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Well, speaking for myself, I didn't feel any emotional edge, take part in any drama, or consider that any classic group dynamics existed. Heard no threats, saw no wagon-circling, nor any mob rule. Heard no Call of the Wild nor strains of "get a rope." Just a fairly typical listserv experience, actually. Perhaps I'm mistaken, Howard, but it sounds as though you're reading much more into this than actually occurred. It sounds as though you had performed a sociological experiment on listservs, and were totting up the results; and that, since the results were rather bland, you had colored them to reflect what you HOPED would happen. In point of fact, we've had much more colorful exchanges than this one, as listmembers can verify, I'm sure. Once more, welcome to the list, and to all the caring and sharing we can offer. Best, Kathrynne Howard Collins wrote: > > AN OPEN LETTER TO THE FORUM > > Now that the emotional edge has softened somewhat, and I feel more comfortable > to talk about it, I believe that in the past few days, I personally became > involved in one of the most bizarre incidents of my entire life. In > retrospect, one person's reaction to a letter seems to have unwittingly set > off a drama that was to involve the lives of many persons in ways we would > never have imagined. Once the curtains were opened, a classic set of group > dynamics seemed to take over the script and to act as producer, director and > choreographer of all that followed. > > Lines were drawn and sides were chosen. Fingers were pointed, tempers flared, > friends turned against friends. Wagons were circled to protect against real > or imaginary threats. What began as a simple incident turned into a vicious > monster that fed on itself and gained momentum all too quickly. Feelings were > hurt, egos were trampled on and mob rule became the order of the day. If one > listened very closely, he might have heard faint stains of "get a rope." Or, > was it perhaps The Call of the Wild reminding us that even though we are all > individuals, mankind is still a social animal whose survival and actualization > is dependent on how he interacts within his group. > > I profess to be a Christian. Perhaps not a good one by some standards, but > nonetheless think that the Ten Commandments and the Golden rule are a good > pattern on which to base my daily living. Love, forgiveness, and trust are > the most powerful tools made available to us, while anger, fear and jealousy > are the most counterproductive emotions that we encounter. > > Some learned person once said that if we quit worrying so much about who gets > the credit for what, the impossible could become possible routinely. So, what > say you? Let us forgive and forget, and move on with our lives…. > > In Christian Love > > Howard -- Kathrynne Holden, MS, RD "Nutrition you can live with!" Medical nutrition therapy http://www.nutritionucanlivewith.com/ Tel: 970-493-6532 // Fax: 970-493-6538 "If we knew what it was we were doing, it would not be called research, would it?" -Albert Einstein