Warning: Grains of Salt Required...perhaps the whole bag!

I have been mulling over the war as of late, thinking about some of the things that have happened to those I count among my friends because of it. Many of my good friends are quite heavily involved with this fundraising project, and one person who is very near and dear to me as well. I am rather discouraged with the responses they have had to their efforts and work, to the point where one person has been physically accosted while out shopping in Steelhead.

While I realize that not everyone shares the same point of view on this "war" (and really, isn't variety the spice of life?), I find that the escalation of attacks on these people who have spent vast amounts of their time to arrange, co-ordinate, plan, rehearse and otherwise have given a pound of flesh for this project disturbing. The bottom line is that this "war" (and yes, war is hell, but please....it happens all the time, usually not nicely scripted and following rules of conduct) is to raise money for a noble and worthwhile cause. I am also disheartened at the amount of people who, and pardon my choice of words, are whining that they were a) not consulted on this, b) were not asked to be involved in this c) disagree with this, so therefore it should not happen or d) think they know better than everyone else and therefore should be called in for their "expert" opinion. To my knowledge, no one involved with this war is a 4 star general or a military strategy planner. At the end of the day, this is a GAME. Surely to goodness there are far more pressing issues to be found at hand than these! I feel for the volunteers who have put forth such effort to be called down, ridiculed, belittled and even attacked by others.

I do realise this post is coming off as a bit of a rant, but so be it. Perhaps it is my own experiences as a volunteer in RL that are driving this, I do not know, but I do know that a good way to kill your community spirit and make your volunteers to quit is to critizise them, pick their efforts apart, attack, whine and complain with a self-righteous look upon your face. The ironic thing is, it is usually those same persons who are the first to raise the cry of "There's nothing to do! Why doesn't anyone plan something???"

I honestly don't know if there will be another event of this magnitude in Caledon. Perhaps time will dull some of the hurt and aggravation. I know lessons have been learned from this, but whether the group of people who are behind this venture will plan another is anyone's guess.

I suppose the bottom line is this....if you are one of those people who have been more of a stumbling block than a stepping stone, it's time to take a good look at your actions. Wouldn't more be accomplished if you held your tongue, said some words of encouragement (and really, even something like "Thank you for raising money for cancer" would be great...I'm not asking anyone to start loving war or fights or such...this is about fighting cancer) and then perhaps offered to help, even in a "behind the scenes" sort of way for the next event? I am reminded of something my 4th grade teacher said to us as a class..."When you point a finger at someone else, there are 3 pointing back at you". To those of you who have gamely played along with this, even if you aren't into roleplay, I thank you. This isn't everyone's cup of tea, but I'm sure with some common respect, we can all co-exist together on the grid.

*steps off of her soap box*

That is all, thank you.