Hello again,
After my post earlier today I visited the Tanya Scorpion Girl Yahoo group (http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Scorpion-Girl/) and discovered that the Duke of Deception's words had hit home with a number of other people in the group as well. He made the tremendous point that for many among us the aim of "doing unto others as you would have them do unto you" seems to have been supplanted by the pursuit of money in order to achieve power and control others. It really warmed my heart that others in the group found his thoughts to be as profound as I do.

Just as encouraging have been some of the words exchanged on the Playhouse bulletin board over the past few days. It started with one of the European members commenting that none of the Americans had been posting recently. That prompted one of the regular American contributors to the board to pop in and just say he was depressed and trying to regroup, and that's why he hadn't been in contact in the past week or so. In turn, that induced me to vent my spleen a bit, yet again, in the Playhouse. I've edited the following posts a bit for clarity (and anonymity of members), but here are the most recent discussions from the board:



Date 1/17/2004 - 2:57 AM
Name Tanya
Email
Site http://
Comments Hello -- (Playhouse member), it's nice to hear from you!! I'm sorry you have been down. You just somehow gave me permission to pour myself a nice slug of Stoli on ice before bed. I'm starting to snap out of it, but since December I've been kind of blue myself. It appears to be affecting a lot of other people too. I say that because lately I've seen a lot of people descend to levels of behavior that I never would have expected. Is it desperation tied to the reality that the economy is bad here right now? Is it worsened by the fact that our society seems to have become so relentlessly materialistic? The economy sucks, people don't have money, it affects their self esteem- though it shouldn't, so they start screwing over other people to try and make an extra buck. That's what is at the root of my depression. People lately just seem so MEAN. And a lot of it appears to be in pursuit of money. I could cite a lot of examples of things that have happened recently in my personal and professional life. Never before have I noticed so many instances of greedy, unethical behavior, some of it on the part of people who I have known for many years. I trusted them in some instances, so their callous indifference in a few cases has really hurt...........

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Date 1/17/2004 - 5:49 AM
Name (European Playhouse member)
Email
Site http://
Comments Hi everybody ! Tanya and (Playhouse member) it is very hard for me to her from both of your bad situations. I always feel like home here because this is the place where my own recovery from depression of work and private life started exactly 8 months ago................ Yes, I also get the feeling that many things, especially the behaviour of persons, in life seem to be dominated by money. I guess the business you?re working in is no great exception, it sometimes appears that people you?re dealing in life with are only so long friendly as long as you bring them profit or cash. Otherwise they forget or ignore you. I?ve often seen that in our company over the last 7 years, too. Some employees seem only to identify with the monthly result of their bank accounts more than with the success of the whole thing, the wealth of the company etc. The problem is the higher you look in the hierarchie of business the worse it all gets. (Playhouse member), it?s also hard to hear for me you?re feeling down, too. I hope it hasn?t to do with work or family ! If yes, keep your head up, (Playhouse member) ! I wish I could do more for you both, Tanya and (Playhouse member) than only to post a few kind words, but I hope it helps at least a little bit to know that someone far away thinks of you both, too........................


Date 1/17/2004 - 12:39PM
Name Tanya
Email
Site http://
Comments Good morning -- (European Playhouse member), your words do mean a lot! I'm sure (Playhouse member) will agree. I'm very happy that the board here helped you through a rough patch. It's wonderful to hear that! ...........There really does seem to be an undercurrent of hopelessness around the country right now. Probably a lot of it has to do with the fact that we have our military fighting in the Middle East. It's impossible for the average citizen like me to fathom what they are going through, but they are never far from my thoughts. Life goes on as normal here at home, but that alone makes me feel kind of guilty. Our troops are in the middle of a war and I'm whining over my Grape Nuts this morning! ....I think that the war, coupled with the bad economy, has a lot of people down in the dumps. The government seems to be trying to pretend that the economy is not as bad as it is. Perhaps that makes some individuals feel as if it is only they who are personal failures as they struggle to pay their bills........
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I decided to post the Playhouse bulletin board exchanges here because they were happening almost simultaneously with those on the Tanya Scorpion Girl Yahoo group. It really is great that a lot of people are troubled by the same issues and are discussing them. It has improved my day and my overall outlook in a huge way to know that other people are concerned with the level of greed and lack of consideration for others that seems to pervade society in many places. Perhaps my posting all this out here where more people will see it will reaffirm the desire of a few others to strive to remain ethical even when they are very disillusioned.

My own disillusionment recently arose in part out of the fact that a mechanic I trusted stole my car, a company that I've enjoyed working for for years really took advantage of me in a particular situation, a model I thought I liked secretly filmed me on some webcams without my permission, and a loan broker appears to have doctored some paperwork to screw me out of some money. These are all people I had some degree of trust in. Some of them I have known for years. Maybe they were always greedy fucking assholes and I just didn't see it. Then again, maybe times are very hard for them so they feel compelled to engage in devious, underhanded behavior. Do they feel society is so corrupt that their own transgressions just don't matter? That it's acceptable to treat others in a completely illicit manner because everybody else does?

I'll share something else here because I don't think that she will mind. A friend of mine told me last month that she became horribly depressed when she saw a clip of a football game on the news. The coach of one of the teams was on the field and speaking on the phone while covering his mouth. She wondered aloud why he would do that and was informed that coaches often do that during a game so that no one on the opposing team can read their lips and discover what the next plays are. It seems like a minor thing but it upset my friend because she too has had to deal with a LOT of crap recently and was starting to feel almost foolish for still trying to be a moral person. Sometimes it certainly seems like no one else is. The clip of the football game was just the straw that broke the camel's back.

Today is a much better day for me now that I've been inspired by the sentiments in both the Playhouse and the Tanya Scorpion Girl group. I hope someone else's afternoon will be just a little brighter too.

-- XXOO Tanya