Sinister: Cyberfriends ain't no friends of mine

[Mick McMick]

Hullo List,
	I've been a bit busy lately making crappy lithographs and organizing a
portfolio and such things. So I caught up on my mail today, and I found
something that disturbed me to no end... I'm going to attempt to
reference the tempestuous Miss Carmen's message without discussing the
list content part of it.
        
and so she writes....
> And who needs virtual cyber friends
> anyway?  If you can't make friends with living, breathing people in 
> the flesh, then you have problems.  I enjoy communicating with fellow 
> B&S fans, but I don't think a good, meaningful friendship could
> possibly be made through typing simple words. 
 
	I can't believe this statement is coming from someone who is less than
80 years old. I've been on internet-like types of communications for
about 6 years now, and the stigma associated with those who meet friends
and (gasp) lovers by means other than the traditional is unbelieveable,
as I'm sure you will all realize from reading posts like this. The
internet is a new thing, and so people will naturally be afraid or
disdainful of its effects on society, but knowing this doesn't make
statements like these seem any less judgemental or hurtful.  
	First of all, there is a stigma attached that people who make friends
through the internet can't make friends off of it. And I suppose that
there may be some people like that, but for the most part it's just not
true. I wouldn't call myself a popular guy, but I think I'm pretty
personable off the internet, and I have friends off of it. In certain
cases I have become very good friends with people I met by normal means
who have friends they met through the internet. This didn't mean that
they were socially misshapen, and they were in all cases quite nice
friends. And another thing, I've kept in touch with friends that I met
off the internet with the internet, once we moved away from one another,
and I can tell you that it doesn't diminish our friendships in any way.
And if you lot think people rudely make generalizations about those with
"virtual cyberfriends" nowadays, you should have been around 6 years
ago. At least now there are a lot of us, so it doesn't seem so strange
to most. I recall a time when all drugs & youth problems seemed
attributed to internet-using ravers. Hah.
	Argh, and that statement about making good, meaningful friends, oh that
just had me up in arms. Look, more than one member of Belle & Sebastian
have met people who were more than friends by writing "simple words," to
them, and you should buy that Looper single and listen to it until you
realize how natural a thing this is. To me Belle & Sebastian seems a
band that cherishes the written word, and I think you're completely
wrong about making friends without seeing them or hearing their voice.
	In fact, I believe that instead of those with cyberfriends being
somehow socially inept in some way, that it is really the other way
'round. People like Carmen are, in my opinion, the only ones who are
actually socially inept, because they are incapable of meeting friends
outside of the traditional realm. I feel very sorry for you, Carmen,
that your view of the world is so close-set that you deny yourself the
friendship of so many. For my part, I feel that many of the friends I
made through the internet are as good of friends as the ones I met off
of it, and sometimes better. I hope my expressing these opinions doesn't
offend anyone, but being stigmatized makes me feisty. I am now pausing
to see if I should really send this, but I still feel like I'm not
making a huge mistake. Right, on to the rest of the message... 
	*steps down from his soapbox*
	
	I did manage to meet someone outside of the internet who had heard of
B&S last night. I was printing some things, when the fellow next to me
put Arab Strap in the stereo (the band, not the album). He apparently
doesn't like B&S after a couple listens of TWITCHYBATS, but I
recommended that he give them more of a chance, as I did, and look where
it got me.	
	I was also very impressed today with Corporea's lovely interpretation
of "Me & the Major." I had considered some of the themes, but I never
heard it put so eloquently. *applauds*
	Also notable was Nanettee's (is that like a Manatee? =) eloquent
defense (or defence) of "virtual cyberfriends." Hehe, just that phrase
is really amusing to me. Like some kind of 90's buzzword. 
	Well, this post has gotten long enough. And I'm expecting my friend
Marge to call me soon, and we're going for coffee, and SHE DOESN'T EVEN
USE THE INTERNET!! OH MY GOD!!! 

	Lithographing and Loving ;)

 /"\_/"\_/"\   Mick McMick - bp224995 at ohiou.edu - ICQ#5056758
 \         /   Sandcastle Records - (same e-mail for now) 
  |       |    Sandcastle Homepage -  
  |       |      http://www.geocities.com/SunsetStrip/Amphitheatre/4972/ 
  |       |    "I am always wishing to make people  
  |       |        in the world happy with my smiles."   
  |       |            - Mr. Friendly
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