People have tried to make it clear to you, Ion, that you will not be recognized by USMS or SWIM magazine unless you swim a lot faster. They have also tried to point out, in a nutshell, that your attitude comes across as sour grapes.
I am going to postulate that you would like to be recognized for overcoming whatever it is you have overcome. SWIM magazine doesn't have the space to do it. And they certainly don't have the manpower (interviewers and photographers) to cover every story there is to tell, especially in regard to overcoming adversity.
So, here it is. I wish everyone would take the chance to tell their stories. Think of it as a SWIM web page for sharing of personal histories.
I know Tom Ellison has an amazing story that I wish he would put here. I know of many other swimmers who have overcome tremendous adversity. I hope this thread will become an inspiration to us all, and that we will all realize, as I have lately, that: looking at the past can be painful, so don't (as long as you don't repeat it!), who knows what the future holds, so quit worrying about it, and be happy in the present because it's the only thing you really have control over.
Parents
Former Member
Originally posted by lefty
Why does ANYONE make ION's business their own? We all have out idiosyncrasies, that is what keeps life interesting!
Are you really serious asking "why does anyone...?"
If you are, go re-read Toms post that says "What have we become", especially the part about raw emotions. Tom has explained it rather well.
If that was a rhetorical question, then you're kind of doing the same thing that people whom you're judging for telling Ion to shut up are doing. Just in a slightly more polished and indirect manner.
Why do people make Ions business their own... Because he uses so many generalizations and lumps people together in categories, then gives a very negative arrogant and condescending opinion of those groups.
This is bound to either outright hurt people's feelings, or at the minimum play into people's insecurities. People who can let it just roll off their back are far and few in between.
When that happens, people tend to react with defensiveness or a counter attack.
One person does't have any more or less right to their own feelings as the next.
One thing I must point out, lefty, is that you are being defensive of Ions imperfections, but are being judgemental of the imperfections of his recent opposition. That seems little unfair to me. You're appealing to the 'opposition' to behave appropriately, and pointing out what is out of line, while you're making excuses for Ion. Are you trying to get people to give Ion special consideration for his personality? More than you are giving others? I'm wondering why? Do you feel Ion is inferior, and needs special consideration and protection?
As for Ion... At some point maybe he will remember the consequences of attacking a number of people at once to protect his ego, and learn from it.
I also think that when Ion starts putting people down they shouldn't be obligated to just hush up and take it, if it bothers them. Noone should be exposed to that. Yes, that would include Ion too. The trouble starts when he takes discussions too personally and not very objectively, and switches to personal attacks. It would behoove Ion to put some effort into expanding his personality little more in that directon.
I understand you may feel for Ion especially because he is outnumbered here... But, he's a big boy, let him fight his own battles. Trying to referee arguments with a lot of hurt feelings is not a good thing to be stepping in the middle of, since most often you're not dealing with rational objectivity, but with riled up emotion. There's no reasoning with emotion. It's best to let it subside.
Originally posted by lefty
Why does ANYONE make ION's business their own? We all have out idiosyncrasies, that is what keeps life interesting!
Are you really serious asking "why does anyone...?"
If you are, go re-read Toms post that says "What have we become", especially the part about raw emotions. Tom has explained it rather well.
If that was a rhetorical question, then you're kind of doing the same thing that people whom you're judging for telling Ion to shut up are doing. Just in a slightly more polished and indirect manner.
Why do people make Ions business their own... Because he uses so many generalizations and lumps people together in categories, then gives a very negative arrogant and condescending opinion of those groups.
This is bound to either outright hurt people's feelings, or at the minimum play into people's insecurities. People who can let it just roll off their back are far and few in between.
When that happens, people tend to react with defensiveness or a counter attack.
One person does't have any more or less right to their own feelings as the next.
One thing I must point out, lefty, is that you are being defensive of Ions imperfections, but are being judgemental of the imperfections of his recent opposition. That seems little unfair to me. You're appealing to the 'opposition' to behave appropriately, and pointing out what is out of line, while you're making excuses for Ion. Are you trying to get people to give Ion special consideration for his personality? More than you are giving others? I'm wondering why? Do you feel Ion is inferior, and needs special consideration and protection?
As for Ion... At some point maybe he will remember the consequences of attacking a number of people at once to protect his ego, and learn from it.
I also think that when Ion starts putting people down they shouldn't be obligated to just hush up and take it, if it bothers them. Noone should be exposed to that. Yes, that would include Ion too. The trouble starts when he takes discussions too personally and not very objectively, and switches to personal attacks. It would behoove Ion to put some effort into expanding his personality little more in that directon.
I understand you may feel for Ion especially because he is outnumbered here... But, he's a big boy, let him fight his own battles. Trying to referee arguments with a lot of hurt feelings is not a good thing to be stepping in the middle of, since most often you're not dealing with rational objectivity, but with riled up emotion. There's no reasoning with emotion. It's best to let it subside.
