|
In Reply to: Re: I know you're mad but... posted by juni on September 26, 2003 at 00:38:55:
You're right - lots of people leave The Family and they aren't automatically "cool" people just because they left. I can think of quite a few who will fit that category, but I won't name any names :-)
Maybe it hadn't hit you until now, how different we can all be, despite our common experiences in The Family. When we were in, we were forced to be same-ish about everything. The beauty of being out is that we can disagree, and disagree vehemently, and we don't have to all get along and have some kind of face of unity.
You'd be surprised to know how different even the coordinators of this site can be from each other, and the marked differences of opinion we have. We've just learned to work together despite our differences, and focus on the common goals of bringing truthful information to the public, and providing a place for ex-members to meet. In some ways, this is even stronger than the "unity" The Family teaches. We're like a functioning democracy, because at times we're actually completely polarized, but still manage to keep our own integrity, and work together somehow, despite...
The Family recruited people from across a braod spectrum of backgrounds - we weren't all left wing hippies or liberals. The world at large is made up of a lot of different ideals, philosophies, politics, religions... you name it. So it's not surprizing that when we get out, that we might revert to or discover new ideas that we hold dearly as our own, and which differ greatly from fellow ex-members. We've got people returning to Judaism, churches, atheism, Buddhism, New Age, conservatism, academia, racial ideology, drugs... you name it.
So you might just have to make room for someone having very different opinions than yours, and try not make it personal. You can object to what is being said, and take up a persistent discussion all you want, but it shouldn't end up being focused so it's a critique of someone, for their being different from you or your world view.
When it comes down to it, I could safely say that most of us would probably gladly give a place to exiting SGA's to land if we could. We'd share our meager resources with them. We'd probably stand in court and testify against The Family if needed. We'd probably be there for each other in some way. And that, despite our being at odds with each other, or identifying with opposite ends of the political/religious spectrum. So we do at least have something in common, and there is some good left in us...
