greasespot cafe

[excathedra]

i don't mean this as a disrespectful subject

but what do you think makes you a "good" greasespotter ?

if you think i'm nuts, i guess that answers my question :)

majority seems to rule most times in life

or we play it safe according to our teachers leaders whatever

and there are always people who put you down for even asking such a question

but they're usually smarter than i so i don't have a good comeback

by the way, it's not about you paw, although i may get crucified about this since it's your board

[rascal]

*good* greasespotter? lol..... I didn`t know there WAS such a critter :)

I know which greasespotters I respect for the wisdom and heart in the context of their posts....

I know whom has ministered to me year in and year out, helping me to grow and re evaluate my thoughts and preconcieved beliefs and notions.

I know who has suppported and prayed with me when times were tough.......sympathising with me when during my crisis...

None of these posters would probably be considered *good* but I sure have grown to love and respect them greatly.

Who is good and who is bad? I dunno, I guess I see posters in two groups......Those who have been a blessing and force in healing and those who seem to come here just to harass and bully.

If I point a finger at someone and declare them a *bad* greasespotter.....invariably I find out that that person...the one that I couldn`t STAND...... was of great blessing and assistance to a poster whom I DO care for....

I don`t like to lable anybody here.... we each seem to provide a valuable piece to the puzzle.

[markomalley]

Well, I, for one, am happy to declare myself a *bad* greasespotter.

And proud of it.

[wingnut]

I am the worse of the worse of G'sers! Even known to forget to reply to PTs

[jardinero]

Hmmmmmm, Excie...

and there are always people who put you down for even asking such a question

but they're usually smarter than i so i don't have a good comeback

Not quite sure what you're getting at, but...it doesn't appear people on the forums put you down for asking questions. In fact, in my observation, your posts and opinions seem to be met with affection, support and cutting you some slack when you are unclear or are having a bad day.

So unless you are referring to your private topic conversations, don't know what you are really trying to ask.

I think common courtesy and a respect for people to be able to voice their opinions whether we agree or not, are the things that might make someone a "good" greasespotter.

J.

[excathedra]

oh thank you who is cutting me slack ?

i'm humbled

[coolchef1248 @adelphia.net]

i just wish i was smart as most of you folks here

did i meet friends here?

just ask jonnylingo when i send him his sea spiders this spring

the smoked salmon he sent me was awesome

i love ya all but i don't have to agree with you all!

[act2]

Hey Ex. I really dont know what makes a good greasespotter, but I can tell you that when I first starting posting here, you were one of the few who gave me the time of day. Since that time, that has changed somewhat, but I will NEVER forget you.

So that tells me that YOU are an UNFORGETABLE Greasespotter!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[LG]

i don't mean this as a disrespectful subject

but what do you think makes you a "good" greasespotter ?

if you think i'm nuts, i guess that answers my question

Being a bit nuts seems to be a requirement for being a greasespotter, whether "good" or "bad." Who else but a nut would have put so much time into something like TWI?

[Linda Z]

All I know is this:

[Stayed Too Long]

Anyone who makes a claim and it is subsequently challenged and proven false, and then the liar starts 'spinning' their false statements, and begins attacking the challenger, is not only a bad "G'spotter" but also a bad person. pooh pooh on them.

Also those who begin cursing at or calling fellow poster's names because they do not agree with their view is also a bad apple. Disagreement is wonderful and when the argument is kept on a level of discussion all is well. But when people feel "personally challenged" or "personally put down" because a belief contrary to theirs is expressed, then it get ugly real fast.

I have been in some heated discussions in the 'tacks' forum but have not felt anyone was 'bad' because we could not agree on a given topic. In the Doctrinal section when a discussion begins about a particular religious view and does not venture into attacking those who do not believe in God or in their personal belief, the discussion is pretty much left alone. The biggest problem I have seen in the "Open" forum as of late, is some medical advise being challenged with documented research to the contrary. Facts seem to get in the way of popular belief's and can create some hard feelings.

Edited February 12, 2006 by Stayed Too Long

[mstar1]

I dont know if anyone can make the claim of being good or even particularly smart here-

-We all spent in a cult -- that sort of rules out any claims to having any special brilliance--which wouldnt necessarily make someone 'good' anyway

We all have foibles and thats OK with me....I prefer those who remember that, and are human -- myself

I do get irked from time to time with the folks who still "have all the answers", leave no room for those outside of their opinions, seem to have forgotten where they came from, and that they were once duped themselves.

