I have been pondering for some time about whether or not I should write this post. Like many people, I came to Steem for the money but stayed for the people. I stayed for the community!

But now I am facing a huge internal conflict. I am struggling because I have friends on both sides. There are people I care about that have moved exclusively to Hive. There are others who I care about who did not/will not make the move.

And many of us, myself included, are trying to find out what the "new" normal looks like as the dust settles. It kinda feels like trying to fix an airplane that's flying at 500 miles per hour at 10,000 feet. You should never fix an airplane under those circumstances, but such is life!

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East Versus West - Cultural Nuances

I am not sure anyone ever intended on the battle lines being drawn across cultures. But as the story has unfolded that appears to be the case.

I have heard:

• accusations of racism
• "you only stayed because you were bribed to stay"
• "you only left to protect your money and power"
• I hate ____. (insert your least favorite blockchain here)

I appreciate that real people have real feelings of hurt and anger, but those feelings sometimes prevent us from understanding each others' points of view (worldview). I firmly believe that there are cultural nuances that are making the Steem - Hive conflict even more challenging. And to be honest these nuances have probably always been rumbling under the surface of our "community." But recent events have brought them to a boil!

Quick Caveat: Understanding someone's point of view does not mean you agree with that point of view (worldview). But if you don't understand someone's point of view it is near impossible to have a civil conversation with that person and/ or combat that point of view (if necessary).

Quick Rabbit Trail:* I watched the movie Midway with my wife a few days ago.

This WWII movie, based on "real-life" events, had many incredible characters, but two of my favorite were an American military attaché and a Japanese military attaché. These men spend years of their lives engaging a foreign culture so that they could (in the best circumstance) find allies and (in the worst circumstance) better understand their enemies. They understood the other's worldview.

A bit of background

I want to offer a small theory of mine that might shed some light on what has taken place. I think that the issue of guilt versus shame is important in light of recent events.

I do not consider myself to be an expert in ancient or modern eastern cultures, but I did spend over 10 years of my life in Indonesia.

During that time, I was stretched and forced to grow in ways that I never expected. I was forced to evaluate another culture and re-examine my own. And as I arrived at the end of that part of my life journey, I had to admit that my time in Indonesia made me a better person. I was changed by the people I met and by interacting with their culture.

Some of my western values and ideals grew even stronger over that period of time. Some of the western principles I use to think were important did not consume/fill the same time and space in my life. I was changed!

Guilt Versus Shame

One important nuance that I had to examine was the idea of guilt versus shame. I believe that all culture operate with a mixed degree of guilt and shame. Historically speaking, I would say that eastern cultures focus more on shame and western cultures more on guilt.

This is a generalization (perhaps accurate, perhaps not) that I have come to personally. In no way does this mean that all people in a specific culture adhere to the same views of guilt and shame. Neither do people experience them equally nor under the same life situations. We are all uniquely different, and we are all uniquely impacted by our culture.

Psychology Today gives the following definitions:

Guilt: a feeling of responsibility or remorse for some offense, crime, wrong, etc., whether real or imagined.

Shame: the painful feeling arising from the consciousness of something dishonorable, improper, ridiculous, etc., done by oneself or another.

Guilt arises as a result of our actions, while shame reflects the painful feeling of how we might appear to others (or ourself)

Steem versus Steemit

I might be wrong, but it appeared to me that a large number of the community elected Steem witnesses were/are more impacted by guilt than shame. Again, this does not mean that an individual cannot experience both but based on how they have spoken and the cultures they were raised in, I believe this to be true.

Why? The message of the witnesses who moved to Hive have strongly stated that they believe Justin Sun is guilty of doing something wrong.

As a result, they choose to take actions that would right that wrong and Hive was created as a result.

I might be wrong, but I believe that Justing Sun is primarily driven by shame (or more importantly by avoiding shame). I believe this because of his cultural upbringing.

Why? Because Justin's actions do not appear to be driven by whether something is right or wrong (at least as defined by western cultures), but rather about how his actions impact his honor and/or shame in his circles of influence.

When I read recent Steemit Blog messages, I hear a person who is trying to increase honor and reduce shame. The general message does not address actions but rather perception.

Final Thoughts

This post could be a complete waste of time. I could be completely off my rocker. But I don't believe that is true.

As we continue to move forward, regardless of the fork in the road you chose, I hope that I have shed a bit of light into the worldview of "the other side."

I hope that you will have a greater understanding of your current enemy (if you choose only one chain) and a greater understanding of a potential ally (if you choose to engage Steem and Hive).

I want to hear from you.

• Which worldview do you tend to operate in? Shame? Guilt? Or Mix?
• Have you already made a decision about which chain(s) you will use moving forward?

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_{FYI. I will be cross-posting this post on both Hive and Steem.}