
Interesting dialog in last week's open forum with Leslie Jamison, author of the Atlantic Monthly feature on Second Life, on her depiction of two SL users and the challenges they each face in real life. NWN contributor Cajsa Lilliehook suggests that a thematic focus on pain in Leslie's writing is reflected in how she writes about them:
[It] seems you have a fascination with brokenness, with loss, loneliness, alienation, illness, and suicide. An empathetic writer, it seems you seek out brokenness. I also know that our own experiences, biases, and fascination effect how we synthesize the information we take in, so my question is whether your own fascination with brokenness leads you to see brokenness among people who are not broken. I suggested you talk to Gidge because she is hilarious and because she is the opposite of the trope of "special needs" mothers. She does not feel sanctified by her challenges or see autism as a blessing that transforms the family into a morality play. But she sure is not broken. She is coal under pressure, a diamond that finds joy and laughter in her life. She is smart, funny, and frank and realistic. She doesn't pretend she loves changing diapers on teenagers, but she doesn't let it break her, ever.
You misread Alicia, too. Since you expressed interest in how people find community, I thought she was a great representative of the family community. She is also not broken. She can't have children in her first life but found a way to find joy and family in SL. That's not broken. That is taking the lemons life handed her and adding some salt and tequila and making a party.
So that's my question. How much did your own fascination with brokenness influence how you perceived the strengths of people with challenges as fractures?
Leslie's reply:
Leslie's reply: