[bEdhEd]

I take GP as kind of a zen thing. I just let that gracious professionalism flow out when it does, and just let it happen. When we become more worry free, we are less focused on ours and others' flaws, and are more focused on how to improve the things we hold valuable. I think trying too hard to be GP might make you look like a self-righteous prick, and not having any GP might make you look like, well, a regular prick.

The question I ask myself when I come across conflict is this:
"do i need to make a big deal out of this?"
Almost all the time, the answer is no, and I don't let anything get the better of me.

I never saw FIRST as a perfect community and never knew that anyone ever thought it was. Of course we are all humans who invest so much emotion in what we do, that sometimes we lose our composure, and act in ways that are not "FIRST-ish," like cheating, or being disrespectful. But it happens and it just needs to be accepted, and when we accept it, we can fix it.

As long as the FIRST community is majority human, and minority robot, you'll never have a perfect community.

I also never knew that FIRSTers ever considered themselves to be so high and mighty. Sure, we may be looking at the world's future innovators, but that doesn't make anyone more righteous. It's just a career path. FIRSTers aren't superheroes, deities, invincible, or perfect. We just have a lifestyle that is different than many others, we have different priorities, different things we value, and we should take pride in our accomplishments only if it is appropriate.

And different does not mean better. Perhaps I never noticed so much moral arrogance because I never had it myself, nor did I ever seek it out or looked for it. All I ever saw as a student and see now as a mentor is that I'm in a really cool program where we compete with robots and inspire students, where being considerate to others is kind of a default. Now, is that a difficult concept to grasp at all, or one that even implies that we think of ourselves as better? I think not.

The true problem here may just be an epidemic of "butthurt-itis maximus."
My cure: just chill the heck out, have fun, and let the GP flow.