Post by Ashen on Sept 5, 2012 0:51:38 GMT -6
Page 1 of 2
Ten years ago, if you searched your library-or were fortunate enough to be able to access Gopher searches-for the word "werewolf" or "lycanthropy", you'd have found countless references to clinical lycanthropy, psychological abstracts, or analysis of myth and legend. If you were lucky, you'd find one or two references to animal spirits or totemism. Nowhere would you have found detailed instructions for becoming a werewolf, or terms like "physical shifting", "mental shifting", "aural shifting", "therianthropy", or any of a host of others.
Ten years later, were you to do a web search, you'd be hard pressed to find the clinical analysis amongst the legions of sites offering werewolf lore. Now you have ten different sites telling you how to know if you're a werewolf or not, or offering discussion forums, or advice on how to deal with being "outed" to your friends. Now the information- good, bad, accurate, flawed, or downright dangerous- is available in a dozen different formats and splashy colors. Now anyone can read about what many had to formulate internally.
This, like most things in life, is both good and bad. Good, because now you can draw from the experiences, advice, and learning of hundreds of different people. Bad, because some of the advice is poor. Bad also because it short-circuits a natural discovery process, and makes possible the Insta-Were.
Insta-Weres are the folks who latch onto the concept of therianthropy because it either appeals to them in a gee-whiz-this-is-neat way or because it fulfills some basic superficial need: acceptance in a peer group, or a method of projecting a sense of physical superiority, or justifying an anger management problem. Younger individuals, those in their early to late teens, may find such a concept appealing, as they are learning to accept their bodies and their situation in life and are being called upon to formulate their own ideas and philosophies. As such, many of them are unahppy with their self-image, or may feel left out of peer groups, or feel physically inadequate or inferior. Taking on the persona of a man possessed by a wild creature provides them with the image of physical prowess and superiority. The internet provides countless anonymous avenues for peer acceptance. The icon of the wild, untamed beast housed in a normal human body becomes a powerful lure.
(Side note: Some may read this and think I'm directing it at them. Am I? Some may read it and think I'm saying that no newcomer to this or any other message board is a "real were". Hell, I don't have any clue what a "real were" is. Read on.)
However, many fail to consider if such an idea accurately reflects their internal being. Humans possess an amazing capacity for rationalization, and will submerge any self-doubt that threatens this new personal view. Internally, they may know that they don't feel as if they are an animal trapped in a human shell, or feel any kinship with their distant roots, or have ever had any disquieting visions of themselves as something other than H. sapiens. Externally, they will discount any feelings that perhaps this new philosophy isn't the right one for them; and may go overboard trying to prove to themselves- and others- that they are were. "I eat a lot of red meat; I must be were." "My eyes changed color (under a sodium vapor light, natch); I must be were." "My right index finger is .23mm longer than the left; I must be were." And still that self-doubt gnaws at them and spurs them to more outlandish claims.
It *is* easier to take someone else's pat personal philosophy and adopt it as your own- in the short term. It's much more difficult to look at all of the information available to you and decide what you believe for yourself. People like having things handed to them, especially when the alternative is dirty, difficult soul-searching. And that's what many have done. And that's why they'll suffer many sleepless nights of self-doubt.
Are *you* were? I don't expect an answer to that. I really don't care. That's the question *you* must ask *yourself*, and that only *you* can answer. No one else can tell you what you are; they can only tell you what *they* think you are, and they can be wrong more often than right. This doesn't mean you should discount their advice, only that you must consider it along with all the things that make you *you*. I can't tell you who you are, or whether or not you're a were. I can't even define the concept for someone else, as my concept of "wereness" is is based on my own experiences, feelings, and inner dialogues.
Sounds all mystical and spooky? Not really... it's the same thing that man has done ever since he became aware of his own existence; the discovery of himself. What drives you? What makes you do what you do? Don't settle for easy, pat answers that came off of a web page. Ask yourself those questions and examine the answers for their truthfulness. When you think you've got a handle on it, ask them again and see what you come up with then. And keep asking, until the day you die.
If, after long and careful deliberation, you find that all of these nebulous, vague personal definitions of "wereness" that others have postulated are similar to your own answers, then congratulations. You've taken a big first step in deciding for yourself who you are, instead of letting popular culture do it for you. Now ask the questions again. And again. Safari posted a long monologue about his own discoveries and changing philosophies; would that everyone had the fortitude to take such a long, hard look at themselves. You probably won't like all that you find- I would be surprised if anyone could examine their soul and not find things about themselves they dislike. But they know more about themselves than they knew before, and have gone a lot farther towards becoming a whole person than many ever will.
