice. THAT's what hurts "The Cause."
44 is not going to toe a party line just because some people think it's "the truth," the right way, the only way. 44 is not going to tell you what "the truth" is. You gotta figure that out for yourself.
44 wants to provide a forum that helps you do that. It's a place where people can air their concerns, maybe vent a little, get stuff off their chest, get more information and different perspectives about issues, and ultimately make an informed choice about their opinions and their actions. And like it or not, the anger is part of that process - it's there for good reason, and we accept that, and even nourish it as long as it gets you to a place you want to be.
But there are limits. There are guidelines and moderation *because* we want to limit (not squelch entirely) stuff like hatefulness and predjudice - I don't think anyone would debate how difficult it is to walk the line between freedom of speech and curbing just enough of the anger such that it doesn't degenerate into something entirely offensive. It's something that our free, pluralistic, democratic society has been wrestling with forever and a day... 44 is certainly not free of that eternal dilemma, and probably never will be.
It's a tough job. And 44 wants to do it. But we need your help. We want your help. Help us make the brand everything it can be and more.