Let's Get Over Ourselves, Folks
I am a member of a Facebook group for music therapists. This group is a good thing and a bad thing. Currently, there is a MAJOR discussion going on about censorship, thread jacking, attacks, purpose, and the way we are with each other.
I've noticed that whenever there is a post that sparks controversy, there are three or four people who take it that direction. They seem to love arguing and will criticize every little thing that someone says. If a person asks for assistance in using a resource, song, or material with a client, we all of a sudden start conversing about conformity. "Why is the therapist forcing this client to participate in an experience that requires conformity with others." No actual consideration of the client, the client's goals, or anything about the client in the discussion. That was not the original intent of the postee. she just wanted an idea about how to use something with a client. The thirty-plus comments about whether we should make clients conform to a patterned series of movements completely changed the subject and was not helpful to the original postee. When the original postee requested a change of thread to eliminate the extraneous comments, the three or four people who typically take over had an absolute fit!
The second instance of this behavior occurred earlier this week when a friend of mine made a decision to remove a post that she did not like. Oh my goodness! The flap that removal has caused has been immense, and, not a big surprise to me, centered around the same three or four people who are in the center of all of the controversies.
I suspect that some people prefer conflict to peace. I am not one of those people. I prefer polite interaction and respect for the opinions of others in professional arenas. Now, that does not mean that I am perfect - FAR FROM IT - but I do prefer to air my opinions in less public forums. So, I come over here and vent my spleen all over the posts of this blog. I figure that you have the option of reading this or you can completely ignore me. You can comment, if you want, and I have the ability to communicate with you as I wish. It's my own little ranting post, and I like this format so much better than the more public one in the Facebook group.
This may be a manifestation of my current passion on finding out information about one of my personality traits - introversion. I have been spending time reading about introversion and about the characteristics of introverts. (I am VERY strongly introverted and find that it is a comfort that there are many, many others out there who are sitting at home alone enjoying their solitude just like me. I think that most of my reaction to the conversation on Facebook is that the conversation does feel like a personal attack, even when it is not intended to be an attack.
It is hard to explain what is wrong about this situation to a person who is not aware of how they are perceived by others. We all have our own ways of interpretation and they are often not shared by the remainder of the community.
I think it's time to take a deep breath, everybody, and retreat to our separate corners. I think I will stir the waters a bit with a post guaranteed to make things boil and bubble a bit. Gotta go think about that...heh, heh, heh!
I've noticed that whenever there is a post that sparks controversy, there are three or four people who take it that direction. They seem to love arguing and will criticize every little thing that someone says. If a person asks for assistance in using a resource, song, or material with a client, we all of a sudden start conversing about conformity. "Why is the therapist forcing this client to participate in an experience that requires conformity with others." No actual consideration of the client, the client's goals, or anything about the client in the discussion. That was not the original intent of the postee. she just wanted an idea about how to use something with a client. The thirty-plus comments about whether we should make clients conform to a patterned series of movements completely changed the subject and was not helpful to the original postee. When the original postee requested a change of thread to eliminate the extraneous comments, the three or four people who typically take over had an absolute fit!
The second instance of this behavior occurred earlier this week when a friend of mine made a decision to remove a post that she did not like. Oh my goodness! The flap that removal has caused has been immense, and, not a big surprise to me, centered around the same three or four people who are in the center of all of the controversies.
I suspect that some people prefer conflict to peace. I am not one of those people. I prefer polite interaction and respect for the opinions of others in professional arenas. Now, that does not mean that I am perfect - FAR FROM IT - but I do prefer to air my opinions in less public forums. So, I come over here and vent my spleen all over the posts of this blog. I figure that you have the option of reading this or you can completely ignore me. You can comment, if you want, and I have the ability to communicate with you as I wish. It's my own little ranting post, and I like this format so much better than the more public one in the Facebook group.
This may be a manifestation of my current passion on finding out information about one of my personality traits - introversion. I have been spending time reading about introversion and about the characteristics of introverts. (I am VERY strongly introverted and find that it is a comfort that there are many, many others out there who are sitting at home alone enjoying their solitude just like me. I think that most of my reaction to the conversation on Facebook is that the conversation does feel like a personal attack, even when it is not intended to be an attack.
It is hard to explain what is wrong about this situation to a person who is not aware of how they are perceived by others. We all have our own ways of interpretation and they are often not shared by the remainder of the community.
I think it's time to take a deep breath, everybody, and retreat to our separate corners. I think I will stir the waters a bit with a post guaranteed to make things boil and bubble a bit. Gotta go think about that...heh, heh, heh!
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