#footofdiablo

[viperslang]

stephen wrote a post about queerness. it is a v good post. you should read stephen's post.

[viperslang]

hi stephen.

you INSPIRE ME!

*giggle giggle*

[jayarrarr]

Open Letter to Stephen's Anon: Last night, I posted a work of fiction. Stephen wrote a response, bringing up several well-reasoned and well-researched points at which he took issue. I was rather short in my replies, granted -- this was primarily because I was working at the time, and although I could not take the opportunity to respond to each of Stephen’s points directly with the same care and thoroughness he brought to them, I did want to acknowledge and express my appreciation for his point of view. Through fiction, I often endeavor to portray various perspectives or thoughts. In this vein, I am an observer and a story-teller -- not an advocate. Just as an actor is not a character they portray, so too an author is not a character they write -- even if that character is the narrator of the story. I personally enjoy challenging myself by writing from viewpoints I don’t hold or from the perspective of characters I don’t much care for. It’s easy to write a character you dislike as a villain and kill him off -- easy and typically not all that interesting. To congratulate Stephen for “putting [me] in [my] place” is taking it a bit far. As the piece in question is a work of fiction, if Stephen was putting anyone in their place, it was the fictitious narrator of the piece in question -- not me. As far as calling me a “blowhard” -- as I said in response to the post, that’s a new one. On further reflection I’ve confirmed that to my recollection that is indeed the first time anyone, in any context, has used that word to describe me. Although I generally have healthy self-esteem and plenty of the ego that typically goes along with anyone in the creative arts, empty boasting or unsubstantiated bragging is not really something I do. I can only assume anyone who would attach such a label to me doesn’t know me at all -- an assumption that can be neither proved nor disproved since your message to Stephen was anonymous. I have stated previously, and repeatedly, that this blog is not a diary. I post writing here to share, most of it fiction. I answer messages privately. There are very few people I’ve met here on Tumblr who actually know me on anything approaching a close, personal level. If you got to know me, you would probably come to realize just how far off-base your statements were -- but judging from the tone of your message, you have no desire to do that. I’ve been posting my writing on Tumblr continuously since May of 2011. In that time quite a few people have become regular readers -- and a small portion of those people I’m pleased and honored to call friends. Along the way, though, a lot of people seem to have developed this odd conception of me. They’ve amassed the bits and pieces of me that do flutter through various posts on my blog and my public interactions with others, and they think these patches sewn together are me -- but you can’t make a patchwork quilt without a solid piece of backing fabric. I’ve experienced things I wouldn’t wish on my worst enemy. All of these things have taught me the value of honesty and empathy. I would not dismiss or devalue anything that has gone into making you the person you are -- all I ask is for you to extend me the same courtesy.

[purplemonkeysexgod69]

mea culpa (probably a more unpopular opinion)

I

I am guilty of mocking the fools    that peddle romance    as if it were a panacea

I am guilty of mocking a man    who is celebrated for selling    “poetry” like Thomas Kincaid    paintings at your local Walmart

I am guilty of mocking “erotica”    that resembles amateur porn    between a congressman and    a teenage prostitute

I am guilty of mocking those    who have chosen to martyr    themselves in their mediocrity

I am guilty of refusing to be    dumbed down by the society and    culture that is suffocating me

I am guilty of hypocrisy for spitting    out the same hackneyed garbage    that I see because the bitter truth    is more palatable hidden in sweet lies

I am guilty of mocking the surrealists    the spiritualists the magicians    the illusionists because they tell    the masses to dream instead of to wake up

I am guilty of mocking myself    because I am still a monkey    just trying to be a man

I am guilty of holding my craft sacred    and mocking those who sully it with    their ineptitude

I am guilty of letting poetry    set me free

II

Words will hurt if you let them    and we let them hurt us    too often

Sometimes truth hurts    sometimes medicine poisons    sometimes cures kill

I ignore the individuals that enrage me    they can ignore me just as easily    but I will not ignore my rage    I will not ignore my disgust    I will not remain silent

I will not be the hero    that shows you how it should be    I will be the villain    that shows you how it is

I bully no one    I am fighting back    and fighting for    something

III

My words are not atomic wedgies    nor are they me    holding your head underwater    in a toilet bowl

My words are me    grabbing you by the collar    with both hands    slamming you up against a wall    whispering in your ear    “Try harder. You can do better    than that. I know you can.”    then letting go

this is me                 letting go

—

Monkey’s note: In response to Jen’s “A Probably Unpopular Opinion”. And here is a more civilized response from the footofdiablo.

[purplemonkeysexgod69]

A few hours looking through Wolfie’s blog will reveal that he, like Monkey, is a mischievous asshole...

footofdiablo

[youth-and-ignorance-blog]

I have never felt a more motivational word, in my gut and coursing through my veins, than “no”.

Stephen, (footofdiablo)

[youth-and-ignorance-blog]

We may not ever be popular. We may not ever be famous. We may not ever be understood. But we are writing, and the fact that we’re writing, that we are adding to the records the future will find of us, along with those artists out in the world.

Stephen, (footofdiablo)

[theinkpixie]

thank you, guys! :) morning / good eve everyone! :)