trancework

Again, to all concerned, I joined this forum to talk about birds and have a little bit of fun. My intent in anything that could be perceived as a "challenge" was to acknowledge what I've observed as a pattern of alienating users, to which I'd personally borne the brunt on a notable occasion. I spend my time doing things that I find enjoyable, I spend it by choice. Given what I've seen as a "shoot from the hip, edit later to make 'more respectful or socially acceptable'" pattern by some of the senior members especially to new members, I called it out. I think it's best that I leave, that's my choice. Whether it was intentional or not, a personal line of mine was crossed by a senior member, and I've decided to walk. The grey world's none the worse for it, and I wish everyone the best.

To anyone who may be interested or concerned. The term "tranny" is widely know to be a homophobic epithet. A senior member has used it several times in this thread to address myself. As a personal rule, I will not abide hate speech, be it based on nationality, race, sexual orientation, or any other criteria. I do not believe I've ever needed anyone to "stand up for me" nor have I the sense of a "position" other than expecting and upholding the standards of respectful engagement. I feel that that is not a value shared here, and thus I take leave. I wish you and your birds all well.

Quite frankly, I'm surprised you chose to take what I wrote that way, Jay. To each is own.

I know for a fact that the responses in this thread have probably driven someone away from this forum, permanently. I think that's a shame and believe that we, as a community, would benefit from examining what's happend here. 1. A member heard some information from someone at a local bird club. [Was the infomation accurate? Probably not, who knows? Was the infomation delivered for a nefarious purpose? Likely not...] 2. That member shared the information here... 3. Other forum members consumed that information and replied. I can see those replies as falling into three categories: 1. Useful things you can try to do with your bird that may or may not hinge on the validity of the information. 2. Advocacy on the bird's behalf backed by subjective reference to other of the user's posts and threads. 3. Third-party support of members other than the original poster who replied. I see a lot of value in replies that fall into category 1. Those of categories 2 and 3, not so much. I am perphaps biased, as I view my reply falling into the first cagegory. I read the situation as "Ok, you have some info, here are some things you might try and see how they work, making adjustments along the way..." Then there were other replies, that I belive were well intended, but just sounded harsh. I personally saw the "original" version of some of the replies as caustic and counterproductive and I know that that is how they were perceived by the original poster. I find it bothersome that posts on this board are open to editing so long after they've been written. This enables people to shoot from the hip, regardess of how those words will be taken, what hurt they will cause, and to respond without due for their impact--knowing that they can be "taken back", "amended", or "redacted" to suit how the poster wants to be perceived after their sting has sunk and the damage has been done. If something's posted, then STAND BY YOUR WORDS, warts and all, and if you didn't mean to say something MAKE ANOTHER POST perhaps along the lines of, "Sorry for my comments in Post #701, it wasn't what I meant to say and rereading them, I can see how I came across as a total ass. Here's what I would really like to say..." This is a basic case of "think before you speak" and "treat others as you'd like to be treated", etc. Coming back after the fact and making things said "disappear into the memory hole" just wreaks of bad mojo. The case of people supporting members who make statements that can be perceived as caustic, can come across as something of a pile-on. This too is bad mojo, and I'm speaking from first-hand experience as the recipient of such treatment. I had a thread go bad when I posted about intentionally letting Ollie test the limits and using that as a chance to give feedback. Following the effects of that thread, taken as "oh not this shit, again", several members contacted me with statementst to the effect of "Wow, that was harsh, I'm glad you stayed, it's happened here before with bad results." Personally, I don't care, I have an ultra high-stress job at which I'm truly exceptional and live a pretty good life. Any greif that would come my way for posting my heart-felt thoughts with WORDS I STAND BY on a Parrot forum--not even on par with the average hang-nail. I have means, if I "needed" it, I can go to my regular avain vet, a nearby emergency vet, in a really tight pinch the nearby parrot rescue 24x7. For less dramatic events, I could pay to have an avian behaviorist visit, etc, etc, etc. I am a benefactor of said awesome local rescue, and I am a member of an UTTERLY AMAZING local bird club. Maybe some others aren't in that situation and this forum could be one of the main resources at their disposal. It'd be a shame for them to tune it out because of something someone said here in... I participate on grey forums out of an interest in birds, not egoes, and if someone wants to ban me for these remarks or any other reason, I have plenty of things to do with my time. But, like many here, I find it rewarding to offer help and insight because I care about greys, and am constantly learning and making my birds' lives better, just as I've been doing since I was 5 years old with my budgie Tippy. I hear many of the "there's so much lived experience" statements on this board, and have no doubt as to their validity and knowing what that entails, see this as establishing many of the members on this board with a certain degree of authority on the subject of grey parrots and their health, enrichment and upkeep. And that's great. In business, I've watched several firsthand trainwrecks as brilliant folks who are authorities in their fields have been blindsided by either an underappreciation or inability to exercise actual influence. Essentially, if you do not connect with someone, they'll never get your message. The worst case is when the lack of influence by virtue of "I am the authority, you must listen to me" drives the recipient of that message away because she or he feels diserspected or invalidated, and that, I fear, is what's transpired in the few posts in reply to a young lady, sharing with the grey community in what she saw as a safe and nurturing space, the comments that someone made when she reached out to another community to try and connect with caring people who want nothing more than to share experience that may help her make life better for HER bird, Irwin. And with regard to the comment "is your bird a test subject"--we're all test subjects in this grand experiment to find meaning on a rock circling the universe pulled toward a giant ball of nuclear fire. I'VE CHOOSE TO DO SO WITH A GREY PARROT ON MY SHOULDER AND I BELIEVE I'M NOT ALONE.

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funny video

[/i]LOG ENTRY: SOL 61 How come Aquaman can control whales? They’re mammals! Makes no sense. [/i]

Thank you for posting that! I'd never heard of them before seeing them in the "How to Kill Your Birds Without Trying" Safety Guide. http://www.berkscountybirdclub.com/index_files/How%20to%20Kill%20Your%20Birds%20Without%20Trying.pdf

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Thanks, feel free to... There's tons of links on this page alone, and an entire internet for available for your amazement.

And, no, I do not corporally punish my bird.