i really love what you write and the depth of experience from which you write it. one story that comes to mind for me is from a book i read recently, but which i can't remember the name of right now. a man who lived in a slum was beating his wife. he was going out and getting drunk often and coming back and doing this. his wife was doing everything for him and it pained everyone to see this. one night when he came back, he found many members of his slum community there (they were incredibly tight knit). they played along with the drinking cheering and toasting him and getting him more and more drunk. but, when morning hit, they didn't stop. he asked for water and they said no- no, have another drink! they did this to him until he was begging out in the harsh sun for relief. they kept him drunk for a couple of days and as he slowly became sober, they recounted everything he had done to his wife. they helped him to see. after that, he did sober up, with community help, accountability and support.

this example may be a little more drastic than what you're bringing up. yes we need to be in a calm state when taking in feedback and information, but sometimes people are hard nuts to crack. one thing i loved about this example is that the community took it in their hands not to ignore an issue, to jail or excommunicate the person, but to face it head on and demand better.

in many ways, we must start talking real talk to one another if we are going to shift the ways we learn to live on this planet. thanks for the reflection <3 ~wren