I know of a few posters (myself included ) who dont bother posting alot of interesting subjects and different things because it would be immediately attacked by the thought police----I dont really hold it against them, but it does keep gspot from being a little more expansive in its scope.

Is that bad? I dont know, but I dont think that it is as good as it could be

[HAPe4me]

In an openly available website like GS, I am not sure there can be a definition of "good". Do you mean good for the stated purpose and goals of GS? I certainly don't qualify then, assuming that the goal of GS is to encourage discussion of, and exposing TWI. I rarely participate in those topics, or in doctrine.

I prefer to play in the peripheral aspects of Greasespot, and I think being "good" in those areas means not labeling as "evil", or painting with a broad brush, people with different views. Listening with a purpose is good. Being mean and purposefully antagonistic is not. (I like the bumper sticker "mean people suc@")

Having integrity is good, dishonesty is not (although for the most part, the anonymity on any internet site often lends itself to a certain amount of this). Having an opinion is good, having a STRONG opinion is good, disagreeiment is good. Belittling and bullying is not. Giving people space is good, making all the "space" YOURS is not.

"Good" here is pretty much the same definition I hold as "good" in any other aspect of my life. For what it is worth, I would classify all but a VERY few of the regulars as good, including you Excat. I am sure that some others would name a few others as "bad" instead of the ones I think of, so perhaps that makes all of us good.

~HAP

Edited February 13, 2006 by HAPe4me

[Bramble]

Hmmm, good and bad. Most people here seem like good people.

I don't know. I have a few people set on ignore, posters who didn't treat me the way I expect to be treated, and none of those were one time happenings, either. Or people who are so one note, why bother reading what they have to say? Are they bad? Maybe, maybe not...but I wouldn't trust them with my actual name and address!

I don't have problems with other's belief or religious choices being different than mine, though I feel for those still in TWI who think that's the highest form of spiritual maturity.

This site is about my past more than my now. In my real life I have (very)minimal interaction with ex ways or current way folk.

IMO people who were leadership, especially in TWI 2, expected people to give their words and opinions heavier weight than other people's, and they probably don't even know they are still doing it. I think a bit of arrogance helped you get those leadership positions in TWI, and being a big dog builds some habits. The old--I'm the spiritual leader! thing. It doesn't really work on a message board though, how frustrating. But I doubt they are bad people. Maybe a little self centered.

I also think there are probably people here who have actual untreated mental illness, or some other issue, that causes them to have little or no empathy with others. Are they bad? Don't know, but there again, they are not on my Holiday Newsletter list or on quick dial.

I'm pretty picky about who I actually let into my real life, and few are from the internet.

[satori001]

I see implicit questions here, and even though they weren't exactly asked, I'm going to risk being a bad greasespotter (living on the edge, that's me) and answer them.

It's about truth, or "integrity," if we can possibly wrest that poor, abused word from Vic Wierwille's posthumous and bony grip for a minute or two...

For my part, a "good greasespotter" is one who holds the truth in the highest regard, whether or not it meets the approval of fellow greasespotters. (It has more to do with citizenship among citizens, and in this context, Greasespot represents more or less any social group.)

If truth is so simple, and so obvious, they why do we so often feel it is out of our reach? Because the truth does not serve everyone, whether at Greasespot, or anywhere else. Plenty of people are heavily invested in Vic Wierwille's legacy, for instance, and live to rehabilitate Vic's stock. So then, what stands so effectively in opposition to the truth? Lies? Wickedness? Evil? Sure, they get all the attention, but they're really way down on the list.

High on the list, among the real enemies of truth are the authoritarian pillars of the status quo. They include authority figures, prevailing opinions of our "peers," our personal sentiments (emotional "reflexes"), our passivity and/or resignation, traditional values inherited or adopted, tribal loyalties, dogmas of every kind, and most of all, that part of ourselves which measures truth by any of the above criteria without additional reflection or examination.

The very first "authority" we must question is ourselves, because without our consent, there is no other authority. Even God asks our consent. (See Romans 10:9,10.)

