I was in a large gymnasium of ...

I was in a large gymnasium of sorts, doors out to a hallway surrounding, with rooms and such beyond the halls. The room was completely filled, with people, and they were intensely debating some topic. I was fairly dis-interested in the topic at hand, but most others were: "raging" is how the debate proceeded.

Then at one point, one man piped up and said that he and a bunch others had an idea: They didn't have to come to a consensus. Those who agreed with him were just going to walk away and let those who wanted to cling to the opposing view stay by themselves, alone.

At this point I spoke up, infuriated. "This we must not do!" I said doing so would be absolutely selfish, would destroy us all, etc. I said that it was absolutely essential that we continue to care about people unlike ourselves, and about working things out. We had to care about working it out. I spoke myself hoarse, but did not stop.

Most people left the room through the door on the left, a couple stayed and smiled at me, a few stayed because of their stand on the topic of debate. Nearly all left.

Then, hope beyond hope, many of those who left began returning! But despair, they only returned to leave through the door on the right instead.

Now silence, and people milling about in the halls, lost and individually.

I left.

On my way out I passed an old friend in the hall, who spoke to me of courage and I hit my friend in the face, accompanied by a brief lecture on being spineless and not standing up for what's right. Then I went to the bathroom to collect my things.

In the bathroom I found my change of clothes, and hangers -- possibly 1000 hangers, all in a jumble, all over the floor and the counters. An observer mentioned that I would need an insane amount of luck to get all those hangers out with me. I replied "Oh, you have no idea.... Providence and I are very good friends." The hangers collected themselves into a ball, all inter-latching, with only one hook protruding. I took hold of the hook and walked out the door.