Our Blessing And Our Bane

"Step up, step up.
Try to get through me.
But in the end, you're gonna see
The only way it's supposed to be."


I have a new follower. Can you guess who?

I have to admit, my thoughts on this are mixed.

My first reaction was, Shitshitshit, it's too soon, I didn't want to be discovered yet, it's too soon!

My second reaction was, If you didn't wanna get noticed, what the hell were you doing commenting on every new blog post that came your way?

My third reaction was, I am such an idiot.

That last one seems to be a recurring theme, of late.


The blogsphere is such an interesting and versetile tool for us. On the one hand, writing our thoughts down helps us hold onto both sanity and memory. It allows us to find other victims of Anorexic Associate's asshatery, make friends, even form protective alliances. Lord knows that being able to be honest about this stuff really helps in the sanity department. The kind of pure, open-hearted support found around here is even better. And, more pragmatically, it allows us to observe - and hopefully act upon - some of the larger patterns seen in the behavior of both the Black King and his pawns. What one person discovers, another person can put to good use. And if anyone is in a tight spot, others can easily spring to the rescue, whether it be via moral support in the comment section or an actual, physical rescue.

On the other hand, blogs are also a major instigator of new victims - spreading the disease by spreading the knowledge, as it were. And even beyond this very real concern, it also compromises the safety of the bloggers in question. Think about it: people post details about their locations, situations, physical appearances and emotional weaknesses without even thinking about it. And that's part of the catharsis, it's true. But it's also the internet, where anyone can find you if they're stubborn enough. And, correct me if I'm wrong, but people/former people/things that spend their time patiently stalking people into insanity are probably stubborn by definition. Amirite?

Don't think I haven't wondered if I'll infect anyone myself. Barring the risk to my own safety, it was my biggest concern when I was first debating with myself on starting up my own blog. I have friends, I have family. I have friends whom I only know via the internet, who would know to go looking for me in whatever site they might frequent, including blogging sites. What if they found me here? What if they were hunted down and even killed because of me?

Quoth the Hermit: "Don't think so highly of yourself, asshole."

And that, my friends, is my answer.

You're wasting your time here, Morningstar. I'm nobody. I am so singularly inconsequential that you will be driven sane again from sheer boredom. Though... maybe that's your goal? It could be, I suppose, given your little binary outburst the other day. If so, you're welcome to attempt it. If not, your trollings will be quietly laughed at and then ignored. Or possibly deleted if you get unnecessarily offensive. This goes for any proxies who frequent blogspot, actually.

I have secrets, I have thoughts, and I have advice to give, but you won't find anything worth reading here. Know why? Because although I have the occassional lapse in judgement, I have also mastered the fine art of lying through my teeth. Or my fingertips, as it were. That's the other awesome thing about blogs - the details of events are yours to manipulate as you please, and you can take as long as you like to decide just how much you want your readers to know.

"Truly, to tell lies is not honorable;
but when the truth entails tremendous ruin,
to speak dishonorably is pardonable."

Internet cookies to whoever can name the proponent of that quote. Backspace button, indeed. =P


So yeah. Overall, I'd say blogs are a good thing, when utilized intelligently. They are a double-edged sword, to be sure - our blessing and our bane - but it seems to me, from my limited perspective at least, that they do more good than harm. Not to mention that it apparently takes more than just knowing about Slenderman to attract Its attention. As long as we're careful, we can spread the helpful kind of information without spreading too much of the harmful kind.

THE BLOGGING WILL CONTINUE UNTIL MORALE IMPROVES-shot-

Coming up! Fear: Its pros, its cons, and how to make effective use of both.



PS: I got a B+ on my midterm, in case anybody was wondering. I have no idea how I accomplished that, but I feel pretty damn awesome about it, in case you couldn't tell. =D