Digression
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.
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(Anonymous)
2008-01-12 17:56
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I'm pretty sure they do it because they think it's fun to make fun of the crazzies on the internet, but that was a very interesting analysis. I have a question, is Sephiroth at all creeped out by your DA icon? (Reply to this) (Thread) |
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(Anonymous)
2008-01-13 16:24
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Just wonding, 'cause I know I'd be a little freaked out XD I don't really know much about the astral plane, is it only possible for some people to access it? It Sephiroth the only person/thing you've met there? (Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread) |
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(Anonymous)
2008-01-14 22:08
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Pretty much, thanks. I'm very currious about what it would be like and what sort of things you'd run into there. (Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread) |
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 ladybow
2008-01-14 03:49
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I /might/ agree with you on a few of the people, but as someone who has written a full length ED article before and helped around, I would have to say that there are even more people than you think that aren't scared, just simply want to make fun of these "changes". It's skepticism. Of course, anyone on the bad side of the deal wants to find reasoning that makes their predator seem weak, but it's true. Vampires, for example, are not change. They're folklore, and unless there is scientific study that differenciates them from the rest of us, they'd better shut up. That would be the thought process of a skeptic. So when people claim to be vampires, it's funny because our first thought is "they're full of shit." Now, while many of us think this but understand that it isn't grounds for disrespect, there's that special group that wants to voice their feelings, and ED is the life of the "they're full of shit" party.
I studied up on vampirism years ago. At first I thought it might actually be real, the other definition, not the Dracula/I wear a cape and suck your blood one. Now I see that it's probably self-conditioned dependency. People go to great lengths at convincing themselves they're not normal. Why? Living as a human being can get pretty damn boring sometimes.
Then again, maybe I don't know what I'm talking about. Just spillin'.(Reply to this) (Thread) |
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ladybow
2008-01-14 14:26
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Hey, Criss Angel is a great magician and entertainer. You know, they also have one for Penn and Teller, and I actually thought parts of it were funny even though they're my favorite guys in the whole world. Satire satire satire. Some people don't like Criss Angel. Some people don't listen. What can ya do.
I don't know what to tell you about ED writers. All I know is, most of the time, the people who're being made fun of jump to way too many conclusions about the ones doing it to them. It seems like the only way to justify being bashed is to say that the basher is lower then them, thus the bashing isn't valid. I've been speaking my opinion about an array of subjects for some time now, starting off by being that one person who gave honest critique on someone's writing or artwork etc. And I've had to deal with a lot of nonsense, a lot of "well you're just mean and jealous". It got to the point where, yeah, I think ED's foundation is assholes, but sometimes people are assholes. And other times, people are assholes for normal reasons. (Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread) |
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(Anonymous)
2008-01-14 23:32
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It's ironic that you're quick to judge ED as a whole, when it's made up of several hundred members and the articles themselves are often written by many people. Some will write a couple things into an article, while others enjoy soaking up internet drama and putting it onto ED. I can tell you right now, your trolls are probably people who read ED and take it far too seriously. A good number of people writing ED articles are actually a fairly reasonable (if not smartass) bunch if you take the time to talk to them outside of ED. They don't take writing the articles seriously; it is satire, after all. You've accused them of being afraid of change when you've never really talked to a member of ED, yet you say "ED is wrong because they haven't gotten to know me."
People are simply supposed to take ED with a grain of salt and a bottle of beer and have a good laugh over people acting like morons and opening their big mouths. However, if you read an article like the one on Benazir Bhutto, you might get a different perspective of ED.
and I'm going to be nitpicky now
The writers of these pages show an overall aversion to change.
Aversion to change would be pastors decrying video games because their understanding of modern technology and entertainment media is so limited they view something new as automatically evil. Not people writing satirical articles on people behaving like idiots on a website meant for satirical articles on people behaving like idiots (and other internet phenomenon). Just so you know, your worst instances of troll attacks was when 4chan and 5chan got wind of you back when your blog was first put up. You've suffered nothing but a small onslaught of trolls since your ED article was put up, most of which who are casual ED readers and "newfags," as 4chan would put it. They take things like ED far too seriously, and make asses of themselves.
