A phrase that I’ve seen in the last several years that has become not only a perfect descriptor for people who take things too seriously on the internet, but also a warning of being comfortably immersed in a world of perception is “too online.” A combination of never truly facing the pandemic, its aftermath, and the ongoing effects, along with this ever evolving internet culture that confuses witty banter online with genuine connection and has led to parasocial relationships where someone feels entitled to share their opinions and be downright inappropriate with someone they follow online. I have seen this on many occasions involving celebrities and non-celebrities alike, the former being a little different as there is an elements of privacy you unfortunately lose being that recognizable. I want to emphasize here that it is bananas that this society at large, yes you entire world, has created a normalcy with celebrities’ personal lives being objectified and criticized mercilessly. People can share whatever they like about themselves, but it becomes a problem when it’s shared without consent. Anyway, that’s not what I want to talk about today, but I still find it incredibly uncomfortable that I know some stranger’s favorite color and bra size…sigh… So this brings me to the few events that have happened that I want to share.
To Do: Release the Stress, Release the Time
I am feeling overwhelmed. Overwhelmed with confusion, doubt, anger, frustration, panic, restlessness. All the emotions just seem to be toiling away while the world lurches downward in this endlessly chaotic doom spiral.
Boundary =/= Control
I have said it many times before, I truly believe everyone should go to therapy, but in the past few years with the undeniable influx in people wanting to cope with the anxiety and depression this pandemic has produced or exacerbated, the amount of clinical jargon being thrown around has reached a critical mass. People are starting to weaponize therapy as a means of control or explaining away shitty behavior. Of course, I’m referring to the recently leaked texts of one Jonah Hill, a celebrity who once played a teenager obsessed with drawing elaborate, beautiful pics of male genitalia. I’m sorry, I literally cannot see him without replaying that scene from Super Bad. I digress…
I won’t add all the texts here, but here’s a link where you can read them. It’s appalling how he used therapy buzzwords to justify controlling his then gf and the situation. However, what really FLOORED me was the repulsive response in the aftermath of those texts being shared.
Juneteenth: More than a day off
Today is Juneteenth, a holiday steeped in a painful history, but has grown to be beautiful celebration of life. I’ve written about the holiday since it became more visible to the rest of the country in 2020. I’ll list out the links to those posts below:
Juneteenth 2020
Juneteenth 2021
Juneteenth 2022
The Artist Within
I went to a party last month and some guy insisted I just start reciting a story on the spot to prove I was a writer. In the moment, with a number of eyes on me I failed to come up with a story that placated him. There’s a scenario I think about often and have been meaning to write about where a brave balloon forges a thorny forest to make it to the other side. It’s not super well thought out, but it’s something I plan to expand upon maybe and genuinely felt like it would be an interesting story. This is what I was trying to explain when I was abruptly cut off by this dude and told I wasn’t really a writer because I couldn’t tell a story at the drop of a hat. He then proceeded to string together the most nonsensical sentences, finished, and looked around proudly at everyone who looked just as confused as me. Even with his embarrassing display, his words still got under my skin. I keep revisiting this incident because it made me feel like a fraud and so small.