Is it possible to have a discussion

Is it possible to have a discussion about ethics and or morality on a public forum that allows or advocates anonymity ? Most on here would agree that honesty is the best policy . My question is .... Are we honest because we want to be ? A choice to be honest ? Or are we honest because it is natural and part of who we are ? If given the choice , not knowing who we are , where we live , would that effect our honesty ?? I know some who are keeping score will salivate on this subject to subdue others . I ask it as an individual question for the person to ask themselves and if you want to tell us about it . Not intended to start a finger pointing salvo;s . prigz pizzing contest would fit here . Thanks prigz for that . :) B) ;) B)>>>

Wywoody, are you a words midwife? "Bloviate" is a interesting word. I don't think I've encountered this species before. ;)>>>

I am humbled.thanks for the support.>>>

Seconded, and thanks. >>>

Tico, your posts contain more honesty than anything we could bloviate on the subject. Good luck to you on getting that managers job.>>>

Yes Vickie,I believe in God. Twill,getting folks to understand what A kid is is sometimes the challenge. folks want to live through them vicariously.or they are punching bags,or sex objects,work mules,and to put it all together,the bottom of the hill. Patty,one thing I was told 20 years ago,on the recovery medalloin is no-ones name.everyone is given hope.it's up to them to recieve it. I enjoy being here. have A roof managers job offer coming up for A local outfit in Hollywood fl. I pray I get it.the guy was sayin they could use someone,yet he was kinda wishy washy.I told him I spoke spanish.he smiled all big and pretty. he and another guy were askin me A whole bunch of questions.(I had met them at an establishment I frequent the week previous,they were there also)all sorts of stuff about kettles,commercial,parapets,tile setting,in mud and foam,dade co. code,and on and on. then he says I got A biz and need someone to manage some jobs. I'm here with A knot tied in the end of my proverbial rope. hope it works out for me. thanks ya'll for bein here.>>>

Tico, what a story. In all that you didn't mention the good Lord. Believer? I always wonder why we are born into certain situations. I heard once someone say that we are given the parents we get to make us the people we need to become. All you have been through, wow. Thanks for posting here.>>>

Patty Cakes Thanks , That being said I'm not to sure you know me very well . Then again I'm constantly challenged about the idea of what and why friendships are . Not only is the challenge about our friends oh , oh here it comes . Our spouses . THE LOVELY MRS CIAK the person I am supposed to be able to talk about anything - Is it the same with anyone else . Our close friends know us better than anyone else in the world, and still like us... Whoa , baby . Could it be that there are giant parts of us that they miss entirely or we don't show them and or do we do the same thing with them. tico You are one of the lucky ones where honesty is automatic . You don't have to think about it . You don't have to decide if you are going to be ...you just are . A blessing >>>

