Controversial Views

I understand how you feel LB, but this is a Tarot discussion form, a place to write about our opinions about tarot. I don't think you need to apologize. It's an OPINION.

If we all had the same opinion about tarot wouldn't it be beyond boooring? It would be The Stepford Tarot Forum.

It would be so tedious if there was no discussion, no spark, no heat.
When people have passionate feelings about a subject, I feel that's when things get interesting. Especially when someone else is equally passionate about the other side of the argument.

I think it's easy for people to take things a bit too personally sometimes, and get defensive. Being a strongly-opinionated person I have NEVER been on either side of that, OH NO!

Keep it up, LB.

Personally if this was the kind of forum where everyone was so politically correct that no one ever expressed an opposing or strong opinion I'd have battered myself into a coma and left.

Maybe Not.

Well, dear LB, on the other hand (and there must be another hand) if you have a feeling that you were too harsh on blue_fusion....maybe you were.

I often find that when I think I did something "wrong" it's because my motives were not pure.

What was your intention in posting those comments?

With respect....Debra

I have had that difficulty on here a few times. I thought maybe I had not expressed myself well enough. It is a form of communication after all. If people insist on assuming the wrong reasons for your post then there is not much you can do about it. Clarify and move on that's all. Some people do not like to be disagreed with even if pleasantly stated.

IMO- if people wanted a "preaching to the choir"- 'head bobbing" type atmosphere to learn and explore tarot the would not be involved with a site this large. I personally can not function in that type of environment and would be leary of a discussion board where every one supports every artist- every deck of cards or every school of thought- minus the differences we would be left with pure propaganda-feel good marketing and something unreal. This may be sound crazy but I don't agree with "myself " all the time- and a good bit of my life is spent considering things from different angles and perspectives- and that is what happens "solo" - I cant imagine it being any other way and still consider myself to be living- or alive- and by the same token- a forum with out contradictions or varying opinion's would be just as dead.

Anyway-I'm kind of new here and very new to tarot- but since I have been here you are one of the people I enjoyed reading as a lurker-

Stormwitch said:

Personally if this was the kind of forum where everyone was so politically correct that no one ever expressed an opposing or strong opinion I'd have battered myself into a coma and left.

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Ditto!

*points an accusing finger* YOU!... don't have to feel bad about it. nor apologize for it. hee hee it's really your opinion, and like I said, i don't necessarily have to agree with it, but I respect it. besides, all those smileys i included in my reply were there to say i didn't take it negatively (nice thing them smileys, i guess they were created to fill in for facial expressions, at least online). being opinionated doesn't make you a horrible person. like what everyone said, it would be boring (and stagnant) if everyone just agreed with each other. how bout a... man-hug to cheer you up? haha just kidding.

Call a spade a spade Littlebuddha...

You've never been rude that I have read, you give your opinion in an honest way and you take flak for it at times... but you take it graciously too.

The written word is sometimes taken the wrong way, and it's so easy to do that, but you write very well.... as you speak, and I love that.

I've learnt though, that it's OK if someone disagrees with me, it doesn't make them right, or me right, but it does make the reader see both sides. There isn't always a need to reply back to people that disagree with you, people see around posts and between the words too.

Relax and enjoy, or I'm going to have to get on that train one day....

Moonbow* said:

Relax and enjoy, or I'm going to have to get on that train one day....

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There have been so many wonderful and thought provoking posts here that I would adore to quote and talk about [and probably will], but for now, I will centre around this one, because I am going to hold you to that Moonbow. How many times have we 'nearly' met?!! hehe.

A few things stand out here though. What my friend Debra said. In this case, my intentions were 100% pure in that I would never want to hurt Blue Fusion's feelings, but had my opinion, which I felt offered balance. Now, if I had never known that he was on the board [or that we actually had our own history of pm chats etc, many years back], I would have just come out with what I thought and that would have been that. He would have been annonymous so any feelings of guilt would have not existed. But the reality is that we have spoken before and that does alter things. I think I was kind of mixed in that I freely gave my thoughts on his work but also didn't want to piss on his bonfire - having your artwork published is an amazing achievement. I am very very happy about this, regardless.

Someone here said [it might be Cerulean - another dear forum friend] about lightening up. And as much as others have said they learned from different opinion, I have learnt that maybe I do need to try and appreciate things away from my fixed idea of what is good or bad. I mean, I have a very blinkered view in a lot of ways, which can often not deviate. I believe in the things I say but I am learning that I should open my eyes and see other avenues to stroll down. And if I don't wanna stroll, I can smile and wave at those who take those paths.

One thing I will do, is not repeat myself. I have stated on many occasions what I feel about the physical presentation of LoS decks. I need not say it anymore and will give Riccardo a break in that area from now on [you have that in writing Ric ].

Thankyou for all your comments. I didn't want this thread to be all about me. So maybe we could twist its direction a little and talk about opinion [diverse, at it's best]. I think that it is a really great thing that so many creators share here. How great is it, that I can look at a card and think 'I wonder what the artist felt when they designed that?' and then pm them and find out?! It is a luxury. But on the other side of things, it does/or can hinder what we do say. How many people have bashed poor old Crowley and said that Pamela's drawings were shit? If they had been a member of the forum, they might have topped themselves.

But an interesting thread, if I do say so myself. Would be interestuing to hear from more creators, on the other side of things [if they can drag themselves from their own deck threads, hahaha]. I am sure that there is a lot they would like to say but don't, because of their position. They might see things they don't like but feel they better say nothing as it might seem like sour grapes. I have created here. And I often wonder if people think 'what does he know ... look at the crap he came up with'. And too add, Blue Fusion, I am in the process of creating something else, which has very little depth.

Keep the interesting points coming.

LB

connegrl said:

And ya know I do wonder about the future of Tarot. I feel that someday a deck is going to come along that is going to turn the Tarot world upside down....only it wont get the chance. It will be so ground breaking that only a handful of people are going to be open enough to really look at it.

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I just had to quote this.

connegrl said:

And ya know I do wonder about the future of Tarot. I feel that someday a deck is going to come along that is going to turn the Tarot world upside down....only it wont get the chance. It will be so ground breaking that only a handful of people are going to be open enough to really look at it.

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Infact, it was such an interesting thought, that I had to quote it again

For no other reason that it really made me think. About my own blinkered views, the way of tarot in the future and our expectations. Very thought provoking.

LB