white avenger
white avenger
Reading the thread concerning Edmond Blackadder and the events that led to his being banned here reminded me of just how much we take on faith we base the relationships we form on the internet. I can see it from a somewhat different aspect than the majority of the members here, having grown up in a (we believed, at least) much more gentle time, when lost children were safe approaching any adult and knowing that they would help them. When I was a child, old men regularly carried candy and small change to give to any child who they might meet, and no one ever gave it a second thought. My father was a truck driver in a time when men of his profession were regularly referred to as the "Knights Of The Highway," because they would always stop to help troubled motorists or pick up hitchhikers. People met face to face and were assumed to be honest and truthful until proven otherwise. There were a few pen pal friendships or even romances, where the people involved never actually met, but were rare, and almost always completely harmless.
With the advent of the internet, it has become possible to meet, at least figuratively, people from all over the world, to form friendships as real, within their context, as any that were ever formed in the days of my youth, and it is still the norm, at least with me, to assume that the people who we meet are truthful and honest. The time and conversations that I have shared here with people like Kean, Joan The Vampire Slayer, and others have been some of my most pleasant moments, and since retirement, quite often the highlight of my day. Whether we are debating over the mistaken idea that Buffy might, in any reality, belong for even a moment with a loser like Angel, discussing politics or the plight of pit bulldogs, or just passing the time of day, it has always been fun, even on those rare occasions when I felt that the only hope for some individual might actually be intense psychological help, perhaps involving shock therapy and drugs.
But, when you actually think about it, we take far more on faith now than my generation did. There is absolutely nothing about the people who we meet here that, initially at least, we don't take on sheer blind faith. I say that I am a 62 year old man living in Georgia, whereas I might actually be a 25 year old woman living in New York, but most, if not all here simply take me at my word. Usually we're right, but, at least sometimes, we might actually be wrong. (I was totally shocked to learn, quite by accident, that Wishing Oceans was actually a 46 year old English teacher living in Boston, for instance) But we do still take these things on faith.
That is why it is always such a shock and a let down when we find that that faith has been abused, that there are liars and predators who use the anonymity of the internet to take advantage of others, especially younger people. That there are even thieves who would steal our very identities (did I ever mention the time when someone stole my one of my accounts and used it to set up a porn site? True story, I swear) That there are even people who set up late into the night designing computer viruses for no reason whatsoever beyond the sick pleasure of knowing that they are damaging the property of others.
And once more, I have let my rhetoric get far out of control here, blathering on to the point that I have completely lost track of the simple thing that I really wanted to say here, and that is that I am very glad to be here, to enjoy the fellowship that we have, and the trust that we, I hope, still feel in each other, despite the very rare times that our trust and friendship might be betrayed. I may be reluctant to give you my home address, or my credit card number, but my friendship and support are free to anyone who cares to share it, even the poor deluded Bangels. Well, ESPECIALLY the Bangels, because they need it the most. Anyhow, thanks, folks, for indulging me in this somewhat pointless rant, but also for being the bunch of great guys that you've always been. We might not always agree on everything, but then it would be awful boring around here if we were.
And now I have to go and help move furniture into the new grandchild's bedroom. We have to hurry. We've only got until sometime in late July. (Sarcasm dripping from every word as I haul my old carcass up and head out of the room)
Rant over...
(
With the advent of the internet, it has become possible to meet, at least figuratively, people from all over the world, to form friendships as real, within their context, as any that were ever formed in the days of my youth, and it is still the norm, at least with me, to assume that the people who we meet are truthful and honest. The time and conversations that I have shared here with people like Kean, Joan The Vampire Slayer, and others have been some of my most pleasant moments, and since retirement, quite often the highlight of my day. Whether we are debating over the mistaken idea that Buffy might, in any reality, belong for even a moment with a loser like Angel, discussing politics or the plight of pit bulldogs, or just passing the time of day, it has always been fun, even on those rare occasions when I felt that the only hope for some individual might actually be intense psychological help, perhaps involving shock therapy and drugs.
But, when you actually think about it, we take far more on faith now than my generation did. There is absolutely nothing about the people who we meet here that, initially at least, we don't take on sheer blind faith. I say that I am a 62 year old man living in Georgia, whereas I might actually be a 25 year old woman living in New York, but most, if not all here simply take me at my word. Usually we're right, but, at least sometimes, we might actually be wrong. (I was totally shocked to learn, quite by accident, that Wishing Oceans was actually a 46 year old English teacher living in Boston, for instance) But we do still take these things on faith.
That is why it is always such a shock and a let down when we find that that faith has been abused, that there are liars and predators who use the anonymity of the internet to take advantage of others, especially younger people. That there are even thieves who would steal our very identities (did I ever mention the time when someone stole my one of my accounts and used it to set up a porn site? True story, I swear) That there are even people who set up late into the night designing computer viruses for no reason whatsoever beyond the sick pleasure of knowing that they are damaging the property of others.
And once more, I have let my rhetoric get far out of control here, blathering on to the point that I have completely lost track of the simple thing that I really wanted to say here, and that is that I am very glad to be here, to enjoy the fellowship that we have, and the trust that we, I hope, still feel in each other, despite the very rare times that our trust and friendship might be betrayed. I may be reluctant to give you my home address, or my credit card number, but my friendship and support are free to anyone who cares to share it, even the poor deluded Bangels. Well, ESPECIALLY the Bangels, because they need it the most. Anyhow, thanks, folks, for indulging me in this somewhat pointless rant, but also for being the bunch of great guys that you've always been. We might not always agree on everything, but then it would be awful boring around here if we were.
And now I have to go and help move furniture into the new grandchild's bedroom. We have to hurry. We've only got until sometime in late July. (Sarcasm dripping from every word as I haul my old carcass up and head out of the room)
Rant over...
(
B
Big Damn Hero
Damn straight.
T
TheGrandmaster
[No message]
Wishing Oceans
[No message]
Sweetescape
well that wasn't a funny joke about WO, not cool.
Professor Walsh
Nice post. I belong to the first generation that's been taught to fear strangers. I feel we've lost something important.
