Hi folks,
I want to echo the List Manager's pleas and offer some thoughts.
This list, and others I am part of have been increasingly getting more and
more personal and nasty. I think a good part of what is happening is that
folks are taking their unconscious stress out on folks through their posts
(and probably in other ways as well)
We are a city, state, nation experiencing the first really bad economic
times in many years. We are a city, state and nation marching steadily off
to war, with all the uncertainty (unintended consequences, possible
retaliation) AND certainty (death) that entails. We are groups of activists
who are increasingly encountering more and more difficulty in working on the
areas we choose to be active in - whether it be NRP, anti-racism, economic
developmemnt, homelessness, etc. Resources are drying up, people are
stretched thinner, political influence is evaporating as local government
struggles to keep the lights on.
It's hard and it's frustrating - and we're taking it out on each other. We
like to believe we can put up with any amount of stress, but we all have
limits. This is a time when it is paramount that we be supportive, not only
of each other, but of our communities at large. The Golden Rule is most
critical in these fragile, uncertain times.
Please folks, try to be kind to each other. After all, we're all we've got.
Eric Oines
North Minneapolis
"When I despair, I remember that all through history the way of truth and
love has always won. There have been tyrants and murderers and for a time
they seem invincible, but in the end, they always fall - think of it,
always."
~ Mohandas K. Gandhi (1869-1948), Agitator
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