To Pick up the Sword...or Not - Random Bits of Fascination
 
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To Pick up the Sword…or Not — 8 Comments

  1. Salut Maria
    You are so courageous to tell us and you are right.
    I myself fancy sometimes to strike back – not in a vulgar way but in an extremely clever way of course😉😉 – but then my even cleverer part tells me to say nuthin at all or react in a kind way. As I am quite selfish, this is costing me less energy in the end and does not bind me to the person.
    Have a happy time💐
    Doris

  2. Interesting because I received a phone message where I was “barked at” in an annoying and demanding voice. I responded with a text message. The person doesn’t like text messages. Then they called using the same tone of voice, but I had company and couldn’t talk. I always talk on speaker phone. I don’t put phones near my ears. There’s been silence ever since. There’s a way to handle all situations. Being civil is the first step.

  3. This made me think of Romans 12:18 – “if possible, as far as it depends on you, be peaceable with all men.” It also reminded me of my friend Carl, who said “when in doubt, always do the KIND thing.”

    This isn’t always easy, and you don’t always get the response you hope for, but I try.

  4. Very insightful post, Maria Grace. A couple of times when I got very negative, attacking comments online, I stepped away, spent time thinking and praying about the situation and for the person, then responded as kindly as I could. If they continued to attack, I stopped responding. I think especially online it’s very hard to know what the person’s background is, where they’re coming from, what they’re experiencing that day, as you say. We need to assume the best, though sometimes it’s very hard! And there are times to set firm boundaries. As June said, we want to be peacemakers, “as far as it depends on us.”

  5. Thank you for your candor. I must own to sharing Darcy’s famous excuse about not having the talent some enjoy of being able to catch the tone of conversation…
    This is especially true in written exchanges where personal cues are absent. The art of written correspondence has been somewhat lost to emojis and incomplete sentences.

  6. Well written!! I have rarely regretted staying quiet and considering others’ points of view. I have frequently regretted “picking up my sword.” The exceptions to this come when defending animals, children and others who cannot defend themselves.

  7. Written communications do not always accurately convey the feelings of the author, and I have observed a number of situations that escalated due to misunderstanding the initial intent. A question asked in curiosity that was perceived as an attack gets answered with a counterattack, and all hell breaks loose.
    I enjoy books where differing perspectives of the same experience are told!

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