Sadly, one of my favourite blog-reads went offline yesterday due to the author’s personal crises.
The farewell note she left just before taking the blog offline was a simple
"Goodbye".
No long thesis on the whys and woes that necessitate the hiatus.
No self-indulgent pacifying of readers lest they should, in a fit of Diana-grief, sink into mass depression.
No phony self-deprecating statements of there not being that many readers of the blog (to obvious contrary) in the first place.
No academy award winner "thank you" speeches.
Most importantly, no comment box for supporters to indulge in a frenzy of exhortations to return/reconsider - we love you michael, we know you’re not guilty…[eeeps. wrong train of thought].
How many bloggers have had their grandly announced, temporary (yes, it is often temporary; they nearly always return after the therapeutic ego-stroking that only a comment-box-full of worship can create) and VISIBLE absence trigger off a spectacularly embarrassing battle of:-
"Oh no, XYZ, please don’t stop writing…you’re a god/ess"
"Rubbish. XYZ is just a phony attention-seeker"
"Shaddubb you jealous moron"
"No, YOU shadubb yourself, you behind-kisser
And on and on it plays.
We live in the Age of Oprah. Emotional stripteases, verbal diarrhoea, group-hugging, love-festing. Talkshows. The twin vices of exhibitionism and voyeurism have never been so …un-vicely. And so it’s absolutely refreshing to see just a simple "Goodbye".
A silent word in the face of thunderous action.
I hope life treats you kind, DZ, and that you’ll find a safe place for the scattered pieces of your poor wee heart.
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7 comments:
:(
sad that even in cyberspace, one is not free to be oneself
but yes, very proud (what a strange feeling for a stranger! but nevertheless true) of her strength to do what she did, with that single goodbye.
sigh. will miss her.
DZ is a columnist? perhaps cos she tendered? and want to start everything afresh?
She's still writing for Malaysiakini, so no, not cos tendered. Apparently something to do with her personal life and talking abt it on the blog.
read a cached of her blog.. seems she tendered?
http://216.239.59.104/search?q=cache:t0khc05CvLAJ:gongkapas.blogspot.com/2004_02_01_gongkapas_archive.html+dina+zaman+%2Bblog&hl=en
Yeah, but that was a year ago.
ohh yah..
my brain has shrunk to a pea size.. *boo hoo*
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