Sorry messed up the form.. I wanted to know if you think that bullying exists on the mena boards

They are not bullies just because they didn't like your Irish nostalgia poem.

well i hate it would have been nice... the other comments werent

LOL

a little better, it's a no or maybe this time.

i'd vote yes if it was an option.

Is there a point to stirring the pot further?

What is the difference between saying "I'm scared" and "I hate it"? Or saying it is disturbing? It all pretty much leads down to the same road of not liking the poem.

Your comment to brnidokiegurl was also out line which is what Angel commented on. You next comment (also out of line) called every reunited woman in MENA a nasty witch and a hag.

I agree with Charles I would have voted yes too, however voted maybe. I am not sure that bullying is the intent. I believe each and every person on here is well-intended....At times it is how the person chooses to words the comment. It's all about language.......you can still be confrontive or challenging and do this in a gentle way. These are really based on personality and a person's tendency to use particular skills in communication - IMHO. Of course I am obtaining my Masters Degree in MH Counseling (many skills are taught and practiced in open communication and dialogue, empatheic listening, validating ones feelings...etc...and all of these skills are important I believe to relationships and communication) and I am a Social Worker for almost a decade (YIKES), so communication for me is key.... If I need to confront a client and do it in such a way as to offend that person, well then my message is lost on my tactics...however if I use gentle confrontation....my message is conveyed in such a way that is respectful, empathetic...and when done properly the other person receives the intended message...IMHO - - - that is my two cents..............and I hope that this makes sense to all....

YES
YES
YES
YES

actually the 221 comment was more as a general comment and a real fear of mine...not really towards her


well we are at 66 percent as a maybe. Sorry I only put maybe and no


8 maybe and 4 no says that someone is seeing it besides me.... I dont know about you water is wide but I just miss my husband so much and I wanna see him and I actually just wanted to share a poem that I had written 2 years ago.. I did not think it sucked that bad ... but gotta test public opinion LOL

I would vote yes, and part of the reason why I think it happens is because some people's reading comprehension is lacking, they don't get what is posted and go off making assumptions. It's clear that there is room for improvement there.

no offense taken....i always remember when i first started here, alot of fighting, threads closed everyday sometimes every hour on the hour and sure i was in the middle of it and so was green and others..people suspended all the time. But the one thing that was always comment on was YOUR NEW YOU JUST DONT UNDERSTAND THE BACKGROUND etc etc well guess what a year or more later others are new and they just dont get it..how ironic.. if not agreeing and bowing down to everyone all the time is bullying then yes... the new ones will continue to learn and the old ones will just sit back and laugh and say yes i remember the day when.......

so true!

There is no other vote for me, it would have to be YES. Since I can't vote, yes I didn't vote, but please count one more yes for my vote. The reason I vote yes, is I have been bullied so many times by a few people that act like they know everything. It's like they decide they want to disagree with everything I say. I am only trying to help and the people that know me, know I am a good person. But I know God and the ones that really matter know the truth, the others are just hurting themselves and others by trying to bully on visa journey and they make this not as good of a website as it could be.

Paula

well we are at 11 maybes and 5 nos ( maybe means yes I think)

Um.. I think other people are agreeing with me.... And no they DONT know everything... And yes you have the right to post and be a part of things without a lecture

im sorry but i wd call it "racism". i found a few threads on "off-topics" attacking muslims and islam. i stopped reading any post out of my interest here.

I agree but I would add that I think some people are not entirely clear when they ARE posting. plus, just like any other aspect of life, we have here the diplomats, the tiptoers, the loudmouths, the judgmental types, the ones who MUST have the last word or always be right; we have it all. Over time I have often had wildly varying opinions of the same members. I truly believe that a lot of it is the fact that this is a WRITTEN forum and so so much is lost when we dont have tone of voice or facial expression. I think sometimes people write something that might be in a sarcastic tone but that is just so difficult to transfer in writing no matter how many smilies you use. Or we can read a post thinking its meant sarcastically when maybe it isnt. We would all be well served if we would slow down both when reading and when responding, make sure we are reading correctly and try to make sure what we are writing is really expressing what we are trying to say. Underneath it all we are a good bunch with more support and well wishing for each other than it often appears.
Cant we all just have a group hug and sing kum-by-ah or something?

um...
Normally I would say yes.
um....
No.....................

Just about the best post ever, Sara!



And, bullying does happen. But, it's usually because comprehensions get skewed and then it all snowballs into a dissection of what someone implied and wanted to say and has a tendency to say and dictionary definitions of the word sarcasm and bigotry and don't forget generalizations!!! until pretty soon nobody remembers the topic, but everybody remembers the insults.... But, it all starts because it is a written forum and there are many different personalities and opinions here.

I know that we all can't be nice or coddling or even agree all of the time. And what would we learn from eachother if we were all coddlers, enablers, and aggreed on everything??

But, I know that everyone is intelligent enough to be more tactful. Some just choose not to be. That is their right, but they are sometimes referred to as bullies.

We all have the sole control over what comes out of our mouths (keyboards).

Um.... I am trying hard to think about who I would bow down to. It sure as hell wont be anyone on an immigration forum LOL

wahrania - i guess you are forgetting the PM that you sent me that i found rude and offensive when some stupid argument happened a couple of months ago. i find your comments about Palestinians rude and offensive seeing as my husband is from Gaza. I find your posts to be overbearing and often off topic. But it's your right to post, but my right not to read. I'm not going to start a poll or stir up a brush fire about it. I learned the hard way from first posting on here, that the best way to deal with people that are bullies or offensive (IMO) is to just IGNORE.

I honestly don't see the point of this topic. How is this useful and helpful to people going through the VJ experience? IMO, it is an attempt to divide people. I don't deny that there are people that post here that can be rude and obnoxious. It is just not worth my time and energy to argue over petty stuff. Everyone has an opinion and you can't force people to change to what you think is right.

I'm not posting this to upset anyone. I think that I'm a fairly neutral person as I don't have a beef with anyone (that I know about). We aren't all going to get along ALL the time. But let's be adults and just get over it and move on.

PEACE out!

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