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I’m not sure where this belongs on my websites. I have my DA journal for art, my blurty for metaphysics, a live journal that I don’t use…and what’s on my mind doesn’t fit neatly into any of the journals I keep. I’ve been told I’m complicated, and I suppose it’s true – as such, I have a need to study, to occupy myself with a task that won’t really accomplish anything, but that amuses me nonetheless. As a few of you who frequent my blurty may know, I spent a short time studying Summoner Yuna, trying to understand why some people had mistaken me for her and vice versa. Well, at last I’ve found something new to study. Encyclopedia Dramatica. Recently I’ve taken the time to look at ED in detail, reading several of their other pages and getting a feel for the website as a whole, rather than just seeing my own page and what is written about me. And I believe I’ve stumbled on what drives the website. Let me say that I’m not a member of the three-dozen anti-ED websites, rather, I prefer to analyze why it is. What purpose does it serve? And reading a few pages at random, it occurs to me that the majority of all pages – aside from existing for satirical purposes – depict a reoccurring theme that is all too common: Fear. The writers of these pages show an overall aversion to change. I’m put into the Deviant Art series, but I believe I belong somewhere entirely different. An author whose work I have read has the dubious honor of having her own page on ED, in which they mock her belief system, outlandish as it seems to those who aren’t well versed in metaphysics. The very notion that someone like me, a college student leading a normal life on world the outside internet, has a gift like astral projection scares the hell out of them. The vampire subculture scares them. Truly gifted psychics scare them. It’s fascinating to me, to see through the internet tough-guy bullshit and see that really, the writers of the website are like children frightened by the thunderstorm. What does that say? I know that some of the people they write about are, in fact, batshit insane – I’ve done a lot of reading the past few days and seen that some of their victims are truly deserving of a page on that website. But many other individuals don’t deserve it. Michelle Belanger, the aforementioned author, is a figurehead in the vampire subculture. They mind their own business, conduct their internal affairs as they see fit, and give people a sense of belonging. In the end, she gives a name to people who feel ‘different’ and gives them a standard to which they can compare and adapt themselves. In itself, having a name for my gift, astral projection, helped me immensely. It cleared up my confusion and helped speed my recovery from the depths of the depression I had sunk to. Humans, by nature, have a group mentality. Even the most rebellious teen has classified themselves somehow, be it stereotype or subculture, when asked ‘what’ they are they have an answer, ‘punk,’ ‘jock,’ ‘goth.’ Whatever the case may be. As humans grow older they still have associations by profession or religion. ‘I’m a marketing executive.’ ‘I’m a Catholic.’ Humans have a need to belong, and in this way Michelle Belanger has helped many ‘lost’ souls. Personally, though I have read her Vampire Codex, I don’t engage in such beliefs because I have my own and have found the niche I belong in. However, it is a good read and a valuable addition to the knowledge I have amassed through the many, many books I have read on metaphysical art forms. At any rate, Encyclopedia Dramatica isn’t comfortable with the idea that people can walk around calling themselves vampires. But really, is it worth mocking them when our society recognizes Jedi as an official religion? So for my part I’ve solved the ‘why,’ in why ED does what it does, writes what it does and says what it does. Fifty percent of the website is indeed satire, as they say, in choosing topics that can be made fun of in a humorous or sarcastic manner. But the other fifty percent clearly displays the driving force behind those who write the articles for the page. Change is a scary thing for some, but without change our society cannot evolve and grow, which in turn causes our culture to grow stagnant and boring. Change shouldn't be feared, but embraced as a necessary part of the circle of life which encompasses every living thing – and I truly pity those who don’t see how vital it is to humankind. Humans are indeed fascinating. So many choose atheism over religion because they require hard proof and solid facts, and are incapable of simply trusting that there is a life beyond death, that our planet wasn’t just a huge cosmic accident. So many recoil in fear at new beliefs as they surface. The Catholic Church itself is responsible for fearing change or a difference of opinion – banning paganism while simultaneously stealing its concepts. The Christmas tree, for instance, originated as a pagan concept, as was the Easter egg…which represented rebirth in paganism. How hypocritical of them, to selectively choose which ideas to steal and which to scorn. On the opposite end of the spectrum is the pentagram, something which many mistakenly believe to be a symbol of Satan-worshippers or a sign of evil. In reality, the pentagram was a pagan symbol to ward off evil. Throughout history it always remains the same, and if we are ever to make true progress on the human condition, people like those who run ED need to move forward with the rest of us, lest they drag us all down. It’s true, what they say about a chain being only as strong as its weakest link…and right now ED is one of our metaphorical weakest links – ascertaining that mankind follows a one step forward, two steps back path and thus never getting anywhere good. It’s time for them to realize the negativity that they express and accept change in whatever form it presents. Even though I have no idea what prompted this essay at 2:30 in the morning, but I hope I’ve brought up some valid points for thought and bid you all good night. Post a comment in response: |
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