Quote:
Originally Posted by fiasco
I understand the apprehension you feel. I'm not a newbie to officiating. I will start my seventh year of basketball officiating in September.
I am a newbie to softball, though. I can understand how the "tag without the ball" came across as trollish. I was honestly, and without guile, trying to play devil's advocate because I didn't fully understand the rule (since it's written so poorly).
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Again, being honest is good. I've seen a lot of people get chased off of here because, quite simply, they veil their intentions behind their questions, and we get dragged into the middle of some p1ssing match. Stick around, and you'll see it plenty of times.
Quote:
Originally Posted by fiasco
I will, however, say that I've never agreed with the "don't take it personally" meme. I had a guy in a game last night who was arguing balls and strikes with me and then came up to bat the next inning and told me "hey, I'm just riding you a bit, don't take it personally." I called him out in the middle of the inning. I said, "When you speak to someone, you automatically make it personal. Don't absolve yourself of the responsibility of treating someone with respect by encouraging them not to "take" it personal when you were the one who "made" it personal."
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Well, in re-reading this thread, I can see who fired the first shot, and it wasn't Mike. Mike just tends not to mince words once this happens.
And no, you shouldn't take it personally. We're not criticizing you as a person, we're criticizing your judgment or your opinion. There's a huge difference.
I'll admit that I used to take criticism or disagreements personally. If someone disagreed with me, or if they felt that I did a bad job, I internalized it. I felt threatened. Then, years later, I had a boss who used to be in the Marines. Working for him taught me the difference between someone tearing you down to build you up and someone tearing you down just to tear you down.
If someone now tells me, "Dave, you screwed up" or "Dave, you're dead wrong," I don't get mad. I simply ask how, and if I disagree, I disagree.
So seriously... No one here is trying to tear you down for the sake of tearing you down. We tear you down to build you up, brother.