"An
eye for an eye will only make the whole world blind." -Mahatma Gandhi
Conflicts can arise
anywhere and the quote by Mahatma Gandhi nicely illustrates how conflicts are
bad and it will be highly beneficial for us to make a conscientious effort to
try and resolve conflicts, especially interpersonal ones.
Max
and Kenny were friends and had known one another for quite some time. They are
studying in the same university and are sharing a room at one of the hostels in
the school. One day, Kenny came back to the room only to find that his computer
was no longer working. He then begins to question Max as to what had happened
and why it had happened. Max himself, was not too sure if the computer was
spoilt because of him but told Kenny that the computer was still working fine
the last time he used it. Kenny then gave Max a bewildered look as he continues
to wonder about how his computer could have been spoilt. Max however, got angry
as he felt that it was just a small issue that could easily be settled by purchasing
another new computer and told Kenny that he was making a big fuss out of it.
Having heard that, Kenny exploded immediately and scolded Max before stomping
off angrily. Max was taken aback by the huge reaction.
After the incident, Max tried to talk to Kenny
but Kenny gave him the cold shoulder and did not want to speak to him. Friends
of both Kenny and Max got to know of what had happened between them and tried
to act as peacemaker but were unsuccessful. One of their close friends, Peter
told Max that Kenny had exploded that night because of the sarcastic comment
and he had been tolerating his bad attitude and speaking manner for some time
now. Kenny was in a particularly bad mood that day because he had just broken
up with his girlfriend and that incident resulted to his negative reaction. Max
then asked Peter why Kenny didn’t try to confront him about his unhappiness,
only to be told that Kenny had actually confronted him but it was no use. Max,
however, never felt that Kenny had actually sat down with him to talk about the
issue and thought that Kenny probably did hint at the underlying problem, only
to assume Max had gotten it.
With
both parties being unhappy about each other, neither of them were willing to
end the “ cold war “. Meanwhile, both of their friends were caught in the
middle of their problem and did not know what could be done. In addition, both
parties were stubborn, making the issue even harder to resolve.
What do you think Peter or
even their other friends should do to resolve this issue?
Or What do you think Max and Kenny could have done to prevent the incident from happening ?
Or What do you think Max and Kenny could have done to prevent the incident from happening ?
Commented on: Angela
Hyirahh Syahirahh
Kok Zheng
Kok Zheng
Hi Steven!! I believe that as a friend of max and kenny, you could try to intervene and know each side of story. By knowing each side's story, i believe that you will be able to apply our concept that we learn on resolving interpersonal conflict and solve the cold war between kenny and max!
ReplyDeleteHope that will help you. :)
Hey Steven,
ReplyDeleteI feel that both of them should ensure the real story instead of assuming or going through a third party as passed down information coming from other people may be inaccurate, stirring more rumors and problems. With this, i feel that should sit down together with the presence of their close friends and talk about it. Hopefully this will help resolve the conflict (:
yours sincerely,
HyirahhSyahirahh
This is a very thorough description of the incident, Steven, with a clear description of the characters involved and their motivations. What seems unclear to me is one detail: Who owns the computer? Also, you state that "it was just a small issue that could easily be settled by purchasing another new computer...." Of course, depending on whose computer it was, this might not be a 'small issue.'
ReplyDeleteThe question you pose is fine, but I wonder if you could have asked
how this fight could have been avoided in the first place.
Hello Brad,
DeleteThank You for your feedback on my post. I have edited my post regarding what you have mentioned.
Thanks, Steven!
DeleteHey steven,
ReplyDeleteI like how you started off your post by quoting a quote from Mahatma Ghandi. I believe as they were good friends, they should have talked about the issue. Kenny is obviously avoiding from this issue as he is so assertive that max is the one who spoilt the computer. Therefore, i feel it would be better is kenny is willing to talk things out with max since max had initiated to clarify on the issue with him. Hope this helps. :)
Cheers!
Hi Steven, i liked the way you wrote your blog post. Everything was really into detail and very descriptive. What should have been done is that both parties should have been more compromising to each other. Due to the fact that Max had initiated to talk to Kenny, this shows that Max had compromised and wanted to resolve the issue. On the other hand, Kenny was in a way pissed off at Max as he had been withstanding Max attitude for the past few days. On top of that, he had just broken up. This is probably why he had reacted in that manner. Perhaps in the first place, Kenny should have confronted Max and told him regarding the sarcasm. Being straight and honest can be a good thing as this could actually prevent any misunderstandings. Max as well should have known his actions better and not be more sarcastic to his friend Kenny instead as well. As such, both have been friends for quite times, Kenny should have just shared his problems with Max and maybe the situation would not have succumb into this. Hope this helps.
ReplyDelete