Is anyone else exhausted from being profiled based on folks whose primary form of exercise appears to be jumping to conclusions; conclusions that lead to labeling people in ways that are in accordance with negative prejudices? Is anyone else even more tired of the low-level harassment that occurs because of that exercise, and the retributive form it takes based on group prejudices from folks who are in positions which enable them to call on others to harass intended targets instead of doing it themselves? There is a word for the problem (several in fact but I'll stay with one, for now): "corruption".
Are there justified reasons for the corruption? I say no, that corruption along with the attitudes and behaviors it spawns, altogether, are always malicious and unwarranted.
Given the numerous decades in which I have been observing and experiencing these attitudes and behaviors plus their negatively intended destructive consequences, I have found there are a few favorites supposed as "reasons" by unethical people with control issues. Their negative profiling of others is based on their own willingness to jump to unfounded conclusions, as well as the willingness of those exposed to their censuring efforts that target third-parties. A primary favorite "reason" is dissatisfaction with anyone who is not willing to submit to pressure to convert politically, religiously, or these days socially (whatever might be the nebulous meaning attached to socially, although it ordinarily seems to be associated with the desire to dictate belief in an ideology which encompasses all the components of an entire belief system).
The retributive intent of those trying to define unwilling converts as having polar opposite perspectives, results in categorizing people as problems, thus threats who they believe deserve to be harassed into compliance. However, the folks embracing such violent attitudes who are creating the problems, would never be physically violent themselves. A large part of the work they actually do is in finding ways to manipulate others into doing their dirty work of all types - either as dupes, or through cooperation.
Most who have done the work of knowing themselves so they can continue successfully working to make themselves into who they want to be and to become throughout their lives, of course for the value they can be to others because of doing so, are unwilling to consent to anyone else defining the obvious about them, or defining what is assumed though unknown (e.g. beliefs, opinions, perspectives). However, unethical people are simply not happy that others are unwilling to buy hook, line, and sinker into whatever political ideology or religion they are trying to peddle, so engage in frenzies of malicious "defining" of those who they consider to be resistant to buying. Many problems would not develop if folks would not be so quick to buy into what might sound good without first doing their own research. When we do not do this we can easily become dupes for the malicious among us who link their own success to the amount of success they have in convincing others to buy into the beliefs they are pushing on us, whether they are beliefs about groups of people or individuals.
Fact is I feel no obligation whatsoever, myself, to be forced by anyone else to formulate an opinion about something for which I have not acquired enough knowledge to formulate an opinion through my own efforts. I doubt and question, repeatedly, until I have found enough factual trustworthy documented facts to alleviated doubt, then formulate an opinion. And even when I do take a stand, I remain flexible enough to adjust it based on whatever new factual information may become pertinent. In fact it is a process of applying the scientific method to daily life choices - comparable, sometimes, to sitting on the fence.
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| Winslow Homer 1874 |
Who would foolishly imagine other people do not have enough survival issues of their own around which it is necessary to be able to schedule their undivided attention (along with the survival issues of those in their lives they are able to willingly assist, when needed)? What type of person imagines we are able or willing to accommodate and give priority to the competitive personal-interest issues of their demands? But when we do not do so we are then defined as threats by the corrupt among us whose demands we do not meet. The ongoing low-level retributive harassment which targets those who do not cooperate with such demands, is intended to redirect a "threat's" time, effort, and energy to the self-interest needs of those making demands - those whose control issues motivate their own successes which they want to believe are dependent on requiring others to pay for those successes with unwarranted blood, sweat, and tears demanded of them.
I have put in more than my own share of time being swindled by the destructive attitudes of other people, both as a child and as an adult, attitudes which I have never chosen to also accommodate as part of who I am. That is partly because a number of people have unknowingly served in the position of being cautionary tales in my life. No doubt I have been in the same service to other folks, though I ordinarily know when that is the case. Fact is a majority of my time, effort, and energy has too often been abused because of it having been redirected to meet self-serving whims of others. Without doubt too many have been and/or continue to be plagued by such problems in over abundance. But, throughout my entire adult life I have not been willing to remain silent about them, particularly systemic problems. No one should be silent, in my opinion. But why some are is understandable. Speaking up instead of remaining silent is often perceived by the unethical and corrupt as a threat, thus an invitation for ongoing retributive harassment. And that is exactly why some choose to remain silent. It is not easy to be a front-line boat-rocker because of the possibility of falling into the deep. When that happens it can be difficult to extricate oneself when unexpectedly sinking . . . or swimming . . . alone.
When I speak of not remaining silent I am not speaking merely of belly-aching, grousing, and complaining about annoying inconveniences and irritations, though we find ourselves doing that from time to time. I am referring to speaking up about ongoing prevaricating, cheating, truth-twisting, the all around bamboozling that is intended to be maliciously misleading and happens to be at the foundation of most systemic problems which have developed and will continue to exist and further develop unless addressed, not only in the personal lives of people, but throughout nations. That unaddressed problems create turmoil and chaos too often leading to violence, death, and destruction, including self-destruction, is abundantly clear. I am suggesting that speaking up means making efforts to effectively handle problems based on requests all are entitled to make and expect to have honored, for compliance with enforcement of standards, rules, laws, ordinances; requests which are not necessarily accomplished through the creating of public drama unless it is well-timed, supplementally, to draw attention to issues in need of more public attention and understanding.
My own attitudes and experiences are not, and never have been in accordance with what is statistically projected on all of us, based on being categorized by those who have nothing better to do with their lives than put limits on other people in that way. Few individuals can be easily fit into such ready-made statistical and psychological profiles.
I have become weary of coming across as a problem every time I choose to speak up about unnecessary, ill-intended low-level harassment by folks who create chaos through pulling the strings of the puppets at their beck and call to do their harassing; puppets who rarely completely know how they are being used, beyond being lead to believe targeted individuals are creating problems for which they themselves are unjustly being blamed. However, long ago I observed that the majority of created problems are due to intentional failure to communicate precisely, which allows excessive space for assuming, and jumping to unwarranted conclusions by those inclined to do so. Refusing to communicate, and refusing to make an effort to communicate precisely, are favorite weapons in the arsenal of those who choose to be corrupt and unethical at cost to everyone else.
Is there a solution? I think there are many, actually. Whether in doubt of others, or not, it is never wrong to have enough respect for others to kindly ask folks, directly, who they are, what they believe and why, then take the time required to allow oneself to be informed by the ways in which they respond. Most people are capable of being articulate enough to comment objectively about themselves and are willing to do so, including, when necessary, defending themselves against whatever objections others may express about differing viewpoints, and/or what does not seem to them to be clearly communicated. Having the courage to speak with people, directly, instead of making assumptions about them based on what others have said, is an effective way to solve most problems caused by others, given that we are not always aware of the foundational roots of many problems which have intentionally been caused by third-parties (or fourth, fifth, sixth . . . ). The opportunity for objective self definition is ordinarily welcomed by most because it is certainly better than the alternative of others imagining they have the right to define us; and better than the alternative of some who believe others are more entitled to define us than we are to define ourselves.
Succinctly? Well, folksy, down-home traditional wisdom has always taught us that unless it comes from the horse's mouth, it is not advisable to eagerly buy into it. Ask. Asking is always the best policy. It is one reason we were blessed with entire languages full of words and the ability to communicate clearly with them.
