9-24-2005
There is something I found very disturbing about Mignon Chang's blog "Mignon's Mazemind. On the surface, it's an examination of life by a very bright 17-year-old peering at a brave new world of self-discovery. Despite a tendancy toward insecure overintensity and naive romanticism, which would be expected in a young person, their exists in the blog a kind of desperate optimism that time is on her side, that if she continues her considered examination of the world both she and the world will proceed in mild amazement to some kind of betterment.
Under this apparent quasi-rosiness, however, there are several worrisome undercurrents. What does she mean by " I found a new will to live " in her "about me"? Why did she write on adark background,especially in light of her comments in her last blog about the negative effect "bold colors" and "cheap prints" have on her?(morecomfortable in dark places?) Most unsettling is the July 30 blog about "Pedophiles". Unlike her other writing, this blog is reported flatly, unemotionally, with no personal comment other thant to introduce it as "shocking news". Combine that with her comment that her "worst torture" would be "to be rendered "completely powerless" and it certainly woundn't be a long stretch to at least speculate that this child has been abused. Perhaps I've been reading too much Kellerman and Andrew Vachss, but I think a case can be made.
Eric(from class) brought to my attention the Trinity President's letter on ridicule of students who don't conform to conventional hair styles and dress. As I said in my Email to Eric, even though my ironic rant on our Stepford campus was clearly intended as humor, you don't have to go far to get from attitude to abuse. What is truly amazing to find myself with my finger inadvertantly on the pulse of campus activity. I'm so damn insightful.....
One last apology to Jason Kottke, whom I continuously referred to as "Jason Kottle" in my last blog. I decided not to go back and edit it, so that it will serve as a reminder to slow my eyes down when reading. Evelyn Wood practices make me sloppy. I read the blog for nearly 2 hours and still read the guy's name wrong. You've gotta have sight to have insight. Perhaps the last sentence of my previous paragraph might be a mild overstatement.
Onward and upward.
There is something I found very disturbing about Mignon Chang's blog "Mignon's Mazemind. On the surface, it's an examination of life by a very bright 17-year-old peering at a brave new world of self-discovery. Despite a tendancy toward insecure overintensity and naive romanticism, which would be expected in a young person, their exists in the blog a kind of desperate optimism that time is on her side, that if she continues her considered examination of the world both she and the world will proceed in mild amazement to some kind of betterment.
Under this apparent quasi-rosiness, however, there are several worrisome undercurrents. What does she mean by " I found a new will to live " in her "about me"? Why did she write on adark background,especially in light of her comments in her last blog about the negative effect "bold colors" and "cheap prints" have on her?(morecomfortable in dark places?) Most unsettling is the July 30 blog about "Pedophiles". Unlike her other writing, this blog is reported flatly, unemotionally, with no personal comment other thant to introduce it as "shocking news". Combine that with her comment that her "worst torture" would be "to be rendered "completely powerless" and it certainly woundn't be a long stretch to at least speculate that this child has been abused. Perhaps I've been reading too much Kellerman and Andrew Vachss, but I think a case can be made.
Eric(from class) brought to my attention the Trinity President's letter on ridicule of students who don't conform to conventional hair styles and dress. As I said in my Email to Eric, even though my ironic rant on our Stepford campus was clearly intended as humor, you don't have to go far to get from attitude to abuse. What is truly amazing to find myself with my finger inadvertantly on the pulse of campus activity. I'm so damn insightful.....
One last apology to Jason Kottke, whom I continuously referred to as "Jason Kottle" in my last blog. I decided not to go back and edit it, so that it will serve as a reminder to slow my eyes down when reading. Evelyn Wood practices make me sloppy. I read the blog for nearly 2 hours and still read the guy's name wrong. You've gotta have sight to have insight. Perhaps the last sentence of my previous paragraph might be a mild overstatement.
Onward and upward.
posted by Papa Bill | 7:39 AM
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