i apparently think and talk in a kinda abstract way. i don't see this as a problem, but it seems that others sometimes do. i'm ususally pretty precise, even though it can sometimes take a while to get to it, particularly if i'm thinking something out as i'm talking.
some folk seem to find this a burden, like there's some malice behind making demands on their attention.
i can usually get away with it in 3-d because i'm an affable sort.
but not all situations allow for that--here for example. this is why i make a hard distinction between roachboy and me.
there are things about this thread that confuse me.
like when you would pretend that directness is some kind of imperative, i don't know what you're saying really.
not everything is simple: not everything is obvious. it's often the case that being "direct"means trafficking in cliches the only function of which really is to exempt the person you're talking to from having to work too hard. as if there's an advantage to be gained from that.
i figure life's too short to bother with that.
this is different from being emotionally open, btw: its more about the way openness is expressed. there's no necessary connection between using short pithy phrases and being open. the connection seems to me an illusion...except insofar as you may find yourself talking with a particular person who demand this of you, for whatever reason. so when i do it, i'm generally just being nice. but chances are these people will never get to know me. it's just like that---you impose a little screen, you see little programming.
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a gramophone its corrugated trumpet silver handle
spinning dog. such faithfulness it hear
it make you sick.
-kamau brathwaite
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