Civil debates and dissenting opinions

[MrJohnston]

I believe I was the "1" in the "1 v. 5" that has been referenced in this thread.

First, I need to clarify: I was pushing a bit on a tough subject and, after some sleep, see more clearly that I was not as tactful or well-worded as I typically am. I can see how my wording could draw some ire. Did others make mistakes? Sure.

What really surprised me, however, were some of the private messages I received. A few were rather rough. That's okay, I have thick enough skin and I really wasn't bothered by what folks said to/about me. I generally believe that what a person says about others reflects more about that person than those of whom s/he speaks. Besides, I would agree that my wording was poor and at least one of my messages was of questionable judgment. The messages that did get to me were those that were supportive of me.

* I was called "brave" for speaking up against "FIRST Royalty." I thought this strange. I just look at others as "people" or "fellow mentors" just as fallible as myself. Was this brave? I didn't think so - it was just an argument. If there is a perception that some people are more "special" than others or "royalty" with special privileges, we need to do some internal reflection.

* Some folks said that they agreed with my thoughts but feared stepping into the conversation. I sent them a note back, asking "why." The response: A fear of physical reprisal against their team. Really? I'm shocked. We spend a lot of long hours together and competing. We get tired. We make mistakes. Some conflict is simply going to happen: We are hall human. However, if we have mentors fearing a physical reprisal from another mentor, we have more serious issues.

Could these folks be over-reacting? Sure. However, I've been around competitive organizations for a long time and have seen good folks lose sight of sportsmanship, gracious professionalism, or whatever a particular organization might deem "good behavior" all in the name of competition. I can certainly believe that such a problem is possible in any organization - including FIRST. Sometimes we disagree on what "good behavior" might entail. However, there are some universal lines - one of which is putting somebody in a situation where they are fearful. This does need to be evaluated and investigated at a higher level.