Re: RC: Personal Challenges

[Maureen Mathisen <blueoak@snowcrest.net>]

Ray,

In my opinion(note disclaimer) I feel that you have said it very
eloquently and with intelligence.  Hope everyone else feels the same
way. Ridecamp has great potential for real commication with those of us
involved all over the country with the same sport and a love of horses
in general.  There are too few of us    and very little chance to
communicate with each other and learn from each other.An open mind and a
tactful approach are probably all that is needed here.(At least MOST of
the time...) Thanks for your comment.
Maureen


Ray & Barb Elliston wrote:
> 
>         I have taken reasonable care to couch this post in terms that are intended
> not to offend anyone.  While some members may be entertained, or even
> titillated, by the type of personal vitriol that occasionally takes over
> Ridecamp I am sure the majority can do without it.  When I started lurking
> on Ridecamp approximately 18 months ago it was in the midst of one of the
> great debates concerning feeding philosophy, and initially I took exception
> to the tone of some of the posts.  However, I reminded myself that I was
> attempting to glean valuable information on horses and horsemanship from a
> host of folks eminently more qualified than myself.
>         During almost 35 years in the army I had occasion to discuss myriad issues
> with literally thousands of people, many of whom held views as strong or
> stronger than my own (as the saying goes, "arguing with an infantry officer
> is like wrestling with a pig; everyone gets dirty, and the pig loves it).
> In such circumstances one learns to listen carefully to what is said,
> without dwelling overly long on how it is said.  At the end of the day
> everyone should have had the opportunity of airing his or her opinion, and
> all participants are then free to extract the wheat from the chaff, and take
> their own decisions on the basis of the information presented.  In my
> experience, regardless of how strongly any issue is debated there is no
> black or white solution; virtually every solution is some shade of gray, and
> one quickly learns not to take decisions on the basis of how strongly any
> one case has been argued.  That is not to suggest, however that one should
> not argue his or her points with the utmost vigour, simply that when someone
> else does so, others should not take what is said personally.  More to the
> point, a knock down, drag-em-out argument between two or more knowledgeable
> persons should not be taken as an invitation for all the rest of the camp to
> immediately begin championing one or the other, particularly if such support
> is based solely on personality or tone.
>         I don't know any of you personally, and you surely do not know me so,
> hopefully, I have been able to provide a modicum of objectivity to the
> discussion.  If not, feel free to challenge my points.
> 
> Ray Elliston
> AERC # M20114
> 
>   ------------------------------------------------------------------------
> 
>                      Name: winmail.dat
>    winmail.dat       Type: application/ms-tnef
>                  Encoding: base64


=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
Ridecamp is a service of Endurance Net, http://www.endurance.net.    
Information, Policy, Disclaimer: http://www.endurance.net/RideCamp   
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=