What demonic power possesses me to post in this thread?
Ann isn't attacking deathfic, as I see it. (Although it can certainly look otherwise) She's just challenging the assumption brought in a previous thread that TOGOM fics have as much emotional impact on the characters as actual deathfics do. Ann's stance back then was that Clark deathfics and TOGOM fics couldn't be classed together because Clark doesn't really die in TOGOM. We then went on to have a very interesting discussion about our different perceptions of death and grieving, with the majority of posters agreeing that they grieved not for the bereaved but those who were left behind.
But seriously, Ann, this example seems rather confusing and convoluted to me. I wouldn't have known what you were trying to get at if I hadn't been following the other thread.
You weren't just saying TOGOMs and deathfics were different because of the reaction engendered in the reader. It goes without saying that while we'll feel incredibly sorry for Lois as she is left to grieve the partner she thinks is dead, we ourselves don't feel the finality and emotional wallop of death itself, because we KNOW Clark is going to come back to her eventually. However, what you were saying was that it should be different for LOIS, which to my mind, makes no sense at all. Grieving for someone who one believes is dead is the same as grieving for someone who really is dead.
It should be clear to you by now, Ann, that this depends entirely on a person's perception of death. Some of us believe that the dead have gone to a better place free of the fetters of human pain, there to await us upon our own demise. Therefore, we accept it as fate and we grieve only for those who grieve in turn. Some like you, believe that death means a cessation of all things, without continuance of any sort. Those people will pity the dead and find so called 'untimely' deaths akin to robbery and a cheating of life.
However, these perceptions of death and the ways in which we endure them are shaped by our cultures, our times, our preconceptions, upbringing and a myriad of other factors that run far deeper in our consciousness than simple intellect or reason. Therefore, the art through which we express our ideas are accordingly subjective. There is no one standard through which death and its impact may be judged.
You say TOGOMs and deathfics are different for you, Ann, and that's all right. That's what you conceive in your own unique view of death. However, it does not give you the right to try and impose this view on others, nor to judge others' writing as being lacking if they do not share your views on how death should be dealt with.
And you should have figured by now that people have become sensitized to this topic and such a post can only be seen as inflammatory, no matter what your intentions are. In such a case, at the very least you could have started by clarifying your intent - exploring the difference between TOGOM and deathfic, before hurling this parable into out midst like the proverbial gauntlet. In nay other message board but this, you would by now have been inundated by flames, and you would have brought it upon yourself.
And all for what? Because you persist in delving into an inflammatory topic and because you do not take pains to word it diplomatically enough. Is it really worth it to get so many people's backs up for so little reason?
And Carol, I think you're being over-sensitive. When you purposely chuff up the embers of a fire, you must expect to get singed a little. Nobody here has said anything untoward to Ann, except the fact that we don't think she's playing very nice. I think Julie Stars said it best.
Freedom of speech works both ways. Ann can bring up this topic as many times as she likes, never mind that half the members feel attacked every time she does so. However, it also entitles us to say so when we're tired of seeing what we perceive as the same debate again and again.
In closing however, I just want to re-emphasize the fact that, despite appearances, Ann isn't attacking anybody.
Chill out, guys.