For me, "wereness" is a simple statement of feeling and being. It's not about what it can do for me; it's about my quest to understand myself. It doesn't make me jump higher, run faster, or score with chicks. It does color my philosophies, my outlook, and my being; it is a part of me, but it is not the whole of me.
So I ask you again: Are you were?
Take your time with your answer. It may take a long time, and it may never be answered. But the journey is the goal, in this case.
Page: 2/2
We looked the "Insta-Were" in my previous essay. Many folks are disgusted and fed-up with the number of Insta-Weres appearing on forums and discussion groups; and no few are quite vocal about it. What to do about the Insta-Were? Do they really present any threat to "were community" at large, or just themselves?
As usual, I'm of many different minds on this matter. On one hand, I can say well, who am I to judge to what this person says? My own beliefs are so far from what the majority of people consider "normal" that it would be rather hypocritical for me to point and sneer at someone else for what they believe.
On another hand, I can be concerned for what that person is doing to themselves. Sometimes I read another "I just found this site yesterday and it sounds cool and I want to be a were; tell me how" and I wonder if they realize just how much inner turmoil they're setting themselves up for by pretending to be something they're not. Some folks will treat it as an interesting phase to go through and drift away from it; others will take the whole thing to heart and become distraught when they realize they're not what they thought they were, or what they thought they wanted to be. I want to caution them against jumping into such a radical re-definition of themselves without considering if the definition fits; but my best efforts at phrasing this politely usually end up being met with "Yeah? Who the hell are you, anyway!" Note that I'm not dismissing the idea that someone can feel a certain way for a long time and only be able to put a name to it after reading a web site; had AHWW been grouped a year or so earlier than it was, I probably would be in this category. As it was, I managed to put a name to what I had felt for all of my life before AHWW came along, but the supportive element present in a worldwide on-line community wasn't in place and I had some tough times coming to grips with it. I suspect that a lot of folks who state "I've only just recently discovered my wereness" have actually harbored these feelings for quite some time, and only came to consciously realize what those feelings were upon reading about others. But I also feel that there are some people out there getting caught up in "shifter's disease" and fooling themselves into believing they're something they're not; either through a desire to be a part of a group, acceptance, self-image problems, feelings of powerless-ness in real life, or a "wow, that's neat!" fascination with "occult" or fringe things. They're setting themselves up for a fall, and often have committed themselves too far on this path to accept gentle criticism.
On a third hand (Kat topples over after lifting too many hands), I'm angered by the damage folks do not only to themselves, but to the community as a whole. This damage ranges from my rolling my eyes at yet another overly-gothic, role-playing description of Studly McGrimfang, Alpha of the BloodWalkers Clan, Leader of Free Wolves and Scourge of The Wyrm, that makes an outsider believe that anyone claiming to be were is as froopy as this guy; to the folks that, having polished their newly-minted wereness to high gleam, take it upon themselves to be the avatars of lycanthropy worldwide and bleed out furious scolding (poorly written, mis-spelled, un-punctuated) monologues across countless virtual pages berating anyone whose acerbic barbs pierce their thin skin. These flame wars propagate across not just one of the virtual gathering places but across all of them, as these self-appointed warriors of Lycanthropic Justice hop on the latest bandwagon and proceed to bad-mouth the offenders of their (or someone else's', having heard about it fourth-hand and in passing) dignity in every on-line community they can find. The rest of us know that to reply, even with an even-handed, fair assessment of the situation, is to propagate this mess to higher levels; and are forced to pull shut the hatches and hope to ride it out. It's a no-win situation.
But the potentially the most damaging aspect of insta-were syndrome looms in the future; and we've already seen the warning signs. That's the person who, so enamored in the role-playing mindset, begins to envision himself as a real-life warrior for therianthropy. It's one thing to grouse about how stupid humanity is as a whole- I'm certainly the biggest cynical misanthropic son of a bitch I know, and every day I see new examples of human stupidity; but I realize at the same time that I am still human myself, and not infallible- but it's another thing entirely to plot the destruction of the human race, or certain sub-sects of it. The grousing I take in stride, so long as it doesn't reach ridiculous, "I'm so above all the stoopid hyoomans" proportions; but to seriously advocate the murder of other people... No. *That* attitude has the potential to do serious, irreparable harm to the very concept of therianthropy. Look at how the general public views "vampires" now. All they've seen of that community are news stories about some kid who convinced his friends to murder another person and drink their blood. Does that kid represent the vampire community as a whole? Of course not. But that image is forever ingrained in the public's mind now. So, too, was the image of the Dungeons and Dragons gamer forever cast as an eccentric, dangerous satanist after a few people and a couple of well-publicized incidents in the '80s.
