Apologies in advance, this may offend some people. However, if it offends
you, please, before rushing off, remember that this is not directed at any
one person, this is not meant as a flame to anyone. These are my personal
observations and opinions. People are more than welcome to disagree or
agree with me, as they will.
------
I've been watching and interacting with the ferret world for some years
now, and there are a few things I've noticed fairly consistently.... No
matter where they're from, or how old they are, or who likes who, or how
many ferrets they have... There seem to be some main categories of ferret
owners online: those who genuinely care about ferrets, those who genuinely
care about politics, and a mix of the two. However, on the whole, I've
noticed that people seem to be in one extreme or another.
Sometimes, it can be hard to figure out which group people belong in. Some
people are so quick to lend a helping hand, it's wonderful! Willing to
make the rounds, do the dirty work and seemingly pull their own weight.
Then something will happen, they start spreading rumours, flaming people,
accusing people of doing things that they haven't done... Many people have
been affected by the spreading of rumours by this type of person - someone
who cares more about what they think is real rather than digging to find
the truth and trying to do what is best not for themselves, but for others,
and the ferrets. Then they start to believe their own rumours, and refuse
to help those people and/or ferrets because of some imagined wrong or they
don't know the whole situation where they think they do. I have spoken
with people who are the nicest, most generous people you can know, unless
you get on their bad side. After that, forget it. One person in
particular threatened to turn in one California ferret owner to the F&G
because they'd said something the person didn't like. I'm forced to
wonder... this helps ferrets - how?
There will always be people that you can't tell. They do their very best
to help ferrets, and believe that everything they're doing is solely to
help ferrets. However, those people may sometimes do something detrimental
to ferrets, sheerly through their eagerness to help. They can get angry at
people they don't understand, and get angry when they see something that
they believe is detrimental to ferrets because of information they had in
the past that was misunderstood or originally incorrect. They will fight
to the end for ferrets, but in fighting, they can often beat down people on
the 'same side'.
Other people can be real loudmouths. The type you love to hate. However,
despite their rough edges and sharp words, as soon as someone needs help,
they jump right in. They don't always tell everyone what they've done,
they don't care what other people are thinking of them or what they're
doing. Many of these people have many, many years of experience. They've
learned the limits of their knowledge, and will help to that extent, and
most will actively seek more information if they're asked something they
don't know. These people look like the kind you don't want to associate
with, until you dig a little deeper and get to know the person under the
mask.
Of course, naturally, the majority of people are reasonably polite, will
help where they can, rally support for those who need it, and genuinely
care when someone loses a ferret or gets into trouble. They'll send
supportive emails, maybe even call, give suggestions, and just generally
lend a hand. They'll stay up late to keep you company if you need it,
they'll search out information, and ask for help if they need it.
The last two groups are the types that ferret people really need. They'll
help with educating the public, they'll help with emergencies, or if a
ferret passes away. The first two *may* help, but they may well stab you
in the back as soon as look at you. Getting to know which people are
which, and knowing that some of these people really can't help themselves,
will help others deal with a situation when something *does* happen.
Because no matter how careful you are, how few times you post, how
carefully you word what you're saying, eventually, someone will jump.
It isn't what others do to you, but your response to them that counts. Try
to ensure that everything you do really does benefit ferrets. If you
aren't sure, then it's easy enough to ask others. Sometimes, by asking,
you'll get bad responses. It's the nature of the beast, unfortunately.
Those bad responses can be from a misunderstanding, or they can be because
what you are asking brings an emotional response to the people you are
asking - which means it may be a good idea to listen to what they're
saying. Overall, there really is no *reason* for flaming or abuse, but it
does happen. Learning how to handle it can be a slow process, but it is
possible, if you try.
Sam
[Posted in FML issue 2841]
|
