Everyday Canvas

WdC Group-memberships and such, and Political Candidates

Prompt: Why do people join groups and then not participate? Is it important to belong to a group for the sake of community whether you are active or not? What do you think is the reason for the non-participation? If your name was removed for non-participation would you inquire why or simply leave things as are?

I know both Blog City and BCOF have similar questions and it is for a reason. I'm sorry for the inconvenience and there are alternate prompts if you choose not to answer my question.


Alternate prompt: Do you think the states/ countries should have to fund the expense of an official to run for another government position. Like here in Jersey Christy is running for President, while he is campaigning things here are neglected. Is that true where you live when officials are politicking. If your government is different explain, please.

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Hahaha! It looks like the prompt will end up being longer than my answer.
I want to answer both prompts although I told myself I wouldn’t fool around with more than one.

Prompt 1:

If someone goes in a group with her/his own free will, I certainly expect them to participate, at least in some minimal way. I understand we all have other lives and do not have too much time. Still, there is such a thing as keeping to promises and commitments. Then, if I am kicked out of a group without any explanation, I’d respect the group owner’s better judgment, but this hasn’t happened…yet.

There is, however, a situation, which has kept happening to me in WdC for years. People include me in their groups, sometimes without even my knowledge. If a person is in a group she has no inkling of belonging and hasn’t made a commitment, you can’t expect them to participate, can you?

Coming to those who willingly ask to be included in a group, then they are missing in action:

Have you heard of the Impostor Syndrome? For some reason or another, --my guess is, for showing themselves as involved members in WdC to impress people, other writers, but especially the reds—WdC members ask to be a member of a group, then they evaporate into thin air. When I had a group or two, this absence by members happened to me. Eventually, I gave up on the group business. It works better for me to work in a group, then be the owner of it. Ownership is fine when there is a good set of rules and a body to enforce them. Since both the rule-setting and the enforcing body means the group owner, this has proven to be way over my head.

Back to the impostor syndrome: Impostor syndrome happens from fear: from resisting feedback or from fear of involvement. It lures the writer to sabotage himself/herself, by getting him/her used to abandoning projects, destroying them and other people’s enjoyment of them, and even destroying his/her self-respect and her/his image in the eyes of the fellow writers.

If a group member has been active and has suddenly stopped, first I would give him or her the benefit of a doubt. Heaven forbid, he or she might be dead or incapacitated in some way.

Or he or she may be planning to come back after getting over the hurdle of whatever it is that holds her or him back. Still, a heads up to the group or at least the group owner would be the polite thing to do.

Prompt 2:

My answer is no. Absolutely a big no.

After all, this is a job situation. Where is it seen that a Company-A shoulders all the costs of its CEO for his efforts to be accepted into a Company-B, and thus, leaving his work in Company-A shoddily done or left in the middle or undone?

I am sure the situation is the same here and everywhere else in the US. I think the only solution is not to fund those candidates and even expect them to resign from their current office before running for another office.

Although no one would ever listen to me on the subject, still it is here, my two cents. And I managed to write longer than the prompts. Me and my big mouth!