Commiseration

Being personable is not a sin.

Published on April 30, 2004 By greywar In Personal Relationships

SGT Pyramid led the pain session again today and showed that he can actually be personable

SGT Pyramid led the pain session again today and showed that he can actually be personable. The reason his mask slipped today was because he had been chewed out for something fairly minor and seemed to want a bit of commiseration with his fellow soldiers. Frankly, I am all for it. The PT session we had today was the best he has ever led in my opinion. Here’s hoping the mask doesn’t fall back into place.

Comments (Page 1)

oleteach

on Apr 30, 2004

Mr. young greywar, I have been reading your entries, as well as many others, with a great deal of interest. There are so many different points of view ranging from the rediculous to the nearly sublime. You strike me as intelligent, insightful, compassionate, well-read, inquisitive and receptive just to name a few of the observations I have gleaned from your articles. Still, do you not also wear various masks at times? Come clear. Do you really consider yourself at twit? As a talented linguist, why do you need to resort to vulgarity to make a point? Pre-teens love vulgarity as a sign of their coming of age. Why do mature people like many on these sites feel the need to express themselves in that way. Is this not a mask for something?

greywar

on Apr 30, 2004

Of course everyone wears many masks, this is a survival skill that children develop very early. If you want to make someone feel at ease in your presence you change your behavior to more closely mimic theirs. Any interpersonal communications class you take will teach body language emulation as a natural icebreaker. The point of my post is to illustrate that the mask the SGT Pyramid is wearing most of the time is not a very effective one for the leadership situation he now finds himself in. The Army used to teach that there are 4 elements of any leadership challenge : The Leader, The Led, The Situation, and Communication. Most often the Leader has control of only one of these elements, himself. Seeking to change the other elements in anything other than the very long term generally proves counterproductive. After all the Led are not their for the Leaders benefit, he is there for theirs.

As for the frequent vulgarity you need look no further than my occupation. I write the way I live. Massive usage of creative vulgarity is an art and a science in the military and to no small extent is used as a weapon in the struggles for internal dominance especially among males.

P.S. I did clean up the double post just for looks....

pseudosoldier

on Apr 30, 2004

"As a talented linguist"...
1) Do you have any proof of his skill with his target language? ; )
2) Would you prefer he use phoneticized Korean colloquialisms instead of swear words?

Everyone wears a mask or three, perhaps with the exception of some very boring people.

SGT Pyramid is a bit focused on being "hooah." One gets the feeling that he was stationed with a line unit (read: combat arms (read: guys with guns)) in the past, and is still trying to live up to that "lifestyle choice." Sometimes it doesn't work well at all in "soft" units.

greywar

on Apr 30, 2004

Pseudo - you have to go easy with oleteach, I am pretty sure she is my mom:)

pseudosoldier

on Apr 30, 2004

Okay, that rings true, actually...
Sister oleteach, if I have offended you, I apologize. I *really* don't think I was harsh up there (plz notice the winky smiley after the first comment), but perhaps it came off that way.
Honestly, I *do* have respect for Greywar's linguistic skill, at least as it pertains to his immediate job (and possibly ordering alcohol, although I haven't witnessed this first hand). I *do* only give this respect grudgingly, as if you give him an inch, he'll take a foot, and then thwack you with it (if only verbally. And probably not *you*, but definitely *me*).

ObligatoryOnTopicComment: While this PT session was the best one Pyramid has given, picking you up was probably a mistake. Although thank ghod that he decided against the Spetsnaz handstand push-up thing.

oleteach

on Apr 30, 2004

Oh damn, greywar, how did you detect that so soon?:} You know that I have hung on every word that fell from your lips since the day you first started to talk...the first began with long paragraphs, never in baby babble. I took many classes in my day but I don't recall any on "interpersonal communication." I probably could use one even at this late date. Also would like one on how decipher military acronyms. Pseudosoldier, don't go easy on me, just because I am someone's mom. What is trolling? Am I guilty of that now? I think that I am getting a real education reading these articles. It is never too late to learn even for an oleteach.

Arquonzo

on Apr 30, 2004

Hi Greywar's Mom!

Estrogen Lass

on Apr 30, 2004

hey mom!!!!

greywar

on Apr 30, 2004

Oh damn, greywar, how did you detect that so soon?:}

I am just that good

*thwacks pseudo with a foot of ego*

pseudosoldier

on Apr 30, 2004

*ouch*
(At least it was his *ego* this time...)
"Trolling" is simply the (misapplied) tag that the sysad has given to "bad comment" here. Trolling in actuality would be... hmm. Flamebaiting (Greywar *has* done this), name dropping (this too)... Being intentionally inflammatory in one's comments just to get a (usually negative) reaction. oleteach, I don't think you've come close to that.
And I won't go easy on you just because you're someone's mom (although I can't say that wouldn't have an impact). But I usually only flame the closest of my close friends, or people who really piss me off (which are very close, on my non-linear scale model. Hmm... maybe I have a blog topic there, for some time in the future).

greywar

on May 01, 2004

As it applys here trolling is usually used to give negative feedback to someone who posts comments that you think inappropriate for the topic. You have not come anywhere close to that.

oleteach

on May 01, 2004

Top of the Morning to you, greywar, ES, pseudosoldier, Arquonzo,
Now that I have been found out, I must tell you that I had quite a time getting to the point where I could make comments without the bothersome Navigator. Allen helped me to register correctly. I guess after the initial comments I had made on your early articles, the comment option was withdrawn until I registered. Now, is there a site that will teach me how to use all the options of blog? How do you establish a link to something you may want others to others to know about as it is a source of info etc.? Maybe I will just have to jump in and learn by myself. Have a great day and smile. It is infectious.

greywar

on May 01, 2004

If you go to the icon in the upper right hand side of your screen that says "My account" on it you will be able to change and add many things to your blog page.

oleteach

on May 01, 2004

thanks son, I have figured out a few things like how to use B, I , and U. I see where you can import an image. Haven't tried it. In fact haven't tried anything except comment. What is H Rule? Isn't it great to teach the teach?

oleteach

on May 01, 2004

one more comment, not on the subject! I told some of your cousins about your site, especially those who have been in the service. I thought they would enjoy your accounts of the changes that have come about in the military. Roberta responded by e-mail like this:
Hy oleteach!
Intrstin' sight! Haha! I read about 5 articles tonight. You are correct about the comments ... very colorful!

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