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Straight, Inc. and Derivatives / Beth Update
« on: August 21, 2007, 02:47:43 PM »Quote from: ""RTP2003""
I know Beth about as well as anybody here does, and I gotta say I don't think it's too cool to make light of or fun of her situation. She has my sympathy, I just know that she has some issues that I can not help her with. She suffered through Straight possibly more than most; pain is a relative, subjective thing. I'm not gonna go off on any tirade here against anybody, but I think it really sucks to make light of another survivor's problems. I think that many of us misplace trust in one another, possibly 'cause we share the common bond of having 'been there'. Well, we DO have that common bond, but if that is the only bond that we share, then that in and of itself does not make someone trustworthy. This goes against what was deeply ingrained in us in Straight's weirdo culture of 'transparency', 'honesty', and rampant snitchery and mindfucks. I think it's a mistake that is commonly made by survivors, trusting one another a bit more than may be appropriate for the situation. From what I understand, that is a symptom of PTSD, a condition which runs rampant through the ranks of survivors for reasons that are self-evident to those of us that 'were there'. Now I'm not saying that you can't trust anyone you meet in Survivorland, on the contrary, there are individuals that I really do feel the "deep and implicit trust" that Miller Newton tried to counterfeit each open meeting.....but individuals like that are few and far between, in and out of Survivorland.
I really hope Beth is able to resolve whatever issues she is dealing with, and I am sorry to hear of her recent misfortunes with her van and living situation. I don't think it's cool to make light of her, or any survivor in her condition. Just because I can not help her with her problems doesn't mean I think it's cool to make fun of her, I think it's kind of mean. Kicking her when she's down is really cruel. Coming from someone she knows and trusted, however naive and misplaced that trust was, just goes to show how careful you need to be when you place any kind of trust in anyone. The simple fact that they are also a Straight survivor is not in and of itself sufficient reason for bestowing this trust. This seems like an obvious statement to make, but I think it is something survivors need to keep in mind, because of the tendencies some of us have, to place inappropriate trust in each other, a common symptom of PTSD, I'm told by people who read case studies about that type of thing.
So anyway, give the Beth-bashing a rest, will you guys? As a personal favor to me? The poor girl's got enough to worry about as it is, there's no need to be mean to her, and it really isn't that funny at all.
Thank you for the post on not just B's behalf, but everyone elses too. Personally, I don't much care for her but I wish her no harm. When I found this place I was foolish enough to believe because we were all there I could somehow find the care and understanding I needed.
Some people I became cool with and others burned me. Lesson learned. I have to stop blindly trusting people and just flat out not trusting people. I think I'm not the only one here who continues to struggle finding a balance.
In all fairness though, she has said and done a lot of BS to people here. Yes, I understand she is "sick", but aren't most of us here to one degree or another? So I can't really be too mad about someone that has been burned by her treating her how she treated him / her.
It's posts like the one started in this thread, hers, the guy who threatens to kill everyone, and vicious attacks from others that just made me stop coming here more than once or twice a year. For those that have thicker skin than me more power to them. Just because it's the internet doesn't mean attacks aren't hurtful.