thinking about witnessing: hard work, after years of turning away!
Heya FFF and GG:
Close to xmas!
I am ruminating on threads of our last face-to-face conversation. Witnessing–listening to difficult subjects or staying present in uncomfortable social circumstances–can be a way of learning and of doing the right thing. This is a timely thing to contemplate (and enact)– facing the holidays and likely many opportunities to listen to people unfold parts of their lives that might be easier not to know. My inclination, despite being a curious person, has always to turn away, and this motivated by a sense of behaving with courtesy or manners –not to listen to or read intimate details, as if to do so is in bad taste. I really like rethinking this–to understand listening and patience as an important duty and as a way to learn.
Another question that interests me has to do with editing the blog site–monitoring or regulating who can comment (even who can read?) the blogs. I can understand the need to safeguard a site, especially if it is one that discloses details about family members and life. But I don’t entirely buy the argument that some voices are allowed to comment and others are not welcome, that the blog site provides a unique opportunity for some to speak for the first time. I think the dialogue and interaction is really important, and that it is risky to rule it out. There’s a "private members club" feel to this sort of exclusion. What think?
Close to xmas!
I am ruminating on threads of our last face-to-face conversation. Witnessing–listening to difficult subjects or staying present in uncomfortable social circumstances–can be a way of learning and of doing the right thing. This is a timely thing to contemplate (and enact)– facing the holidays and likely many opportunities to listen to people unfold parts of their lives that might be easier not to know. My inclination, despite being a curious person, has always to turn away, and this motivated by a sense of behaving with courtesy or manners –not to listen to or read intimate details, as if to do so is in bad taste. I really like rethinking this–to understand listening and patience as an important duty and as a way to learn.
Another question that interests me has to do with editing the blog site–monitoring or regulating who can comment (even who can read?) the blogs. I can understand the need to safeguard a site, especially if it is one that discloses details about family members and life. But I don’t entirely buy the argument that some voices are allowed to comment and others are not welcome, that the blog site provides a unique opportunity for some to speak for the first time. I think the dialogue and interaction is really important, and that it is risky to rule it out. There’s a "private members club" feel to this sort of exclusion. What think?
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