If we want acceptance, here or anywhere else, we risk losing our way, placing our need to belong above our need to be true to ourselves.

There is nothing wrong with needing to be accepted, but fulfilling that need always requires compromises. Some compromises are acceptible, even beneficial - putting another's immediate needs above your own, in a family for instance.

Others are insidious and degrading. The Way International, and Wierwille's exploitations of "believers" comes to mind for some reason. The compromises which may be required of us are defined by the group, and how we esteem ourselves in the group's company. The Way was (and is) a "cult," but every individual participating had a unique experience. The descriptions here run the gamut, from good to bad.

Where does the personal experience come from? A highschool graduate in the company of PhD's may feel inferior, but a social diva/football quarterback in a room full of "nerds" may feel superior. Both descriptions may refer to the same group.

It's all perspective, individual versus collective, and which ones we allow to prevail in our own heads. And neither is necessarily healthy, by the way. Status-consciousness and labels, if we allow them to, will suck the joy out of any meaningful association or relationship, no matter how well we are accepted.

What we bring to the association makes us more or less valuable to the group, and more or less vulnerable, too. That's where truth comes in. Before we share our "truth" with anyone else, we need to find it for ourselves. And that is the process of being a good greasespotter.

Edited February 13, 2006 by satori001

[dmiller]

For my part, a "good greasespotter" is one who holds the truth in the highest regard, whether or not it meets the approval of fellow greasespotters. (It has more to do with citizenship among citizens, and in this context, Greasespot represents more or less any social group.)

It's all perspective, individual versus collective, and which ones we allow to prevail in our own heads. And neither is necessarily healthy, by the way. Status-consciousness and labels, if we allow them to, will suck the joy out of any meaningful association or relationship, no matter how well we are accepted.

What we bring to the association makes us more or less valuable to the group, and more or less vulnerable, too. That's where truth comes in. Before we share our "truth" with anyone else, we need to find it for ourselves. And that is the process of being a good greasespotter.

Edited February 13, 2006 by dmiller

[pond]

Truth is all relative.

facts are facts but truth is always wide open, in any group.

Most do not want to know or hear that facts tho, we all stand on our platforms of our own "truth" and often feel the need to share this knowledge with the rest.

Im not a big talker really , at greaspot I have learned how people really think or how they write about ideals and subjects.

interesting .

I do not seek to meet my social or any other needs at this forum, or the internet in general I find it amazing some can and do .

honesty is always good and I believe most on greaspot are honest in their own truth. I also believe truth is the world one makes on a individual base of what they believe to be true.

I truly listened to my grown son one day and he spilled and talked and went on and on about how life is... All I could say was that is in your "world".

I truly dint get one ideal of any of it... try as I might I like the guy and everything he is my son.

his truth, his world was so different from my reality.

We all live in our own stuff.

Ithink a good greaspotter is one like any social club who can share the reality and world of the posters who have the time and need and desire to be here.

the rest of the posters I think are just looking at people and what they write and find it interesting, and can

relate to some stuff .

[ex10]

wow satori. Thanks for the insight. I was feeling like a "bad" greasespotter because I didn't get the original question.

ok, now I think I do.

pond, I love what you said: "We all live in our own stuff."

[topoftheworld]

I can tell you how I first felt about posting on Greasespot with this picture:

After saying my prayers, I have ventured forth. Tried to be of good humor and respectful. Have learned to read posts before I respond (best way to put your foot in your mouth), and to not respond when I am not versed enough in the subject to sound intelligent or profitably add to the discussion. Ok, maybe I haven't completely learned that one but I'm getting better!

Whichever, this is the most intelligent forum out there, and worth the visit.

Edited February 16, 2006 by topoftheworld

[dmiller]

Ha! here is my very first post here:

I had forgotten all about the "biblically correct" version of these songs till now. Knew I should have stayed away from the song posting!! Now I will be singing them incessantly too.

I-was-as-nervous-as-could-be-posting-that!!!

(Dang!! was that REALLY 8,308 posts ago???

Seems like yesterday!!!)

The times, they have been a'changing. ;)

Hmmmm --- was talking about music in that one too.

Guess some things don't change.

B)

(great pic, Top!!!!)

Edited February 16, 2006 by dmiller