There is a movie, "Life of Brian" by Monty Python, which many of our system are quite fond of. The character of the title, a rather mild-mannered fellow proclaimed the Messiah by a throng of loyal followers, tries in one scene to dissuade the legion of aspiring worshippers who have caught him off-guard and nude at his window. "You," says he, "are all individuals! You can all think for yourselves!" And unto this proclamation the crowd blithely cries, "We are all individuals! We can all think for ourselves!" There is, I confess, a particular factor quite seperate from the legions of fluff and half-legible whinings blighting the pages of so many self-identified multiple collectives, which has made me something of a hermit amongst those from whom I should be most expectedly justified in seeking friendship. Even among those who hold sway to the doctrine of "empowerment," there is a certain dullness, a curious sameness of disposition, purpose and interest standing firm not only between individual members of a collective but, by and large, between these collectives themselves. To put it quite simply, they are all the same. Oh, indeed the form and design of pages may vary enough as to lead an idle observer to the conclusion that they speak to great disparities in personality: but it is rather like the case of the disparities in form which exist among dogs. Size, color or form notwithstanding, all dogs, with rare exceptions, are joined together by a uniformly canine temperament: they desire to please their masters, to seek companionship. Unfortunately, I cannot say that this uniformity of personality amongst multiple systems encompasses traits so benign and admirable as those possessed by the canine race. So, yes, it has been revealed that a surprising number of collectives include among their ranks some who are not human, and some who take the forms of demons, or vampires, or fairies, or other creatures of myth both good and ill. It has been revealed that others include fantastical creatures of legend, others curiously unique creatures without any true compare to be found in the annals of Earth's literature and myth; that not all who claim membership in systems upon this world originate from this world, nor even trouble themselves with concern for its ways. What more stands to be gained by endlessly reiterating the fact of one's own difference, no matter how impassioned the language or stirring the delivery? For what end do these collectives stand upon their rickety soapboxes and shout to all and sundry again and again that they are not human, they are not of this world, they are not what doctors have deigned to label them as? There is something irritatingly pedantic about being reminded again and again by self-proclaimed empowered collectives that they are Not Like The Model-- as if they fear their own words and actions insufficient to demonstrate their sanity; they must spell it out for us lest we fall prey to a mistaken impression. So too it has been revealed that not all members of a collective need conform to the body's gender; that not all hold sway to a strict desire for the opposite sex, not all wish even to define themselves in terms of male and female. And indeed, some take joy in sexual activities frowned upon and scorned as perverse by the dominant culture. Again, what now may be gained by endlessly impressing this point upon readers? There is a point after which every prideful proclamation of difference begins to seem quite similar indeed; a uniformity of intent with different specifics tacked onto it. So you are not human; so you hail from a different world and speak a different language; so you are neither male nor female, and you enjoy having your hands tied during sex. So? If you have got nothing interesting to say about it, if you can only reiterate it as yet one more singular fact like the color of your eyes, why is this worthy of my concern? I can find a dozen multiple sites and dozens of vile, badly-written books abounding with lurid descriptions of strange creatures and alien worlds; but give to me one site, one description which fuels the mind, which makes me reflect upon the nature of my own existence, which brings the reader to awe and wonder with its evocations of a world unlike this one! I can find scores of droll run-downs of various collectives and their inhabitants, but find me a single member of a single collective who makes me think "Oh, what an interesting individual; I should like to know this person!" Find me a multiple page or journal in which is said something that has not been said before, which is not the mere self-indulgences of yet one more collective presuming itself clever and unique by shouting of its "remarkable traits" which are remarkably common to so many other systems! Yes, indeed, they are individuals-- just like everyone else. I find it also quite remarkable how many collectives hadn't a clue that, say, they hailed from another world, or that elves and dragons numbered among their ranks, or that they possessed miraculous psychic abilities, until they had made the acquaintance of another collective claiming such. Of course I am not so narrow-minded as to doubt that some of these discoveries might truly be sincere ones; but there are many more for whom their "revelations" seem a terribly ill-timed coincidence. Indeed, if the end goal of many of these collectives is to prove themselves perfectly ordinary and average, then so far as I am concerned, they have admirably proven themselves to be glaringly unextraordinary-- boring, shallow, and void of any marvelously distinctive traits. I would no sooner read a long ramble upon dirty dishes penned by a multiple than one written by a single person; I shall not expound my time in reading yet more whine of existential angst for the mere reason that it was written by a member of a multiple group. I wish to be surprised, to be awed, and above all else, to be moved to impassioned thought; and I find this far sooner by perusing the library than by taking a lengthy detour through the realms of online multiplicity. Back |