Last week, the literary community said goodbye and farewell to Kurt Vonnegut. One of America’s most unique voices has become unstuck in time, forever immortalized in the ideas he has left behind.
As a moment of silence [or, rather a moment of propaganda – silence has never been our strong suit], ‘Tied the Leader’ would like to share a quotation belonging to Mr. Vonnegut that should resonate with all of the respectable citizens of the Halo Nation: We are what we pretend to be, so we must be careful what we pretend to be.
That pearl of wisdom and foresight was committed to the pages of ‘Mother Night’ in 1962. Way back when, the notion of cyberpunk culture was uncomprehendable. Kurt knew nothing about the promise of a box that would enable us to engage each other from behind virtual avatars and make war, all without leaving the embrace of our couch. While he was not speaking about Xbox Live when those words were written, his notions hold true to us all the same.
You are who you pretend to be. In our arena of online multiplayer gaming; real-world inhibitors for poor behavior like eye contact, social persecution, personal reputations, or even a fist to the jaw have become shielded by a landscape of pixels populated by a Nation of assumed names. You are anonymous. You can behave in any way that you may choose. To escape worst case scenarios, you can always overwrite your very identity for a small fee payable to the Xbox Live Marketplace in the form of Microsoft points. Aside from the threat of the Banhammer, you are insulated from repercussions for your actions on the virtual battlefield.
It is in those moments – when you cannot be held accountable for your actions – that the true nature of your character will reveal itself.
You are who you pretend to be, so try and pretend to be someone excellent.
So it goes. R.I.P. Kurt.
Good article. He will be missed by many including myself. I have always been a big fan and really enjoy all his books and short stories.
Just like you said, those words do ring true still. If you would rather act like a little kid without his medicine and call people names in matchmaking then that is what you will be perceived as. If you instead act equally mature online as you would to a person you met on the street, then that would make a much stronger impact than a Timmy throwing his words into a mic.
Nice article Deej, and RIP Kurt.
I never read this author until after I heard the news and Dweezle talked about a short story he had written. It was really interesting and I liked the way he told the story.
Now, I’m going to go find some more of his work, because he truly was a great writer.
Sadly, I’ve never read the words of this famed writer, whic his sad indeed, as I pretend to be a writer everytime I have the spare time to give life to ink and paper crafter characters.
I’ve seen some episodes from a show based on his works, and my dad has forever quoted the curiosity of taking a leak, as a leek is a mirror.
I’m hoping that the old-man-days I keep telling myself will be reserved for the great writers of the world come before I am too old to enjoy them.
Good article—it’s great to see other cultural figures here, and not just Halo news. Too many people have turned away from these other forms of entertaimnet since our magic game boxes came along.
He was most famous for Slaughterhouse 5 I believe. I’m glad I read that. He is one author I need to keep in mind when things slow down this summer.