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> one of the things that I've learned to do, through many painful years of hard work, is have enough personal self-regard, that the opinions and maltreatment fr
by brabel 5y ago
> one of the things that I've learned to do, through many painful years of hard work, is have enough personal self-regard, that the opinions and maltreatment from others doesn't have damaging effects.
That's a really great quote... a lot of people need to learn this. Offense must be taken to have an effect. You can choose to not take it.
Please don't misinterpret this to read like it's ok to intentionally go around trying to cause offense to other people... that's not ok! But people disagreeing with you, for example, is NOT offensive. People criticizing your work in a professional manner is NOT offensive. People having different cultures is NOT offessive.
- ChrisMarshallNY 5y agoSomebody posted something a day or two ago, about why Russians don't smile. It has nothing to do with whether or not they are happy or like/dislike people. It's just a cultural thing. Americans can interpret this as "they don't like me," and Russians can interpret Americans smiling as "they are laughing at me." Doesn't mean we can't get along. It just means that we need to be open to learning about the culture of others. If I have an unsmiling Russian friend (I have), then I shouldn't insist that they smile on my behalf, and they shouldn't insist that I stop smiling on theirs.