Misconceptions: Guardian

[christina]

.......sorry This is funny to me for some reason. I'm sorry your suffering discourtesy from the complaints department of your postal service Quinta ---->






They should also consult with some artisans/rationals to improve their quickness and efficiency They can consult with the utilitarians, the guardians can make it happen, and the idealists will be empathetic and foster harmony within company and with the public

[Quinta]

Funny OK. The labels finally arrived. I got some additional stamps to allow my letters to go faster through the mail. NOW it's up to ME to get the letters moving and into the mailbox.

I hope I remember to do THAT.

Your suggestions are good. Hope someone who works in that company reads it.

[cwallace29]

I think Guardians are the most misunderstood of the Four Temperaments

I would say Idealists or Rationals would be the most mis-understood just because they are the minority in temperment.

[RandomUser191]

I think Guardians are the most misunderstood of the Four Temperaments

I would say Idealists or Rationals would be the most mis-understood just because they are the minority in temperment.

by misunderstood, he probably meant that people have a hard time understanding the positive qualities of us guardians. sure, people label it as "good intentions" but they don't understand the benefit of it.

everyone knows how important idealists and rationals are (the things that just 1 idealist or just 1 rational managed to do), but since guardians are in such a high number, people might think that we are nothing when we're alone.

[cwallace29]

So what your saying is, is that because of their high numbers, they're sort of overlooked? Or Guardians could be misunderstood just because they are stabilizers and very common and seldomly achieve some big success like an Idealist or Rational would?

[RandomUser191]

So what your saying is, is that because of their high numbers, they're sort of overlooked?

yes, i'd say so.

Or Guardians could be misunderstood just because they are stabilizers and very common and seldomly achieve some big success like an Idealist or Rational would?

possibly. there HAVE been very influencial guardians but they do tend to be overlooked.

[Lindsay]

I read the first two pages and skipped to "submit", so forgive me if I repeat someone else.

Guardians do NOT all have the same values.

The other Guardians cannot believe this, and I think that the other temperaments see the abundance of conservative Christian Guardians (because that's such a comfortable place for a Guardian in the US culture) and expect that if you run into someone that has a very wildly differing viewpoint from the majority, they can't possibly be a Guardian. Because the Guardian has to go with the crowd! They stick with the standard! If told to do something, they must obey!

For example, a strongly eco-minded person, or someone who advocates for animal rights: must be hippie NFs. Someone who complains about their boss must not be a Guardian.

The thing is, Guardians strongly absorb ANY values that are instilled into them by those they see as authority figures.
[*] If a VALID authority figure cuts down the authority of a POSSIBLE authority figure, the latter loses credibility to the former. E.g., if their parents teach them that teachers are all idiots and don't need to be obeyed (ie don't deserve/have authority), they're not going to blindly obey what the teacher says to do and believe what the teacher says is true.
[*]I think of the example cited early in this thread, where the Guardian was complaining about the establishment: even then, you can see that that the complainer was comparing the current establishment to what they consider an authentic authority. He had already decided what was appropriate, and found his employer lacking. Sure, he was complaining, but it was within a carefully-defined space of "what is and isn't acceptable," not just "I don't feel like liking this."

I got distracted in the middle of typing this and as it's 1am I'm not going to go back and clean up my points and make sure everything ties together. Rationals, I'm sorry, but not sorry enough to fix it.

[MarmieDearest]

One of the biggest misconceptions that I've seen is that they're all religious.

I was close to a Guardian Inspector for quite some time who was an atheist since he was a child. It just didn't make sense to him that people would believe in it. It did not seem solid or rational to him. It probably helped that his mother's religion was Buddhism, which is less deity oriented than monotheistic religions -- but still, he pretty much rejected the idea of a god who interacted with the world as an unrealistic, unprovable idea before he even became an adult.

He's very much an Inspector, too, not the least bit leaning toward Rational Mastermind: he's a lifelong athlete, only likes to deal in facts, hates to argue theory or opinions, and otherwise has a deeply lawful sense of Guardian principles, including order and authority.

He isn't some blind, obedient drone though, either...that's another irritating misconception about Guardians that they NEVER question authority. That's a load of crap. They might hate and even act out against a particular form of authority while at the same time thinking *their form of authority* is superior.

[MarmieDearest]

out of curiousity... why "blech"?

anyway... i CAN see why people think we're conservative but honestly... i don't know many guardians who are.

i've actually read an article about ISFJs (taken from myers-briggs) and it said that we are also amoung the most likely to believe in a higher spiritual power (that's got to be bullsh*t).

here it is http://www.personalitydesk.com/type-profile/isfj-protector

Because I think that causes and charities are best privatized. Looking at the global record of government-entangled economies is eye-opening in that regard.

I also don't think that Guardians are necessarily all religious or spiritual. Maybe moreso back when institutional religion was seen as the cement that held society together. To the extent that it still is, I'm sure that Guardian involvement is steadier than no.

That's exactly what it is - it's the tradition that held structure in society. A Guardian who grows up in an atheist household, or in a household where religion was not organized or structured but more loose, open to interpretation, individualized and/or "spiritual" might not see religion as one of the important structures that hold their social world together like a Guardian who grows up within an organized religion would.

However, a Guardian is likely to hold fast to what they believe is the right and wrong "order" or structure to society is, even if it's not religion. For example, Guardians in San Francisco may be guilty of being "too politically correct" because they regard their political values as almost religion. Or another Guardian might be fiscally or politically liberal, but otherwise seem very conservative in the way "things are done" in society to keep people behaving themselves.

The Guardian Inspector I mentioned in my last post who is atheist and who also will speak out against authority he strongly disagrees with is otherwise a model employee, keeps a spotlessly clean house, believes there's a particular way people should conduct themselves in certain places, and while he's not even 30 yet he's already wandered into "damn kids better get off my lawn!" behavior.

[RandomUser191]

One of the biggest misconceptions that I've seen is that they're all religious.

I was close to a Guardian Inspector for quite some time who was an atheist since he was a child. It just didn't make sense to him that people would believe in it. It did not seem solid or rational to him. It probably helped that his mother's religion was Buddhism, which is less deity oriented than monotheistic religions -- but still, he pretty much rejected the idea of a god who interacted with the world as an unrealistic, unprovable idea before he even became an adult.

He's very much an Inspector, too, not the least bit leaning toward Rational Mastermind: he's a lifelong athlete, only likes to deal in facts, hates to argue theory or opinions, and otherwise has a deeply lawful sense of Guardian principles, including order and authority.

He isn't some blind, obedient drone though, either...that's another irritating misconception about Guardians that they NEVER question authority. That's a load of crap. They might hate and even act out against a particular form of authority while at the same time thinking *their form of authority* is superior.

it depends on the location. i'm sure in the near east pretty much almost everyone is religious while slovenia for example, is nowadays an extremely atheistic country. people here are way too concerned with being intolerant nationalists than to worry about religion. in fact, i don't even know a single slovene idealist who is openly religious. one of my idealist friends even feels a strong sence of contempt for people who are religious.

about the authority thing... i agree that it's a load of crap. it's like we aren't supposed to be even a bit rebellious or idealistic.