not all honesty lies in truth.integrity,morals,values and ethics are paralell to each other. I don't feel that you can reside soley in one virtue and not in them all. you either are or you aren't. I spent alot of my life runnin the streets of miami as an animal.doing what any good kid would given my mom was A barmaid at A topless club and started working there when I was about 4.she did that for 25 years.my stepfather was A violent man.A jockey from panama.who resented me for my aloofness and lack of passion for what he seemed or deemed should have been important to me. he loved sports.except for football.I was A product of the redneck rural dade county setting.selling rattlesnakes to Bill Haas,moccs and whatever else we caught to the importers on milam and the shed pet shop on s.w.107 ave.I always and still maintain my serenity through the outdoors.I was ostracized from my family because I took to things other than what interested him.thus the outcast.he destroyed my child character with his anamosity and violence. I grew up to be that guy that sold dope,collected debts,and kept myself safe in that world doing WHATEVER I had to.yet,I always worked.roofed,was A lineman for the cable co. that ran all of the cable from west palm to key west.then left miami ahead of an investigation for A violent crime. so in 1981 I'm on the run.I go to NC for A cable job. and it all started again.with the same results.I landed then,in prison and did 4 for trafficking.got out built homes and shopping centers.got clean in the pen. started working A 12 step program.now 20 years later,still clean one thing remains in tact. I tell you all thes to say my point. I was A sick person,diseased,hated and hateful.lived what would have killed many.and did what folks wish they could do or dream about doing.that thought of if that SOB does this I'll do that.really?would you actually commit that heinous crime or would you just rest with the satisfaction that you thought about it and was it really worth the mind screwing that you just gave yourself? one thing never happened with me.it boils down to what integrity,morals and values meant/mean.during all of my insanity my mom would always say no victims.what that meant was A cross section of what we should all do socially. love thy neighbor,help and respect society. I have in my entire life never started an altercation with anyone outside of the business or the world I was living in with the people I was living with. when I was on the surface dealing with society I was responsible.no matter how bad my disease was I worked.if I gave you my word I held to it.your wife and kids,had someone assaulted them,that person would have immidiately felt the need to go see God. I was taught and raised by the redneck roofers,and carpenters and concrete guys that I worked with as A youngster on weekends what respect was.and consideration. how to conduct myself. why? because when I was born I was born with this innate sense of love innocence and compassion. something that all normal babies have. you see, once you got it you got it.you don't have to look for it it didn't get lost. I believe if your a bad person you are born with that genetic malfunction.unless of course you suffer from A mental dysfunction.they sometimes later have onsets. I did and do my best to be fair and honest.right now I'm struggling with being 50,broke,and disillusioned.yet when someone needs me I show up.just because my life sucks does not mean I can't stop yours from catching up to mine.I could sit and complain or WE can put A rope around your mules neck and get 'im outta the ditch. if you've got character and quality you'll always have it.yes that event of bad or poor choice will show up but A good person will make that amends. you,if your A good person with attributes you'll buff the problem back to A shine because you don't feel good about you. not because I don't feel good about you.>

This isn't a direction I had imagined this topic heading to so early . Very insightful prigz. Let's talk about the value systems of people we think we know and their anonymity . We think we know them very well. Are they hiding who they really are ? Do we know them as well as we might think or is that an illusion . If it is an illusion is it good or bad right or wrong , As a suggestion we probably know alot less about our friends and may I even suggest spouses ( whoa, this is dangerous ) We think we know them but , the question is do we ? As much as I admire THE LOVELY MRS CIAK I'm often completely wrong about what she likes or dislikes, I'm very certain about THE LOVELY MRS CIAK'S political beliefs . We have found a way to erase the tensions when it comes to tastes, our cherished values that sometimes are not the same. I'm guilty of low balling the ethics of some of my co-workers. I've also overestimated how happy THE LOVELY MRS CIAK is at times . I have myself to blame on this one . When we were younger Sex and ragging hormones were more important than getting to know each other . We deal with that now in a more conscious and mature way . Damn I miss being young J/K :laugh:>>>

Since morality/ethics are subjective, it is very important to know the context and value system within which a commentator is operating. If the statement "X is bad" was offered by the village idiot, we could give little weight to it.. If the same opinion was offered by someone we revere, then obviously the weight/importance we give it is much higher. So anonomity does not allow us to judge whether it is the village idiot or the revered elder making the pronouncement.

We also know that people have blind spots in their psychological or mental makeups. A person may be reliable and knowledgeable and logical in one field, and have extreme, off-the-wall ideas in another. If, for instance, Miss Zamboni, is a world-renown expert on Middle-East economics and the monetary system, but has some pretty extreme ideas on eugenics, then I would attribute considerable weight to her prononcements on economics, but probably be very sceptical of her other views. Again, under the cloak of anonomity, we just don't know what kind of credentials and track record someone brings to the discussion.

As for honesty on an on-line forum, people tend to be honest when there is a good chance they will be caught. If someone is known only by their avatar, what incentive do they have to tell the truth, and how will anyone "know" that it is the truth without independent verification? Perhaps, someone has to be undercover because they are in a sensitive position and their organization would not be happy to know that this person is sharing confidential knowledge. Or they really are nobodies, and are desperately trying to prevent anyone else from finding that out. Or... we may have ideas that we really don't want to share with people unless we really know where they stand. I don't think one can assume or even hope that what we read is the "honest opinion" of someone else that we don't know. Maybe it is, and then again, maybe it isn't.>>>