Thank You for Courageous Names in the Brave New World
In this brave new world of secret identities— screen names, avatars, and pseudonyms to represent who we think we are or how we want others to perceive us—we seem to be far more courageous with our “self“ expression.
Anonymity gives us the freedom to be “Ourselves” among others. ??
There have been times when the nom de plume served many women in the male dominated 19th century and provided privacy to authors of exposés.
I don’t think those times have passed, just transpired into these times in which we tout freedom of speech through the invisible gag order of patriotism and security. But I digress…
Last night, in reading a local newspaper on line, I observed cruel comments on a particular article which clearly came from folks who would never publish such things with their real names attached. Instead they used sophomoric nick names that incorporated the creativity of a porcupine on quaaludes with the scintillating expressiveness of a rusted barbed wire fence.
It disturbed me to think people could be so mean. It forced me to ponder the deterioration of things we have established as civilized behavior.
We are evolving into a society in which we no longer need to be accountable for things we say because we are protected by a false identity which we created on a keyboard. We may as well get down and dirty, eh?
Let’s all get “Courage” names!
We can send letters, text message, e-mails, and blog under these names without fear of retribution because “we” didn’t say it, our screen name did.
Our new slogan can be “My Avatar made me do it!”
No more awkward social interactions with the added stress of manners and sensitivity!
We can wear our avatar faces in public and say anything we want!
We can tell people they have bad breath, ugly clothes, and cellulite on their butts.
We can mock the less fortunate, cuss at old ladies, and say all manner of mean things that we would never imagine saying to some one if they could see our fragile Real face.
Since my real name is Lea Kelley (Lea means “meadow” and Kelley means “bright headed defender or warrior” I will make my Courage name far more powerful than “a red head defending a field of flowers”
My new courage name is …Wait!
If I tell you, I won’t be able to be mean! You’ll know who I am. I will have to behave. Never mind.
LEA KELLEY SAYING THANK YOU FOR... 