But really, is it worth mocking them when our society recognizes Jedi as an official religion?
And here I thought you went and read Summoner Yuna's article. No, Jedi isn't recognized as an official religion. People apparently read about the "Jedi census phenomenon" (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jedi_census_phenomenon) and immediately assumed that just because a few people wrote "Jedi" as their official religion on a census, it became recognized as a religion. And the rumor spread, of course.
internet tough-guy bullshit
Uhuh. You're already starting to use their meme-words. Next thing you know, you'll be writing an ED article...
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sephirothslave
2008-01-15 13:38
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Okay:
1.) Guilty as charged. I can be very judgmental, especially when my metaphorical feathers have been ruffled, I acknowledge it, I admit it, but I stand by what I said. I did spend a lot of time looking over the articles, and there was a considerable amount of evidence to support my analysis. *shrug* If you disagree, it's nothing new - half the internet disagrees with everything I say. However:
Some of the articles I thought were in very poor taste and clearly demonstrated the immaturity of the writers, and an overall lack of tolerance or understanding of different groups and people. I cited the vampire community: Do I personally consider myself a vampire? No. Do I know anyone personally who thinks they are a vampire? No. Do I respect the group nonetheless and keep my nose out of their business? Yes.
Another one was the article on Criss Angel, which got under my skin a little. For the love of God, he has publicly stated that he doesn't have supernatural powers and doesn't even believe in psychics - and being a fan of both his show and his music I've had the opportunity to speak to people who have met him in person, and I have never once found anyone who can say anything bad about him. In fact, many people find him an inspiration, and I greatly respect him for that.
2.) Ah, dear, I do seem to have gotten lost somewhere. I'll be sure to correct the area where I stated Jedi was an official religion. I don't follow that sort of nonsense and got my signals crossed somewhere between reading something to that effect and writing this.
Thank you for bringing it to my attention..
3.) I have spoken with an ED writer, actually. Ladybow (above) is a writer, and I actually like her. In the comments I said that 90% of these writers follow what I said, but obviously there are going to be exceptions to my opinion, and she is one of them.
I have to assume, by your comments, that you yourself are a writer. So I'll extend this and hope you'll pass it on. The one using the penname Iscariot seems to be primarily responsible for my page...so I would like to offer a formal invitation for him to contact me through my e-mail or through this journal, and I would be happy to discuss this with him/her. So if you care to have me speak to another writer, he/she's the one I'm interested in.(Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread) |
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(Anonymous)
2008-01-21 23:35
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I actually heard about you on that ED article, and at first I was skeptical myself (Although I am a firm believer in all things occult, or most of them anyway). However, after your comeback you've been very precise and intelligent with your posts.. It has awakened an interest in this astral projection, so I'll be following your blog very closely.
Congratulations on coming back here and not leaving the issue unresolved, it shows how strong you are. I'm actually thrilled you did decide to come back, because I was hoping to learn something from you. I'm more of a lurker on the internet, so don't take this post lightly :P
Keep your chin up girl,
-Mandy(Reply to this) (Thread) |
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(Anonymous)
2008-02-28 00:11
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Quavi here. =)
Hey, thanks for directing me to this part of your page. That is an idea, that a lot of ED writers are afraid of change. A chunk of their humor, I notice, stems from very conservative patriarchal conceptions and all that jazz. What, "back to the kitchen, woman"? Maybe they mean these things in jest, but the fact that they still find it funny means that they still understand and have a bit of fellow feeling for these ideas. Like the old chestnut goes: jokes are half-meant.
But I also agree with Anonymous the Second, to the extent that it is impossible to generalize ED writers. They're still individuals, after all. You can get a sense of the divide when you compare the general feel of the articles. Compare "Encyclopedia Dramatica" and "Woman" and "Man". Really very different people with very different worldviews have contributed to all of those.
I loved reading this and the comments too. You were all really mature and open in exchanging ideas and admitting mistakes. Maybe there's hope for humanity yet. =D(Reply to this) (Thread) |
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