Station Keeping
I had something to say.
It was typically trenchant, pithy and sharply observed. It cut to the chase and the quick.
But it was in a voice – this one – somewhat disused, that I have less use for these days. And so I think I’ll take my leave, and own my life and words in other ways.
No last great rant, no Goodbye Cruel World. Not even “never again” because, well, after this many years online experience has shown that such resolutions are fatuous. Which is partly why I’m not even going to bother deleting this blog. Circumstances, however remote, may yet call for the face of the Gorgon… and so this platform will remain, here in orbit.
On my way out, I thought I’d leave behind a few things I’ve learned. They are neither comprehensive nor entirely consistent and are open to interpretation, but I think they are all true. I offer them without further comment:
No one has the authority to tell anyone else who they are. This means you. If you think this means not-you, think again.
Nothing is as irrelevant as undying anger.
Corollary: The more strident and repetitive you are, the less credible you are.
In matters of import, you can love or you can hate. There is no neutrality, nor a merely adversarial stance. Protests to the contrary make everything else suspect.
Transition is transitory. Or should be.
If you’re hung up on categories, you’re an idiot. If you’re so hung up that they’re more important to you than real people, you’re a monster.
Separatism doesn’t work.
Coalition is not equivalence.
Words have consequences, and words of pain are easier for most than words of help.
Keep your damage to yourself.
This is not activism. Not really.
- Val
I enjoyed your blog while it was around.
Goodbye!
Well, you have been relatively quiet for a long while, but I’ll still miss this voice.
I like this post – it has the feeling of familiarity to me, as if I’ve recently been talking to someone…