Sunday, August 15

Do You Know What I'm Thinking?

Do you know what I'm thinking? Recently I had a brush with reality (it happens) and I'm assuming (hoping?) the answer to 'do you know what I'm thinking?' is 'no' because I can say with most certainty that I have no idea what you are thinking. Actually I *might* have a clue what that guy in the back is thinking, the one who keeps muttering to himself and is generally creeping me out. Yeah, I'm pretty sure I know what he's thinking and really wish that I didn't.


Anyway. I have no idea what you are thinking but why do I always assume that you know what's going on in my head? This is something I'm guilty of most often in blogging and it's something that really needs to change now.

Assumptions are dangerous, just as jumping to conclusions is a fast way to get kicked in the teeth. If memory serves correct, a few years back a man who was speaking to a group of bloggers -- including myself -- stated that he just knew that we had no idea about raising a child in city since we all lived in the affulent suburbs and were stay-at-homes with regular childcare. There wasn't one woman in the group that even vaguely fit that description and trust me, he knew it after that confrontation conversation. I'm surprised he lived to see another day actually.

So from this day forward I'm going to stop assuming that you know what I'm thinking or feeling because that just isn't fair. Please do tell me, am I alone in writing with assumptions that readers know me when there is no possible way that they could?

Well I suppose readers could know more about me but only if they are total stalkers, and hello! I do not need anymore stalkers in my life, once was enough thankyouverymuch. And there, you just learned something about me. I was stalked once in my twenties by a crazed man I barely knew who when innocently rebuffed by me, proceeded to mail me threatening letters, leave endless voicemails that filled my machine daily, and basically let me know as often as possible that he knew what I was doing all the time. It was terrifying, embarrassing (seriously, I know this shouldn't be embarrassing but it was), and it made me even more wary of new people than ever before. If I hadn't worked up the nerve to contact his family directly and threaten them with legal terms, I don't know what would have happened. I made sure that his story was recorded somewhere so that if he ever did it again, I'd be able to help have him castrated or however they treat these things in a court of law... oh wait, you mean they usually just get a wrist slap? Shit, can I do the slapping with barbed wire? No? Well that's hardly fair.

So yeah. No more assumptions (but seriously, do you ever just assume your readers can read your mind?)

2 comments:

Chicky Chicky Baby said...

Can I still stalk you though? I only want a hug and maybe a kiss. :)

xo

Kyla said...

My dad always says, "When you assume, you make an ass out of u and me."

But yeah, I tend to do it, too. Or at the very least, I forget that I have newer readers that don't know our whole life story.