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DRK's avatar

This is Ray's 'Stack... but it is my understanding that all reasonably respectful comments, which are not span, total nonsense - but make an actual contribution to the conversation - are welcome.

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DRK's avatar

It seems that true heroes are often, maybe seldom, celebrated.

Recognition is probably never the reason that anyone does the right thing - or tries to - against all odds.

Thanks, Ray, for sharing your insight , from the perspective of your actual experience.

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Elizabeth's avatar

I came across an email today where you 'liked' a comment of mine.

The comment of mine made me laugh as it was rather nonsensical.

I thought I would edit it (although a seemingly impossible task for my addled brain), yet it's not here.

Soooo.... in my dim memory Ray must have banned me (erased me) (a somewhat odious occurrence on the stack and why I no longer visit much) and yet you saw my comment (now my brain is more addled)

I think we all need to stand in integrity. And yet speaking out is often not met well.

Not in my experience.

Maybe more so as a woman. Maybe more so as an older woman.

One stands up for what is right because it is the only choice. Whether as a man or a woman.

No matter the cost.

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DRK's avatar

For clarity, I don't know anything about bans, but appreciate our words:

"I think we all need to stand in integrity. And yet speaking out is often not met well.

Not in my experience.

Maybe more so as a woman. Maybe more so as an older woman.

One stands up for what is right because it is the only choice. Whether as a man or a woman.

No matter the cost."

Well said!!

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Elizabeth's avatar

I was reflecting on the idea of truth in this moment in the history of 'man'.

So many are overwhelmed by what is happening in the world, no matter one's perspective. So truth can be traumatic for someone and not necessarily kind or constructive to share. Whether it be knowledge of something that is happening in the wider world or something deeply personal that another might not be able to reflect on.

There are some things I will speak to because I see harm being done in the moment. Or I want to challenge a limited way of thinking.

Much of what we 'know' is based on information coming from a trusted source. Not necessarily a truthful source.

Maybe truth is often in the not knowing and challenging our perceptions, ideas, opinions, to make room for something else.

Maybe truth is in silence, presence, compassion.

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Elizabeth's avatar

thank you 🙏🏻❤️

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Ray Horvath, "The Source" :)'s avatar

Obviously, you are not banned. :)

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Elizabeth's avatar

Clearly I was.

Complete erasure. (A lot of 'removed' words.)

How did he read my comment and 'like' it if it is no longer there?

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Ray Horvath, "The Source" :)'s avatar

Yes, I remember, for one day, because our abortive conversation took over the whole comment section, which is detrimental for everyone... Welcome back!

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Elizabeth's avatar

I'm not really commenting on the stack much.

Thanks though.

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Elizabeth's avatar

Can I comment?

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alexxxxxxxx's avatar

i read ... its not enough to be a man , one should be a gentleman ... its not enough to be a gentleman ... one should be a spiritual man ... why ? because spirit is our true self , beyond mind ,gender occupation race nationality etc... that is also our human communality. only as transcendant souls are we all alike ... good God help us all , please inlighten our darkness

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Jonathan Ramsay's avatar
Crixcyon's avatar

What Does It Take a To Be a Man? Maybe we should ask that expert judge Ketanji Brown Jackson.

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Ray Horvath, "The Source" :)'s avatar

Exactly. :)

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Andy Bunting's avatar

Thanks Ray. You're a true hero just for being a Truther!

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Joanna Gear's avatar

I like you, Ray, but here you are full of stupid male shit. Grow up.

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Ray Horvath, "The Source" :)'s avatar

What do you expect from a man? :)

For that matter, I didn't feel entitled to talk about being a woman, because I've never been one. Giving birth without anesthetics, for one, is probably more trying than anything a man can do for being tested.

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Andy Bunting's avatar

Who are you to judge what anything Male is as a Female?

Define your Female judgmental definition of "male shit".

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Capt. Roy Harkness's avatar

Gender reassignment surgery.

As Death so aptly put it in Monty Python's "The Meaning of Life": "You English are so fucking pompous and you've got no balls..."

But latterly? That goes for all of us, really... 🙄

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Jun 6, 2023
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Ray Horvath, "The Source" :)'s avatar

I'm certainly not great, but I'm trying to stay human, and I've seen women "outgunning" men in my life more than I could have imagined. Without my readers, this site would not exist. It belongs to you and to your fellow readers.

Not sure which article it was, or it may have been the moron (MLK), but I'm happy to have lost eight "subscribers." Better not to have the ones who cannot handle thinking on their own. :)

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Jun 5, 2023
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Ray Horvath, "The Source" :)'s avatar

23 years in the US, in Europe and back in the US again. Why does that make you confused?

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Jun 6, 2023
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Ray Horvath, "The Source" :)'s avatar

I would prefer to say "having been tested," and I would like to add that being a woman often takes more...

Enduring is a good start, but staying the course is more important.

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Jun 6, 2023
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Ray Horvath, "The Source" :)'s avatar

Yes, the subject is encyclopedic, but it's also intriguing enough to take it for a ride. Here is my take on it; of course, it's only my opinion, based on my life experience.

You seem to be describing bipolar or, in its milder version, borderline behavior. Both of them, in my experience, usually come out in "co-dependent" relationships. While the term is not wholly accepted, it refers to people whose self-respect depends on someone else's opinion. Now, that one is certainly real. I can only theorize about other options, too, such as someone has lost their way and while the current path is not working anymore, they cannot or don't dare to leave everything behind and start over. Alternatively, if someone's primary conditioning results in a "conscience" that is not compatible with their current environment, the person ends up playing hide-and-seek, but nobody's self-image can put up with that sort of thing for long. Others fall for moral relativism in order to get what they want, but the reward never lives up to the value given up. Not sure what you mean by "this is the way you are," but I prefer not to be psychoanalyzed. Drugs or "madications" can be sensitizers or desentitizers, and their impact might be welcome or detrimental under specific circumstances, but only as long as strong dependency does not develop.

Being tested is always traumatic; the question is how far the person can cope. There are many fake "support systems," because there is money in them, but ultimately, it mostly boils down to the person's resilience and the time given to them to recover from a shock.

Being aware of one's weakness and accepting vulnerability is probably one of the most important aspects of "strength."

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Jun 6, 2023
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