Cohousing-L Mailing List: RE: Cats. Wow!

[Forbes Jan (jan.forbes]

Brian, I seem to have given you the impression that I'm taking an extreme
position.  

Or it could be that you've read me out of context.  My aim in responding
(tongue in cheek) to Rob, was to bring some balance to what he said about
pet owners and parents being ruled by emotions and therefore, if I recall
rightly, irrational.

It was not my intention to further polarise discussion on this sensitive
issue, merely to point out that although at times emotions can be difficult
to deal with, they have their positive side too.  Also to question where we
would be without them?  Clearly, for the most part people are neither
entirely emotional nor entirely rational in whatever they do.

As to your comments about racism, sexism etc ... are you putting the case
for doing away with emotions altogether?  This is one conclusion that could
be drawn from what you've said below.  If so, I doubt that you'll succeed.
;-) 

And, as to your comments on wildlife, I know it to be true here in
Australia, much to the regret of the people 'in the know' who care about the
really important issues, that invertebrate species are being lost every day
with no-one in the broader community caring a damn but there are many
support groups to save koalas and there are votes in the government
committing funding to that.

Best to work with what we have I think, which is people who are at least in
part driven by their feelings.  There is an implicit violence in opposing
even the negative manifestations of emotion that you mention here ... sad as
you might feel about the tragedies that result.

And a concluding note ... I don't fully understand US culture as I've had
this kind of experience on e-mail lists before.  So I ask you, please, be
lenient with me.  


Jan

> -----Original Message-----
> From: Brian Baresch [SMTP:baresch [at] earthlink.net]
> Sent: Tuesday, 4 September 2001 16:06
> To:   cohousing-l [at] cohousing.org
> Subject:      RE: [C-L]_Cats. Wow!
> 
> >Pet owners and parents may be emotional and therefore in your opinion
> >irrational, but what sort of a world would we have if people were
> motivated
> >entirely by reason?  
> 
> Hm, let's see, no racism, sexism, random violence ... no reality TV ...
> 
> >The same goes for the other side of the debate.  When people fight to
> >protect wildlife they are primarily motivated by feelings not reason
> 
> I seriously doubt that that's true; in fact I believe it is absolutely
> false. Many people see that wildlife, species diversity and ecosystem
> diversity are interrelated and that all are important for life on the
> planet to thrive. Are you saying that those people are moved solely by
> emotion, and that those who say they are working from a rational
> perspective are deluded or dishonest or both?
> 
> Brian Baresch baresch [at] earthlink.net
> Delaware Street Commons
> Lawrence, Kansas
> www.delaware-street.com
> 
> 
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