What is it waiting for? Waiting for conflict resolution. The conflict simmering under the surface that threatens to erupt. Not me ... but sitting next to me. Eating at the counter, making cupcakes in the kitchen, walking the dog down the street ... close. I want to pop it. I want it to erupt and be over. I want it to erupt to discover that it just plops instead of pops and then fades away into nothing.
I poke at it, gently. trying to find the edges without causing it to erupt. I'm not really a very patient person, although i have learned patience. It's an unrealiable patiene, where I appear to sit quietly but my insides are churning and the spring inside that is me is tightly wound. I want it over.
I play the scenarios over and over in my mind. One sits quietly, nods, agrees and disappears into the back. One becomes angry, bitter words escape, challenges, threats, accusations emerge in a torrent of sound and emotion. One sits as silent tears drop onto the flood. What to do, what to do? My insides churn, there is no good news, there will be no easy resolution. One of two will be unhappy. What do I do? Maybe if I do nothing the churning will drop back into the bottom of the boiling pot and wait for another day. Should I let it wait or should I push it to eruption now?
I don't know.
Wednesday, June 11, 2014
Tuesday, June 10, 2014
Slenderman Did It
I was introducted to the "Slender" game a couple of years ago, by my then 11 year old grandson who, along with his cousin, downloaded it, and "Kick the Buddy" onto my then new iPad. I was going through the apps on my iPad when I noticed the games and, grandson at my elbow cautiously ensuring that I wouldn't delete the new games, pulled up the games to see what they were.
Okay, I didn't really like them but other than a vague feeling of, well, ickiness, couldn't find anything overtly objectionable. So I, with reservations intact, allowed the games to stay. When my iPad disappeared a couple of months later, and then reappeared without the games, I was happier. So today, in the news, in the aftermath of the horrible shooting at Cici's Pizza of two Metro police officers, I'm reading that the male suspect of the 'Bonnie and Clyde' couple type of murderers liked to dress up as Slenderman.
I knew it sounded familiar, so I googled it and yep, it was the same shadowy, ominous, slinky, faceless figure from the "Slender" game and still icky. So google brings me more information, more than I wanted. An attempted stabbing of a mother by her daughter who was wearing a hood and white mask in Cincinnati, and more unconsciounable, a group of 12-year-old Wisconsin girls who stabbed their friend 19 times in honor of, you guessed it, slenderman.
So is this hooded, shadowy figure from a game (where his part is no more violent than abduction) guilty of inspiring this kind of violence, or it is just a way to point a finger away from those who find such violence exciting. Reminiscent of the anti-Dungeons and Dragons sentiment that playing the role-playing games would incite people to become Satanists. Or the concern that violent video games would incite kids to perform violent acts. I tend to think that maybe viewing violence dehumanizes the victims and, for some, make it exciting enough to consider trying it out themselves. Then once the reality of what has been done sets in, they can turn to the boogeyman.
Kind of a "The boogeyman made me do it." I used to believe that the boogeyman didn't exist. Now, I'm not so sure.
Okay, I didn't really like them but other than a vague feeling of, well, ickiness, couldn't find anything overtly objectionable. So I, with reservations intact, allowed the games to stay. When my iPad disappeared a couple of months later, and then reappeared without the games, I was happier. So today, in the news, in the aftermath of the horrible shooting at Cici's Pizza of two Metro police officers, I'm reading that the male suspect of the 'Bonnie and Clyde' couple type of murderers liked to dress up as Slenderman.
I knew it sounded familiar, so I googled it and yep, it was the same shadowy, ominous, slinky, faceless figure from the "Slender" game and still icky. So google brings me more information, more than I wanted. An attempted stabbing of a mother by her daughter who was wearing a hood and white mask in Cincinnati, and more unconsciounable, a group of 12-year-old Wisconsin girls who stabbed their friend 19 times in honor of, you guessed it, slenderman.
So is this hooded, shadowy figure from a game (where his part is no more violent than abduction) guilty of inspiring this kind of violence, or it is just a way to point a finger away from those who find such violence exciting. Reminiscent of the anti-Dungeons and Dragons sentiment that playing the role-playing games would incite people to become Satanists. Or the concern that violent video games would incite kids to perform violent acts. I tend to think that maybe viewing violence dehumanizes the victims and, for some, make it exciting enough to consider trying it out themselves. Then once the reality of what has been done sets in, they can turn to the boogeyman.
Kind of a "The boogeyman made me do it." I used to believe that the boogeyman didn't exist. Now, I'm not so sure.
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