DeJONGHE: It is all about perspective

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As much as I enjoy sports I have had enough jumping, running, vaulting, splashing, batting, paddling, swinging, punching, synchronizing, tumbling, shooting, pedaling, climbing, lifting and riding to last me at least three years.

To cleanse my mental palate I have resorted to watching Say Yes To The Dress and reruns of Happy Days.

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DeJONGHE: It is all about perspective Back to video

Have also been watching old black and white movies and you know, they can be very suspenseful, heartbreaking, hilarious or frightening without any offensive language, violence or explicit sexual content. Funny how that works, eh? Today we need to be more “authentic,” which means as lewd, vulgar and sadistic as possible.

I also check in on the COVID pandemic updates. At this point, due to the variants and unvaccinated numbers, I continue to go out among people as little as possible, wear a mask and keep my distance.

Being a hands-on kind of person, I miss the hugs, especially from Morgan, more than many would realize but not to the point of putting myself, Morgan or anyone else at risk.

Weather is also something I track although it’s hard to take the weather updates seriously when they are so often contrary to experience. You would think in this age of enlightened science and technology, the weather reports could be a bit more definitive.

I did take some interest in what was going on in New York with the governor. I do not condone in anyway anything of which the governor is accused nor do I doubt it actually happened. This behaviour has been used consistently all over the world since time began. It is a complicated, many faceted, multi-coloured issue, which is not limited to the environment of the work place but is pervasive in schools, clubs, churches, sports, community organizations, etc.

We need to be very careful to judge each incident on an individual basis because there is so much that could go wrong in making a determination. Innuendo, suggestive inferences, provocative behaviours, unseemly comments, evocative interest and intentional physical contact are nothing new. It’s a dangerous game men and women play to attract and entice each other.

It is all about perspective. To some it may be considered offensive, to another encouragement and still another may see it as an opportunity. Some might feel disrespected while others respond in kind. The attention can be creepy from one person but inviting from another. It all depends on an individual’s particular sensitivity; how each person identifies the encounter?

Our judgment is also based on our perspective. Our life experiences and personal opinion of the perpetrator or the victim regulates, clouds or highlights our conclusions.

Is it a question of interpretation, fear, gender, education, power, culture? Is it a generational issue, a matter of degree? It is wrong if it makes you feel uncomfortable. It is wrong if it’s unwanted or uninvited. Individuals get to make that determination based on feelings and emotions. Doesn’t that make it a matter of individual perception?

We know misguided or aggressive comments or actions can cause trauma and an unproven allegation is destructive. Saying something happened does not mean it did and denying something happened does not mean it didn’t.

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