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slumberWe cling to what people say and write, in this little world we've found in the corner of our rooms, hunched over a screen of words and pictures and in journals, words hold even more power.
I guess I'm beginning to realise how my Philosophy-major friend said she didn't like the idea of a journal because it presented only a side of one person. I know, I know, it's the side that very few people in our real lives see, but it's only one side. (Truth is made up of many sides, and any one of them alone is a lie.) It's an incomplete picture of who we are, and we all cling so much to that, to these worded presentations of who the person on the other end of the internet is, and can we be blamed for making judgments based on what we see written in front of us?
Words are powerful, but in the context of day-to-day interactions with people, this power is diluted because it only contributes to the big picture--an averted gaze, mumbled words, a pause of hesitation. In the internet, words are sure and strong and firm. Can we know how the other person's fingers hovered ever so slightly over the keyboard before she typed in a sure "yes"? Can we tell how she had lightly meant a joke that, in black and white on screen, looked harsher and more serious? Is there any way to tell how much she's crying when she says "I'm okay"?
In truth, we try to make do with what we can. Some choose to trust all and one, and others choose to trust very few people. We rely on gut instinct, we go back on how consistent stories are; in this world, we only have words.
It is easy--actually, it is nearly automatic--to believe nearly everything that people, especially on our friends-list, say. There is a reason they have been added onto our lists, after all, and in this world, it is still so much more comfortable to believe in people. But all the same, I hope everyone remembers that the truths we accept from what we read are still always, essentially, just words. Thoughts turned to words are thoughts empowered, and it's okay to consider these thoughts and engage in discussion regarding them, but because we accept these so easily, it seems that it should only be natural that what people say about what happened to them should also be accepted just as easily. "She says this happened," is at once believed, for instance, but how many of us would actually go to the 'she' in question and ask her if it was true? We don't want to feel like we filter through the words because we are amongst friends--ought we not trust them already?
We should, actually, and I'm not discounting the validity of what everyone has said happened on their day. In the end, there's no harm done, is there? But to the people on my flist, and to everyone, really, I hope that you do not accept the truth of words as easily, especially when the facts presented are more serious, when there are other people involved, who cannot defend themselves because they do not know what is going on, when accusations and claims putting any one person's character in question are put forth for you to swallow and accept. When you find yourselves holding opinions of someone you barely know because of something someone you DO know has said, please stop and think for a moment.
Because here, in our online world, nothing is easier to create with words than stories.
PS: Apologies. I wish this could be more coherent and that it is eloquent enough to say my point better. In the meantime, I do hope you understand what I'm trying to say. If not, well, there's always discussion to be had.
I guess I'm beginning to realise how my Philosophy-major friend said she didn't like the idea of a journal because it presented only a side of one person. I know, I know, it's the side that very few people in our real lives see, but it's only one side. (Truth is made up of many sides, and any one of them alone is a lie.) It's an incomplete picture of who we are, and we all cling so much to that, to these worded presentations of who the person on the other end of the internet is, and can we be blamed for making judgments based on what we see written in front of us?
Words are powerful, but in the context of day-to-day interactions with people, this power is diluted because it only contributes to the big picture--an averted gaze, mumbled words, a pause of hesitation. In the internet, words are sure and strong and firm. Can we know how the other person's fingers hovered ever so slightly over the keyboard before she typed in a sure "yes"? Can we tell how she had lightly meant a joke that, in black and white on screen, looked harsher and more serious? Is there any way to tell how much she's crying when she says "I'm okay"?
In truth, we try to make do with what we can. Some choose to trust all and one, and others choose to trust very few people. We rely on gut instinct, we go back on how consistent stories are; in this world, we only have words.
It is easy--actually, it is nearly automatic--to believe nearly everything that people, especially on our friends-list, say. There is a reason they have been added onto our lists, after all, and in this world, it is still so much more comfortable to believe in people. But all the same, I hope everyone remembers that the truths we accept from what we read are still always, essentially, just words. Thoughts turned to words are thoughts empowered, and it's okay to consider these thoughts and engage in discussion regarding them, but because we accept these so easily, it seems that it should only be natural that what people say about what happened to them should also be accepted just as easily. "She says this happened," is at once believed, for instance, but how many of us would actually go to the 'she' in question and ask her if it was true? We don't want to feel like we filter through the words because we are amongst friends--ought we not trust them already?
We should, actually, and I'm not discounting the validity of what everyone has said happened on their day. In the end, there's no harm done, is there? But to the people on my flist, and to everyone, really, I hope that you do not accept the truth of words as easily, especially when the facts presented are more serious, when there are other people involved, who cannot defend themselves because they do not know what is going on, when accusations and claims putting any one person's character in question are put forth for you to swallow and accept. When you find yourselves holding opinions of someone you barely know because of something someone you DO know has said, please stop and think for a moment.
Because here, in our online world, nothing is easier to create with words than stories.
PS: Apologies. I wish this could be more coherent and that it is eloquent enough to say my point better. In the meantime, I do hope you understand what I'm trying to say. If not, well, there's always discussion to be had.
