Socially|Mundane

John Henry Holliday is my hero.

I am an information junkie and I feed off history. All kinds of history. My favorite historical period is the United Sates, circa 1880's. It's the time of the silver-mining town of Tombstone and the infamous "shoot-out" at the O.K. Corral. Well, in reality it happened in an empty lot behind the O.K. Corral, but you get the idea.

Wyatt and brothers Earp always were fascinating to me, but not as much so as Doctor of Dental Surgery John Henry "Doc" Holliday. I have studied him wherever I could, read his biography and all that stuff.

The man was cordial and overflowing in charismatic karma, but he also didn't take any shit from anyone. He was a southern man who went west into the dry air to help alleviate tuberculosis symptoms and because of this infliction, he may have had a death-wish. Because of of this, people were scared of him. Yet, his compelling charm caused everyone who's ever met him to report liking the man enormously.

I said all that to say all this, and there is no segue:



We all have pet peeves. One of mine is simply laziness. Especially intellectual laziness. For instance, if you ask me an easily researchable question, I may refer you to the researching of it, such as a word definition. If you reply with "...eh, it's not that important, never-mind...", you instantly are added to my "scorn you" list.

Your being lazy doesn't much bother me. However, when your laziness surrounds me, I admit it can make my skin crawl sometimes. For instance in a public area:

"greeting A/all"
"hi. who watr u up2?
"nuttin u?"
"exme brbafk"
"kk"
- - -
"Back"
"wb"
"ty"

To me, this is incredibly lazy on a social level and yes, this was an actual 'discussion' I witnessed and I see similar on a regular and frequent basis. But so what? Who cares, right? The biggest brow-raiser for me is the 'greeting A/all' bit. I find it laughable.

Allow me to elaborate for a moment...

In case you haven't surmised, this is a discussion between a submissive whose 'character' is in the BDSM lifestyle. The idea of the "A/all" thing comes from the old days of Internet Relay Chat - or the "original instant messenger of the Internet". To distinguish between Dominants and Submissives, a Dominant always is addressed with capital initials, such as "Dominant". A submissive (a.k.a. 'slave' as is so prevalent in SL, there doesn't seem to be many in-betweens) always is referred to in writing with lower-case, as in "submissive".

Okay, without icons or avatars, I can understand this. However, in Second Life where everything is visual, why would such nonsense be necessary at all? What the hell ever happened to proper English grammar? I personally try to practice proper grammar and punctuation in my written communication, on paper, in my "Pages" word processor, and online in email and chat, including IMs. Even though English was probably my worst subject and I tear it to shreds by the minute with every sentence, at least I try.

So to me, Dominant and Submissive are equal, in terms of writing it out. However, let's take this a bit further: by greeting this way - saying "hello A/all" - is lazy. The submissive should be punished for being so lazy.

It is "keyboard" lazy. But this to me translates also into 'intellectual' lazy. Because it allows one to begin thinking this way. Using sloppy shortcuts in one's communication tells me sloppy shortcuts are sought for other facets on life. Hence: laziness. How long before these people actually start speaking verbally in this fashion? Don't laugh. I know you have actually 'verbalized' in your head "B-R-B" - though I don't know if you've actually said it aloud.

So, why is this "A/all" thing so lazy? Because the ones using it are taking a shortcut of trying to greet both Dominants and Submissives in one statement, rather than each individually - as it should be and as one might expect who is familiar with the lifestyle. Sush! Don't ask. Anyway, someone whip that girl now for being so lazy and disgracing her master/mistress/owner...whatever!

Even though I frown on this stuff, I don't intervene as it does not affect me directly. I myself don't use "ty" and "yw" or even "brb" and "afk" and the rest. If I am stepping away, I actually spell it out: "I'll be right back" or "I need to be away for a minute."

However, if someone speaks directly to me in this method, I will correct them with regard to my own communication standards and requirements. That is to say, I will make it known that this particular lazy-assed communication style will not sit with me and I will not allow communication directly with me in this way.

No, I don't drop a sledge-hammer on their head or bite their heads-off. Rather I try to return with a reply that will gently and subtly indicate to the 'speaker' that I would prefer they don't use such lazy communication methods when talking with me, especially in my IM window.

My favorite movie to date is still "Tombstone" with Kurt Russell (Wyatt Earp) and Val Kilmer (Doc Holliday) - and is the best, most accurate depiction of the events surrounding these characters of history. In fact, Val Kilmer is the absolutely best-played Doc Holliday in Hollywood history as far as I'm concerned, based on the knowledge and impression I have gained in my studies of the man.

I am not from the American South.

I grew-up on Maui (nannner, nanner). But I love the southern-speak and genteelness as expressed by Kilmer in that movie. So I enjoy emulating it, even though I am likely bastardizing Southern Gentlemen's speak horribly.

An example IM to me and my reply might look like...

"hi. how r u? R U [insert random statement here]?"

"Why good sir, what ever do you mean? I must duly apologize that my education and intellect do fail me at this time as I have never experienced the unique and awkward juxtaposition of two such letters of the English alphabet placed in such a way as to confound my understanding of your meaning in a profound and inexplicable way. Please do kindly repeat yourself for my own edification and I do kindly and gently request you do so IN FUCKING ENGLISH."

Yes.

I sometimes can be a complete jerk.