by Chris McKinley on Wed Mar 07, 2012 1:16 pm
Dan,
I'll let the actual chronology of our exchanges stand with regard to the introduction of personal insults with you specifically, though I do not deny nor defend my own involvement in such time-wasting drivel. It's beneath all of us, you and I included, and I have since moved on and returned to civil on-topic posting. That said, neither I nor any other poster involved in the discussion of IP now is coming on here and making blanket insults and dismissals, a trend I'd like to see continue as a stark contrast to prior threads on the main forum. No one else is making unfounded claims of superior skill, nor of the tiring insufficiency of skill of the remaining posters on the board. We are not claiming a clandestine understanding of the nature of internal work, nor are we pushing for an elitist forum for the proclamations of a singular narrow view with other views being explicitly unwelcome. Instead, we are attempting to have a mature and respectful discussion of the issues, some of the early examples of which are related to the discussion of IP. Without the presence of the kind of behavior I outlined above, we are curiously having a fairly respectful topical series of discussions, even among posters who do not agree in lockstep with each other's views. This is exactly the kind of behavior I am glad to see as a refreshing alternative to the kinds of IP discussions that have occurred in the past. I would suggest that the tenor of your post here further illustrates the wisdom of not granting you the free personal blog on RSF's bandwidth that your original suggestion of an invitation-only forum with an 'approved understanding' filter would have almost instantly become.
I would merely second Dmitri's call above for civility and grace in discussions as this new forum has generally exemplified and in continuing further discussions. If you are interested in having the kind of adult conversation we are currently using to discuss these matters, I personally would welcome your participation, regardless of any personal feelings expressed in the past. In fact, I would hope that you would be encouraged to employ a greater generosity and openness about the subject than you have previously displayed, certainly not for my sake, but perhaps for those on the board who are genuinely interested in authentic material related to internal martial arts and who have been convinced of your credibility to speak on such matters. I'm certainly capable of and willing to have a civil discussion with you about the topic, even should we disagree strongly about any aspect of the topic itself. I would hope that you might be similarly able and willing to act in kind, even if not with me, at least with the other members of the forum who might wish to engage you in discussion. Maybe something productive and useful might come of it.