Theos-Talk Archives (May 1996 Message tl01091)

On Sun, 19 May 1996, m.k. ramadoss wrote:
>
> Anytime we move away from ideas and ideals and start discussing
> personalities and persons, then we have a serious problem.

I must disagree. We do not have a serious problem ... we have the
*actual* work of creating a "Universal Family" ... a thing that has been
avoided for most of our civilization's history. It is not *ideas* that
form a Universal Family, nor *ideals* that travel the path. It is
*people*, people with all their brilliance and all their flaws. It is
not, for instance, ideas that (IMO) are destroying the TS, but people.
When I, for instance, *name* John Algeo and Rahda Burnier, I suppose I am
"moving away from ideas and discussing persons", but in my own analysis
of the problem, it is not ideas, but rather specific people behaving in
specific ways that *is* the problem.
	Why is it that Eldon seems to get attacked so much? From my point
of view, he has a very slippery style of communication - he never
mentions names, but is as viscious in his attacks as anyone on this list.
In a single post he will write fine words of "brotherhood" and "mutual
tolerance", and then write utterly sneering and condescending remarks
about the "psychic". Of course when someone then goes after him, he can
always stand back and innocently say "but I didn't mention any names".
	If there are intense *personal* differences in viewpoint, I do
not believe the road to "Universal Family" is to try to avoid them and
drive them underground, to try to gloss over them and pretend they don't
exist - but rather to make them *fully overt* ... expose them at the
surface. Universal Family and "tolerance" happens when there is
*genuine*, not superficial respect accorded to the viewpoints of others.
And the fact is that this is not something easily achieved. Eldon may
speak fine words, but he almost continually writes in  way that shows
utter disrespect and even outright condescension towards the perspectives
of many on this list. It is intellectual violence to do so even if he
never mentions anyone by name. It is not "Eldon bashing" when someone who
is subject to this decides to respond. He is every bit as much a
participant in the situation as anyone else is.
							-Regards, -JRC