Call Me Names, Please

Everybody has a frame of reference. Everybody has some sort of past history, and a degree of learning. In addition, people have a tendency to get very emotional, especially about politics and religion (there's a good reason these are subjects not to bring up at a dinner party!) Adding to the fire is the aspect of the anonymous chat room -- people will say things in one of those rooms they would never say to you in person.
So, in short, if you want to practice your acceptance and diplomacy skills, there is no better place in the world to be. I love the fray. So many people try to talk past one another, instead of listening to what the other person is saying. In addition, ad-hominem attacks are rampant -- why discuss the issues when you can just call the other guy a name? (BTW, the trick to the ad hominem attack is knowing where to stop. The best attacks goad the other person without making you look like a goon. It's a tricky art.)
A lot of times as a consultant companies pay me to change their systems. Most of the time the company thinks if they buy a tool, hire a consultant, and spend a little money everything will change for the better. This is rarely the case, however. Why? Because most organizational problems are people and personality problems, in short, the same types of problems we see in these chat rooms only in a much more subtle context.
So what is the goal of my weekly excursions? The trick is to take a group of people who have various passionate opinions and positions and try to get them to think outside the box a little bit. Try to work towards solutions that everybody can embrace. There are no magic answers, but there are skills you can practice. And sometimes you can practice them without spending a lot of money.