While I can understand Juergen's reaction, I disagree with his conclusion.
In my view, all human beings are worthy of respect. All human beings are worthy of compassion. We don't know, none of us knows, what another human being has been through in their life. We can't know their suffering; we can't know the events that shaped their lives, that informed their relationship with the world. We can't know the flow of events, their karma.
Taunia's only posts to this forum have been in this thread. It is not unreasonable to assume that this person is not as knowledgeable on the subject of Alembics and of the market in used Alembics as most of us are. And that's ok. There are a lot of things that I know little about; and that's ok too.
And when our perceptions of the actions of others lead us to make judgments of the others' behavior, that's ok too; that's our karma. The next step, though, in my view, is to pause, step back, and see our karma, to see the events of our lives, to see our own suffering, to be compassionate towards ourselves. Then we can see that all of us our worthy of compassion; we're all on this little planet together. We don't have to react, we don't have to escalate.
All of us make mistakes, all of us are caught up in our stories, in our perceived separateness, our perceived differences, our ideas of what we like and dislike. Just stories. Stories, thought patterns, self preservation techniques learned as children to survive in the less than perfect world of the adults around us upon whom we depended and yet whose actions we could often not understand. For they were human beings too; making mistakes all along the way.
In the instant case, Taunia owns a very nice Alembic bass. If one assumes that perhaps Taunia is not as knowledgeable about Alembics as most of us here are, then it seems to me not wholly unreasonable that Taunia may have little knowledge of the expected market value of such an instrument. People may mistakes. Observations of human behavior might also suggest that it is not wholly unreasonable to expect that in such a situation someone might by chance become just a little embarrassed, or maybe defensive, or may react without thinking, or whatever; human beings are human beings. That Taunia, or anyone else, may think that we are ultra right frenandez fear mongers or ultra left Alebic elitists is ok. Taunia hasn't been here long enough to get to know us. This perception is a reaction based on a very brief interaction within which it was seen to be the case that the market value of the bass was perhaps significantly in error. It happens.
If we were all here at my house right now, I would suggest we all take a break and go outside and sit on the porch and watch the rest of this evening's absolutely beautiful and sublime sunset. And then we can plug in some Alembics and jam for awhile.
That's my view. Others will perceive events with a different perspective; and that's to be expected.
Sunsets. Each one is unique, and because each of us has a different perspective, no one will see this evening's sunset as you will see it. This evening's sunset will be unique in the history of the planet; and you will be the only one who will have the opportunity to see it as only you can see it, from that vantage point that your life, your karma, has brought you; here to this very point in time and space right now. We will only get a chance to view, to experience, a significantly small number of sunsets. They are truly precious. Often when I'm driving home from town, and I crest a hill and the mountains, clouds, colors, sunlight, trees, all of it, one deeply amazing and singular confluence of events and beauty; and I get to experience it.
We all suffer, we all make mistakes, we all have bad days, we all get discouraged, we all get upset, we all try to make sense of the world around us in whatever way we can. We experience tragedy, we worry about jobs, healthcare, family members, bills, mortgages. We worry about people we care for; we get upset with people we don't know, and those we know as well.
But it's all still pretty amazing. All of the history of the universe, all of the story of humankind, all of the actions of the generations from whom we are descended, all of the events of our individual lives, all of it has lead us to this very moment. All of it has led to the experience that you are living at this very moment. On this little beautiful fragile and oh so improbable planet. I find it pretty amazing. Every unique, precious, and improbable moment of it.
Enjoy your sunset, wherever you are.
