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permaculture - Re: [permaculture] talking dominant style

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  • From: Ben Martin Horst <ben.martinhorst@gmail.com>
  • To: permaculture <permaculture@lists.ibiblio.org>
  • Subject: Re: [permaculture] talking dominant style
  • Date: Sun, 04 Feb 2007 15:15:13 -0800

David Riley wrote:
A thread that I notice running through the many emails is a tendacy to mimic in our opinion, the aspects of what we don't like about the other view. Umm, that may sound wonky, I 'm trying to get it straight here. It seems like everyone wants to be right, er, Dominating opinions are what I like least about belief systems. Kindness, giving, compassion are what attract me to belief systems, other belief systems than mine.
Good point, and I accept this analysis of my last post. I apologize for the "dominating tendencies" in what I wrote. In my experiences with conflict (both large- and small-scale, local and international), the parties to the conflict are almost always drawn in directions contrary to their initial principals, sheerly by the process of conflict. One example would be communist insurgencies around the globe which, at their inception, championed the rights of the poor. While they still express these ideals, many of them have been influenced by the processes of conflict to use and abuse the poor as a means of victory by forced recruitment, requisitioning of supplies, summary executions of supposed state collaborators, etc. When the ends justify the means, the ends are almost always lost.

Conflict is rarely a bad thing in and of itself, but it is our approach to conflict that makes all the difference. By a "dominator" response to a "dominator," the only result is the inevitable victory of domination. But when a "dominator" is met, as you point out, by kindness, giving, and compassion, a whole new set of possibilities emerge. That, it seems to me, is a good, solid permacultural response to conflict.

Ben




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