Personalities through writing

"We write frankly and fearlessly but then we 'modify' before we print."
- Mark Twain, Life on the Mississippi

It's interesting how over time, the reader can get to know the character of the writer or people in which they speak of through complex sentence styles, metaphors, and figures of speech. We can begun to construct an image of a person. We can come to understand the values for which they stand for, the type of hobbies and activities they enjoy partaking in and even the age of the writer based on the kinds of pop culture references they talk about or use as an example. In the world of blogging, I feel the various writers have begun to exemplify the first half of Mark Twain's quote, while the latter has begun to fall by the wayside, thanks to the anonymity of the internet. One can no longer feel accountable for what he or she says, and although that can be both a positive and a negative thing, I see it as a good thing that we can get to see how one truly feels about a certain topic and can express his/her views freely. In regards to my topic, it can be at times a touchy subject. It's the kind of topic that if discussed in a classroom or at a party, it would no doubt result in a heated debate between the sexes. As a result, many people remain quiet, despite possibly being well informed on the subject due to social pressure. That is why blogging is such a wonderful tool. It allows those who we'd never expect to be so outspoken on a particular topic to express their views in a way that may or may not contrast sharply with their public persona.

When one comes across Youngbuck's "The Rantings of A Young Man In A Feminized Society", the voice you hear is exactly the one his blog title describes. He's a man in his mid 20s who see's the world a bit differently than most people might, perhaps in a George Carlin kinda way, by that I mean in the similar fashion of how Carlin felt the government or media was having too much influence on how we dress and live our lives. He brings to attention in his trademark style of rants, full of explamation points, things he observes in his workplace, such as dress codes biases to articles he finds on domestic violence He seems confused as to why men decide to marry when he feels that the warning signs are all around us. I agree with many of his points and at times also feel just as frustrated with the way men allow themselves to be treated as doormats. You get a feel of what he stands for and the kind of family he grew up around when he comically discusses going to his cousins house for Christmas, "Are you on the down low?".

"I haven't seen you with anyone since you left that China girl." (She refers to my ex-girlfriend who is Filipina as a China girl, even though she knows her name and knows she's not Chinese".

I laugh, because I can relate to having family members question me on the holidays about who I'm seeing and when am I going to bring them around to the family. His style changes at times to a more sarcastic an at times comical approach almost as if to give the reader a break from the emotionally charged posts.