wwnelsonfive11 asked this question on 4/8/2000:

Fellow Experts:

I've only been an "expert" for a short time and I've been impressed with alot of the answers I've seen and rated.

However, I have a little concern about some of the intra-expert criticism recently. Not overly concerned, but enough to want to address it.

I believe that most of us are here for the same purpose. That is to use our experience and education to help others. I think we all agree with that. I would like to spend my precious time here concentrating on that.

There will always be those who will try to "pull our chain". We all know that happens all the time. How we react to these attempts is up to US, though.

Recently I was reading about a school teacher who understood "chain-pulling". One day all 22 of her students decided to pull her chain. While she had her back turned to them and was writing on the blackboard, right at the stroke of 12:00 they all dropped their books in a manner that would make the loudest noise. To their suprise she just continued to write on the board! When she finished, she went to her desk, picked up her book and dropped it in the same manner, and said, "Sorry! I was late!"

As I said, we have the ability to decide whether someone pulls our string. I for one am not going to spend much more time reacting, but spend as much time as I can afford answering those that are in need of our advice and expertise.

I've read and rated many of your responses to these needs and I believe we have a good group of truly concerned folks who are not here just to get good ratings, but to help others.

Continue your good work!

Your fellow "expert",

William (wwnelsonfive11)

Artemidoros gave this response on 4/9/2000:

Dear William, Thanks for your constructive comments. As a matter of fact teacher abuse is a widespread phenomenon and remedies to that situation very variable. The "pulling the chain" paradigm is of a great didactic value cause it learns us that a "chain reaction" can be reversible. Nevertheless although it may be considered as an ideal model, in reality there are cases where that kind of strategy doesn't work. In the situation you describe violence is axerced by a group against one single individual and is ruled by mob psychology. There comes the question of the relations between group and individual. Here the individual is not any but one with an important role. In one to one violence there is no third party present and the roles are symmetrical. This doesn't mean that the agressor and the victim have equal or alternate positions but it means that the agressor deliberately denies the victim's individuality and sees him/her as a reflection of his own fail-to-be. The victim on his turn sees in the agressor as something that can not be representable and therefore denies his/her individuality. It is the presence of a third party that gives meaning and signification to all that and that third party it's you, me and the whole community. Now I come to the point system. It is a most valuable tool to regulate human groups' behavior and is used in most spheres of community life: in road security, school,therapy and last but not least finance. So, if you have agood point system it can be of great help in achieving a groups objectives, variable from one group to another. Keep on doing your good work! A fellow expert

The average rating for this answer is 4.8.

wwnelsonfive11 rated this answer a 5.

artemidoros:

:) Your response reminds me of my days in grad school! Yes, you are right that this reaction to the "pulling the chain" is not a universal remedy. However, the in the context of my objectives, that of reminding my fellow experts not to react to the chain pullers in this venue, I think has value.

And I do use a point system in many of my treatment group sessions I hold with my clients in my practice. However, since this venue is such short term, usually no more than one e-mailed response I usually adhere to the KISS principal.....keep my answers as simple and direct as possible and try to educate the client and to guide them to local remedies.

I thank you for your comments and wish you success.

William