Richard Dawkins is a very clever man but his militant atheism is just as bigoted as the religiosity of fundamentalist believers, http://www.independent.co.uk/news/people/professor-richard-dawkins-claims-fairy-tales-are-harmful-to-children-9489287.html
How much responsibility do the creators of literature, we authors have regarding how people choose to interpret and use our writings? A recent report in the UK’s Daily Telegraph reports on a trial in America of 2 12-year-old girls who are charged with the attempted murder of their friend (also aged 12) to please the slender man, a fictional character who is frequently portrayed as abducting children (see http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/northamerica/usa/10873464/Two-12-year-old-girls-charged-with-trying-to-murder-friend-to-please-Internet-demon.html). It is reported that the girls hoped that by killing their friend they could join the cult of Slender man and reside with him in his mantion.
The Slender Man first appeared on the Something Awful forums in 2008 being the creation of one Eric Nudson and as with so much on the web has gone viral since it’s first appearance, (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Slender_Man). Although 2008 appears to constitute the first modern appearance of Slender Man European and other mythologies are full of stories regarding such a character. Creepypasta Wiki is largely devoted to Slender Man as a modern creation (see http://creepypasta.wikia.com/wiki/The_Slender_Man), however the entry acknowledges that the idea of Slender Man dates back for centuries, (for the mythology and culture surrounding Slender Man see http://theslenderman.wikia.com/wiki/Slender_Man_in_Mythology_and_Culture).
The horrific stabbing of a young girl has caused certain individuals to ask whether the presence of online stories regarding the exploits of Slender Man made (or contributed to) the decision of the 2 12-year-olds to attack their friend. It does appear from the reports of the trial that the girls where obsessed with the character of Slender Man and that they had convinced themselves that he was an actual (not fictional) being. I recall as a child being very interested in the description of the use of the guillotine In Dicken’s A Tale of 2 Cities. I recollect playing games with other children in which we pretended to chop off one another’s heads using that fearsome instrument of retribution. However neither I nor any of my playmates ever thought of using a real guillotine. It was, quite simply a game. Had we had access to a real axe I doubt that any of us would have thought to employ it to remove a fellow pupil’s head. For such a horrific incident to have occurred the person doing the axe wielding would have needed to be mentally unstable or to have “temporarily lost it”. Thankfully none of us had access to an axe or similar implement.
The world is full of stories (some of them fairy tales) regarding creatures (human and supernatural) who commit horrific acts of cruelty. Take, for example the story of Bluebeard or that of Hansel and Grettle. Few people call for the banning of such tales on the grounds that a disturbed child could misconstrue them as being real. The overwhelming majority of children pass through childhood without ever seriously considering cooking their peers (as in Hansel and Grettle). In short if we ban or censure Creepypasta Wiki we need to banish much loved fairy tales to the top shelves of book shops well out of the reach of little hands.
What happened in America is a tragedy for everyone concerned but censuring content is not the answer (apart, of course from parents exercising judgement as to what their children can view on and off line and internet forums requiring age verification prior to allowing access to mature content).
I heard the bird sing, they spoke to me of spring, of joy profound, beauty all around, flowers strew the ground, love of life abounds.
The free promotion of my collection of short stories, “Sting In The Tail And Other Stories”, and my short story, “Samantha” ends today. My collection of short stories, “An Act Of Mercy” starts today (2 June) and ends on Friday 6 June. To download my books please go to http://www.amazon.co.uk/K.-Morris/e/B00CEECWHY/ref=ntt_dp_epwbk_0. If you read any of my stories please do consider leaving a review.
Many thanks and kind regards,
Kevin
Distance blurs memories. A small hut in the school playground. Me, alone listening to the rain. Half content in my solitude but fearing/hoping they will come.
Did I believe that I would be collected by the teachers or was it a clever ruze to get the other pupils to go away, leave me to the rain and solitude?
Never part of the collective whole, the herd of boys and girls. I sought the solitary hut but yet was half in love with the clamour of the playground. To belong, to be part of the happy mass. Drawn to the multitude and yet repelled by it. Wanting to belong but knowing the difference, the chasm which separated us.
