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RE: To share my identity or to remain anonymous.......
I chose to share my identity openly both here and on all other social media. It helps friends from one medium find me on others and it proves that I have nothing to hide and nothing to fear.
I like that, to prove you have nothing to hide and nothing to fear....I guess it's mostly because of hearing about friends getting stopped at borders for activism and the fact that creating art has the potential to make you a lightning rod of attention .
It's not about fearing or hiding. Strong opinions alone can have a negative impact on real world life. Like...for example - a kindergarten teacher who also writes erotica - maybe even based on her personal experiences ! Or A lone conservative in a liberal town or visa versa.
The mythical kindergarten teacher risks losing her job if her online persona is connected to her professional persona. The conservative (or liberal - whatever, it's just an example lol) may have a hard time among his/her peers - maybe can't get hired.
Or freelancers in general. I write all kinds of stuff, mostly without bylines for work. I wouldn't necessarily want clients to know I work in various fields (you know, they'd think I was a jack of all trades, master of none, ) etc.
I'm glad you feel ok being you online and in real life, but not everyone else does, and it doesn't mean they have something to hide.
yes! I didn't realize you were the same commenter as above, otherwise I would have replied together.
How did they find your content? We you on a watchlist of some sort? This is by far the biggest reason on the list. I don't see anyone as an enemy, personally, I am always looking for ways to peacefully resolve issues, even when I'm on the shit end of the stick, but I have a lot to say about how sick society is and how everything from "the growing amount of mental illness" to our "inability" to end poverty are all symptoms of social illness and false premises taught in school and by the media rather than problems of the individual or problems with human nature.
I can probably still say a lot whilecensoring myself to some degree but it'd be real nice not to worry about that.
I only use facebook for two reasons, the amount of people from different cities and countries who I want to stay in touch with would not be able to keep track of otherwise, and because I'm in some groups there where we talk about really meaningful things and I don't even know most of those people in person. If it weren't for these two reasons I'd close my account tomorrow.
No worries - I was trying to comment on another comment - but it seems it doesn't always line up on here. It really is too bad that we can't internally bookmark blogs we like. Maybe that will be changed in updates.
Totally agree - I prefer peaceful resolutions, but unfortunately, not everyone is so diplomatic. Many believe an opinion you hold IS you. IE. Someone who is very pro government, pro police, etc - they just can't grasp anti establishment views. And visa versa of course. We are all guilty to some degree of living in bubbles. I like to break mine, and sometimes engage the other side as though I was learning about the issue for the first time - just to see where they are coming from.
100% on society - sooo true. We self censor while engaging in live society all day long - why not have a free space to voice our opinions ?
Same with me on FB too. I haven't deleted it, I just don't go on very often. But it would be impossible to easily reach friends around the world without it. It's good for groups too. I actually set up a writer FB that I join writing groups on. There are some useful qualities on FB :-)
Glad to be here! Looking forward to more of your writing!
Or the example the author used in the comment above mine ! It's real, it happens. I was detained once on a flight back from Colombia because I had a stamp from Yemen in my passport. I used to study Arabic. I was detained for no reason, held for hours, and separated from my group. Mind you I'm a white American woman, so it wasn't the stereotypical racial profiling -
The agent was so mean - asking me if I was a Muslim (I'm not but so what if I was?! , if I loved America or if I thought I'd be better off over in Yemen, asked if I was gay, if I was Christian, etc. ). He was the one who detained me, despite me being as respectful as I could be.
When I finally was allowed to see the real customs official - he presented me with a bunch of "anti american" articles I'd written while living abroad many years earlier - ie an article condemning the Iraq War and the illegitimacy of G W Bush's presidency. Like - soft, soft stuff. In the end he finally understood that I was genuinely interested in Arab culture, that I went to Yemen for an experience, to learn and to research - but still -
The point is, the author is right in his prior comment!
I have known that GCHQ of the UK have kept a file on me since I was 9 years old.
This fact has never impacted negatively on my life, quite the reverse.
I was traveling in Spain but lost my mobile phone. My son waited about a month to hear from me. He finally gave up and called Interpol.
11 minutes later a couple of "Men in Black" arrived at the address where I was staying temporarily. They presented me with my son's phone number and when I asked them how they had found me so quickly they simply stated "the micro-chip in the back of your passport, madam!" Cordiality and quick service which put my son's mind at rest in a jiffy!
Security doesn't always work against us, ya know?