Truth and Consequences

Posted on May 13, 2009
Filed Under Opinions/Gossip/People | 1 Comment

Contributed by Paypabak Writer

I love SLFix! Shauna Vella started this feature about blogs/bloggers recently and then there is this shitstorm of blogging about the death of Rheta Shan by many of the most-respected bloggers in SL. Talk about timing! Emotions running strong and a troll named Prokovy Neva stirs the pot with doubt and cynicsim about whether this RL death is real. The essence of Second Life has never been more closely examined in the shots fired back and forth. It’s very hard to maintain objectivity: I know some of these people quite well, others I merely respect for what they have written, and it trails off to people I don’t know at all on down to people I wish I did not know! What am I to conclude from this? I have a very long list of readings for you if you need to catch up–I’ll wait. No, please . . . these people are the creme de la creme of SL Blogdom writing from heart and head and they are great writers. (I do apologize that I have not included every blog involved but I have a balanced sampling here.) I’ll wait.

The announcement

Friends of Rheta
Codebastard Redgrave
Marx Dudek, a tribute
New World Notes
Second Stindberg
Tiny Dancing
Couture Conumdrum
Botgirl’s Second Life Diary

Friends of “Truth”
Second Thoughts

Now . . . let’s start with that intriguing quote with which Botgirl began her blog, but taking it verbatim from Rheta’s profile because it’s significantly different: Reality is not about truth or physics. It’s about crafting a story so persuasive it will be taken at face value. I didn’t know Rheta but I like this. I like her a lot! It says something very profound and I am grateful for her having written it. I have read a few choice articles and include links to them for your further appreciation (see below) of the words that pretty much represent her reality, her life, her legacy to those with the eyes and ears to feel and absorb her mind at work. Was this a lesson Second Life taught her? I do believe SL is teaching me things about reality that expand my own concept of self and identity. It’s not just head facts and truths and not just heart feelings and emotions . . . reality is a blender that whips all of these things around and the personality type of each person I’ve met handles this mixture differently.

Whether in first or second or third life, I have crafted a story about who I am and what I stand for, where I draw the line, etc. That story is my home, it keeps me safe. My friends are the people I’ve persuaded to believe and help build and defend my story. I did not choose my friends, they chose me. We should not delude ourselves about that fundamental truth whether in first or second life: I have a say in who my friends are, but they chose me and had no choice when I in my turn chose them. When Paypabak Writer stepped into Second Life, she gave up control of her life despite the incredible illusion of control she seemed to have in choosing her appearance and how she could shape her backstory. The people with whom she interacted gained control and shaped her development once she risked sharing the crafting of her story with others. That others wanted to be part of that story is what Rheta is driving at: a story so persuasive it will be taken at face value. Paypabak is much richer for having sat in mourning with these friends, for letting people in and making herself accessible to pain as well as joy, tears as well as laughter, and, gosh, to feel virtually human!

And so there we have the friends of Rheta Shan, heartbroken at the face value loss of a fellow story crafter. What lovely truths have passed that we will have to learn from someone else, if at all?

What have I to say about the Friends of Truth, which includes the people who have commented agreement with Prok? Thank you for your unwavering devotion to facts even when they aren’t available. I’m so sorry your personality type or the story framework of your life doesn’t allow you to decouple from that trait. Your lack of compassion betrays you. While an argument is put forth in which you would have those friends of Rheta Shan healed by a truth that is so obvious to you, but not to the rest of us, and therefore claim compassion for our feelings, you are simply . . . unpersuasive.

Must-Read Rheta Shan blogs

The World Philip Made
Great Escape

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