Where you happy my peers, shouting and playing in the great playground? I played also, pushing the big metal truck. It stopped suddenly, the sharp edge cut my right shin, the scar is with me still. Yes I played but, try as I might was never truly one of you. Did I want to be? Yes, no, perhaps. I am confused, bemused memories play tricks distance befuddles my recollection of the past.
I became blind at about 18-months-old as a result of a blood clot on the brain. I have some useful vision including the ability to see outlines of objects, I can not, however read print.
As a young child I was taught how to use Braille, a system of raised dots which blind people touch in order to decipher text. Growing up Braille was central to my life. I read Braille books voraciously, my school examinations and university exams where in Braille and I could not have progressed easily in life in the absence of those strange, bumpy dots!
Today there is growing concern that Braille is under threat. See, for example the following article, http://www.nzherald.co.nz/lifestyle/news/article.cfm?c_id=6&objectid=11258778. The growth of digital technology makes it incredibly easy for blind people to access printed material without having to use Braille. I am typing this with the assistance of Jaws which converts text into speech and Braille on a standard Windows computer allowing visually impaired PC users to access the internet, send and receive e-mail etc. While Jaws does work with Braille displays allowing visually impaired PC users to read Braille via their machines, Braille displays are not essential to the task of reading. My home laptop on which I am writing now is not hooked up to a Braille display and I don’t feel the lack of the technology. I can cope perfectly well in the absence of a Braille display.
Amazon Kindles are equipped with a text to speech facility which allows the reading of books without looking at the device’s screen. Apple products such as the iPad have voiceover which enables visually impaired people to utilise various apps including the one for reading Kindle content. Safari and other key apps are also accessible.
From the above one might conclude that braill is, like the parrot in Monty Python well and truly deceased. However Braille remains incredibly useful. Most medicines are now labelled in Braille which allows blind people to find their medication without having to rely on sighted friends, neighbours, family etc. Again some household products contain Braille labelling (next time you go to the supermarket take a look at the bottles of bleach many of which are labelled with “bleach” in Braille.
Despite the proliferation of digital technology I still enjoy reading Braille. It is lovely to sit in a comfortable armchair leafing through The New Oxford Book Of English Verse or Poe’s “tales of Mystery and Imagination”.
Braille is certainly declining but there remains fight in the old beast yet!
If, at some future date machines can read our memories as well as our dreams this is, obviously open to abuse by hackers and/or an authoritarian government. I wonder whether anti brain hacking software will be developed in the same way that people use Zone Alarm and similar products to prevent people from hacking their computers. Science fiction perhaps but stranger things have happened, http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2632115/Machine-scan-brain-read-dreams-Scanner-powerful-detect-reconstruct-images-faces-people-thinking-of.html
A plethora of books, a degree, when I cease to be, who will remember me? Laughter with friends, me caught in the lense, who will remember me? These thoughts in my head, gone once dead, who will remember me?
As a Liverpudlian bborn and bred I was interested to read the below article relating to Adolf Hitler’s half brother in respect of the 1911 census, http://blog.findmypast.co.uk/2014/adolf-hitlers-liverpudlian-half-brother-in-the-1911-census/. There are those who claim that the infamous Adolf actually spent time in Liverpool although so far as I have been able to ascertain there exists no historical evidence to substantiate this claim.
I remember, many years ago reading a fictionalised account of Adolf’s visit to Liverpool. There are, almost certainly a number of books written along similar lines but I can not, for the life of me remember the title of the one I read.
Last night I had one of those strange dreams which remain with you on waking. I dream most nights but rarely remember my dreams. On this occasion I fell into conversation with an author outside one of those trendy coffee places which have proliferated in London and other cities. He told me that every day he could be found sipping coffee at this establishment and went on to name several novels he had authored. I remember, while dreaming clearly recollecting the titles of the books he had authored, however, on waking their titles flew away to be remembered no more.
In my dream I felt envious that this man could enjoy a life of ease while I worked in a 9-5 occupation. I haven’t written anything substancial for a while so perhaps my dream is telling me that I need to start scribbling again. The ocean going yacht and the country cottage beckons …
K Morris - Poet 