Over the past ten or so years that I’ve been on the internet I’ve found an interesting phenomenon that pops up regardless of where I am. It doesn’t matter if I’m on forums or email lists. It doesn’t matter if the subject matter is religion (in general), Christianity, feminism, dating, cooking, healthy living, or any other of the plethora of spaces I’ve been. There is a group of people who, when they go on the internet, pull on their magical-mystical “Internet Cloak of Disguise”. It’s almost as though they are 3-4 year olds using an old blanket around their shoulders and pretending to be Superman/woman.
They come on to an email list or forum and spread their particular “gospel” of their own godliness. They are always right. They are always the best and most knowledgeable. No matter what anyone else says, *they* are the ones with the inside awareness that everyone else should heed.
It used to irritate me. Then I found myself doing it. Eeeek! That came to a quick halt. I have chosen not to be anything other than who I am when I post on a forum or list. Granted, I use a variety of nicks, depending on how much I trust the truthfulness of other people on the forum or list, but *who* I am stays the same.
At first I thought this was only related to one particular issue. Then I ventured out a little further into the waters of the Internet. Oh my! They are *everywhere*! Some are single men looking for the perfect Barbie doll and telling anyone who does not match their own perfection (looking at their pictures they usually aren’t!) that they should look someplace else where men will accept such losers. Some are theologians who seem to think that God has appointed them the Lord’s mouthpiece. Interesting how the smell of their words has less to do with a mouth and more to do with the other end of the digestive tract. Some are cooks who like to spout off as though they have all the secrets of the kitchen but talk like they’ve never made an entire Thanksgiving dinner, from scratch, by themselves.
What’s even more amusing to me these days is when I see their pictures or talk with someone who knows them in real-life. I often find out that the most boorish of the Internet Super Intellectual is actually quite the milquetoast. They can hurl nasty insults at other people on line, but have never been heard to utter a cross word in public. The men looking for Barbie dolls will often be grossly overweight and unwilling to practice basic hygiene. The chefs have never done more than watch Alton Brown, Iron Chef, and Rachel Ray yet they know how to cook better than professional working chefs. And it happens in every group for every interest under the sun.
Bottom line, just because someone is on the Internet and says they know what they are talking about does not mean that they do. Those magical-mystery cloaks of disguise can be had by turning on the computer and logging on to the Internet.
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