Why I dislike committees.

Funny things, committees.

I am a member of a social group of people who share an interest. We work as a team. Now, as far as I'm aware, working as a team requires teamwork. Teamwork is not a by-word for how much members of the team like or dislike each other. A team doesn't require its members to even speak to each other in order to function effectively. 

Now committees are, generally, a pain in the arse. This is because they tend to be manned by people who like to embark on little power trips, those with inflated egos, and those who are slightly out of touch with both modernity and reality.  They tend to forget that they are an elected body. They are given that gift by the same people they continually let down. They also tend to forget that they can be removed as quickly as they were elected.

Now if I were to make an ambiguous remark on my personal Twitter feed, for example, and another member of my social group happened to take offence to that remark, should the committee become involved?  Now, bear in mind that this remark has not made directly in reference to another member, but that this person has chosen to interpret it in a certain way.

I am well aware that sometimes the things I say may not be to everyone's taste. I know that sometimes the things I say are offensive, and I know that I say them to elicit a certain response or to start an open discussion.  I will not apologise for being this way, or for saying the things I say.  Nor will I pander to the feelings of other people who happen to disagree with my sentiments.  Of course, that isn't to say that I don't listen or take on board what other people think, feel, or say - on the contrary, in order to have a rounded opinion on any matter, one has to listen to many well rounded arguments and points of view.  I proudly defend all of our right to free speech, and will not apologise for the things I say.  I'm not sorry if I offend.  No one is asking you to agree with the things I say. Nor is anyone making you read it.

Amazingly enough, the incident that sparked this writing does not directly involve me, or anything I have put in the public domain.  This stems from the execrable behaviour of a group of outdated, boorish, puffed-up, self absorbed people who think they are the moral authority on all things great and good, when in fact they serve on a panel alongside like-minded trolls whom, it would appear, believe it their divine right to police the personal websites of those who elected them.

So an ambiguous remark on a personal Twitter feed is then turned into an allegation of bullying. 

Then the person fuelling the flames of these allegations is guilty of the very thing s/he is alleging.

Furthermore, it transpires that s/he is a member of the same committee passing judgment on the person accused of bullying in the first instance.  Am I the only person having a bit of problem with this whole shebang?

When you give monkeys power, they're still monkeys. And monkey is as monkey does.

I'm certain that the people I'm talking about won't have the faintest idea that I'm talking about them, because they're too absorbed in their pathetic little power trips to take note of anything that us mere minions are doing.  They would do well to take note, though.

What I put on my personal Twitter feed is my business.  If you don't like my business, don't read about it.  If you do read about it, and you feel the need to manipulate it into something that offends you, don't expect me to justify it.  Don't be so silly as to think the attention and support of a group of vacillators will somehow prevent you being offended in future, or that their supercilious finger-wagging is miraculously going to stop me from posting the things I want to post - yes, even if you find it offensive.

Real people deal with their issues with other people face to face, by behaving like adults.  I'm 33. I don't need a mediator telling me what they think the other person needs to hear because I don't say the things I say to make anyone feel better. 

I am able to decide for myself what I wish for people to read or hear.  I leave it at your discretion whether or not you wish to read or hear it.

Ultimately, that is exactly what I'm talking about.