Dymitri Harszewski
Blog 1660
Sept. 26 2023

Comment Reply
Reply ID: ef46

Well Tenzin, it appears your comment was written around Aug. 20th, sent to me by BTB on Spt 3rd, and I received it yesterday, Sept. 20th. It also appears your comment focussed entirely on my post about whispers, which seems odd since you wrote it under "The Presumption of Whiteness" post. Anyway, I'll answer your comment line by line.

*(Tenzin Writes) "Again, using this man's untimely death as fodder for your narcissistic ramblings. Your 'epitaph' to him was insulting. Horribly insulting.

That's a rather mean thing to say, Tenzin, and surprising because I'd thought we'd turned a bit of a corner after a brought Mr Goehler's passing to your attention. Besides, I think Whispers himself would disagree with your accusations. As to narcissism--and it's unfortunate this comes up in the first sentence :)--are you very familiar with the clinical definition? (Also, are you very familiar with irony? Lol!) I doubt very many people who know me would say I lack empathy, or that I'm particularly grandiose or an admiration-whore. I don't believe much of what I write here implies those things either.

Epitaph, Ms Pot, is you word and not mine, as I'd only intended a brief reflection on how Whispers' suicide so starkly reminded me to not judge people but the characters they portray, because they are invariably, deeper and more multifaceted than whatever my own always-limited experience with them suggests. I never intended to praise the man, though I've developed a greater appreciation for the complex person behind the simple "Whispers" persona from the stories his friends and acquaintances here have shared with me. Surely you don't think my acknowledgement of either the depth of his feeling for his son or the impact of his tragic last act on my own thinking was "insulting" do you? Are you insulted just because it comes from me? You know you aren't required to read my blog right?

* (T. writes) "You insulted this man and his death and inappropriately in the manner of it."

Insofar as I can make sense of this accusation at all, I refer to the paragraph above. I certainly never asked Whispers or criticized his final decision in any way. Every person should choose how he or she will go out, and although I wish Whispers would've tried to weather the storm, I understand and respect his decision not to. I'm certain that nothing I wrote suggest otherwise.

*(Tenzin writes) "You cooed and squirmed with delight at the manner I took offence to this."

I did? What in my reply to you could possibly make you say this? In fact, I had no impression you'd taken offence to anything other than my ill-advised crack about you and Whispers sharing "troll tendencies", which I admitted was regretable and uncalled for. But my reply to you evidences no "delight" at any negative reaction from you, as I felt no such delight. I thought my words and tone were rather conciliatory, were they not? "Cooed and squirmed"?? Tenzin, I'm neither a cooler nor a squimer. You attribute so many unflattering things to me that simply do not exist outside of your imagination. Why?

*(Tenzin writes)