February 17, 2017

• Looking at the Internet

  I have to admit to a little vice I have. I read online comics. I'm not talking about the comics in the Sunday paper that become available online after publication. I read web comics that are only published online. Most of them attracted me initially by the style or skill of the artwork. A few have kept my attention based on the story. That said, I've noticed a trend in these comics. They almost all have one or more angst-ridden characters whose teeth gnashing is directly relate to:
  1. Depression
  2. Gender identity issues
  3. Having failed at preventing or completing a suicide
  4. Abandonment

  I've read many of these comics/graphic novels over the years. It is starting to be very predictable. Although a couple have had amusing and comedic elements they all veer back into dark topics at some point. A couple of them have wrapped up and a few were completed before I started reading. I'm starting to lose interest. I don't know if it is because of the sameness of all the stories that I'm becoming bored or if I feel that there isn't anything more to be said in the medium. I hope I'm not becoming inured to the difficulties surrounding gender. I worry that in the polarized environment in our country that those marginalized groups may lose their voices or I may lose my capacity to care. These may seem like minor issues to some but to me it is a terrifying thought that I may lose my sense of empathy and sympathy, that I could become callous to the situations of others. I find myself tuning out the radio when the news come on. I've given up watching TV. I flip through the newspaper and slide the funnies out and sometimes the Community section avoiding the national news stories. And now even the internet has become a more hostile place. I want the bickering on Facebook to stop. I don't want to listen to angry music and violent outbursts but that seems to be what the internet is made of lately.

  • 6:33 am
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