Posted August 06, 2015
I'm sure most of you have heard of the meme/game known as "Seven Degrees of Kevin Bacon" or "Six Degrees of Separation".
Well, every Gogger that reads this is now three degrees separated from an attempted murder.
My brother and his family were the ones attacked by a madman in a movie theater in Tennessee yesterday afternoon. We were lucky; everyone but the perpetrator walked out alive, with only minor injuries. We'll probably never know why Vincente did what he did.
I think about all the forumites who've shared, over the years, their own struggles with mental issues, and the way they feel even further demonized by the actions of the few outliers. I remember your words, and those of people I've met in daily life. Thanks to all of you for explaining your own unique stories. Your experiences helped shape my reactions to this very personal and frightening event.
I also think about other events that happened around the world that, in a small way, I perceived much differently because of the reactions of Goglodytes local to those areas: earthquakes, flooding, extreme weather, the Arab Spring, the massacres in Norway and France, the loss of both Malaysian Airlines planes, and most recently, the Greek crisis. I've had a set of windows into others' lives and thought processes that I've come to value.
In an odd way, yesterday's real-life events have helped me crystallize and put into words some thoughts I've had over the past week's virtual events. Over the past seven years, the GOG forums became a place with a sense of community. A very global sense of community. There have been many spirited debates that managed to stay within the bounds of civility. People were communicating with each other even when they didn't agree, or if they felt they couldn't do so effectively, they had the guts to just walk away.
So to everyone who wants to take advantage of this community: no, you're not welcome to take a "free" bash at someone by mass forum abuse, even if you don't like them. Take a minute to breathe before you hit that button. Above all, take responsibility for your actions. And I ask the GOG staff to take responsibility too.
Because in a very real way, even on a virtual forum, you're closer than you think to the object of your hate or greed, and the problems of the physical world: just three degrees of separation.
---This is Luned, over and out---
Well, every Gogger that reads this is now three degrees separated from an attempted murder.
My brother and his family were the ones attacked by a madman in a movie theater in Tennessee yesterday afternoon. We were lucky; everyone but the perpetrator walked out alive, with only minor injuries. We'll probably never know why Vincente did what he did.
I think about all the forumites who've shared, over the years, their own struggles with mental issues, and the way they feel even further demonized by the actions of the few outliers. I remember your words, and those of people I've met in daily life. Thanks to all of you for explaining your own unique stories. Your experiences helped shape my reactions to this very personal and frightening event.
I also think about other events that happened around the world that, in a small way, I perceived much differently because of the reactions of Goglodytes local to those areas: earthquakes, flooding, extreme weather, the Arab Spring, the massacres in Norway and France, the loss of both Malaysian Airlines planes, and most recently, the Greek crisis. I've had a set of windows into others' lives and thought processes that I've come to value.
In an odd way, yesterday's real-life events have helped me crystallize and put into words some thoughts I've had over the past week's virtual events. Over the past seven years, the GOG forums became a place with a sense of community. A very global sense of community. There have been many spirited debates that managed to stay within the bounds of civility. People were communicating with each other even when they didn't agree, or if they felt they couldn't do so effectively, they had the guts to just walk away.
So to everyone who wants to take advantage of this community: no, you're not welcome to take a "free" bash at someone by mass forum abuse, even if you don't like them. Take a minute to breathe before you hit that button. Above all, take responsibility for your actions. And I ask the GOG staff to take responsibility too.
Because in a very real way, even on a virtual forum, you're closer than you think to the object of your hate or greed, and the problems of the physical world: just three degrees of separation.
---This is Luned, over and out---