I'd like to think no one is mentally damaged enough to join our little "vampire hunter" on his quest to slay the mythical creatures who cut the nuts off his best friend. But I've seen weirder things. You think you get strange looks when you "out" your were-side to a friend or co-worker? Wait until Tobias goes completely off his nut and hacks up someone he thought was a vampire and captures the lead slot in an "Extra" episode. Then the public will be convinced that anyone who calls themselves a werewolf is exactly the kind of slavering beast that Hollywood portrays.
Jakkal hit the nail square on the head when she said that people are too lazy these days to deeply examine themselves. Lycanthropy is *not* a fad of the week. It is a part of the essence of what makes you *you*. It's not a magic key to immortality, super-strength, or instant leadership and acceptance. It's another part of your psyche; it can be good, bad, or indifferent. It's not something you can pick up after reading a couple of web sites; it's not something you suddenly decide to be. It's something you have to examine, slowly, painfully, until you realize what it is and how it's a part of you. Discovering and developing it is a part of your growth as a person, a journey that will last your lifetime, a quest that you may never finish. You can't take the easy way out on this. To do so will screw with your psyche in ways that could take years to untangle. You owe it to yourself to be honest with yourself.
Taken from Shifters.org archive
web.archive.org/web/20060115110252/http://www.therianthropy.org/SO/essays.htm
Ten years ago, if you searched your library-or were fortunate enough to be able to access Gopher searches-for the word "werewolf" or "lycanthropy", you'd have found countless references to clinical lycanthropy, psychological abstracts, or analysis of myth and legend. If you were lucky, you'd find one or two references to animal spirits or totemism. Nowhere would you have found detailed instructions for becoming a werewolf, or terms like "physical shifting", "mental shifting", "aural shifting", "therianthropy", or any of a host of others.
Ten years later, were you to do a web search, you'd be hard pressed to find the clinical analysis amongst the legions of sites offering werewolf lore. Now you have ten different sites telling you how to know if you're a werewolf or not, or offering discussion forums, or advice on how to deal with being "outed" to your friends. Now the information- good, bad, accurate, flawed, or downright dangerous- is available in a dozen different formats and splashy colors. Now anyone can read about what many had to formulate internally.
This, like most things in life, is both good and bad. Good, because now you can draw from the experiences, advice, and learning of hundreds of different people. Bad, because some of the advice is poor. Bad also because it short-circuits a natural discovery process, and makes possible the Insta-Were.
Insta-Weres are the folks who latch onto the concept of therianthropy because it either appeals to them in a gee-whiz-this-is-neat way or because it fulfills some basic superficial need: acceptance in a peer group, or a method of projecting a sense of physical superiority, or justifying an anger management problem. Younger individuals, those in their early to late teens, may find such a concept appealing, as they are learning to accept their bodies and their situation in life and are being called upon to formulate their own ideas and philosophies. As such, many of them are unahppy with their self-image, or may feel left out of peer groups, or feel physically inadequate or inferior. Taking on the persona of a man possessed by a wild creature provides them with the image of physical prowess and superiority. The internet provides countless anonymous avenues for peer acceptance. The icon of the wild, untamed beast housed in a normal human body becomes a powerful lure.
(Side note: Some may read this and think I'm directing it at them. Am I? Some may read it and think I'm saying that no newcomer to this or any other message board is a "real were". Hell, I don't have any clue what a "real were" is. Read on.)
However, many fail to consider if such an idea accurately reflects their internal being. Humans possess an amazing capacity for rationalization, and will submerge any self-doubt that threatens this new personal view. Internally, they may know that they don't feel as if they are an animal trapped in a human shell, or feel any kinship with their distant roots, or have ever had any disquieting visions of themselves as something other than H. sapiens. Externally, they will discount any feelings that perhaps this new philosophy isn't the right one for them; and may go overboard trying to prove to themselves- and others- that they are were. "I eat a lot of red meat; I must be were." "My eyes changed color (under a sodium vapor light, natch); I must be were." "My right index finger is .23mm longer than the left; I must be were." And still that self-doubt gnaws at them and spurs them to more outlandish claims.
It *is* easier to take someone else's pat personal philosophy and adopt it as your own- in the short term. It's much more difficult to look at all of the information available to you and decide what you believe for yourself. People like having things handed to them, especially when the alternative is dirty, difficult soul-searching. And that's what many have done. And that's why they'll suffer many sleepless nights of self-doubt.
Are *you* were? I don't expect an answer to that. I really don't care. That's the question *you* must ask *yourself*, and that only *you* can answer. No one else can tell you what you are; they can only tell you what *they* think you are, and they can be wrong more often than right. This doesn't mean you should discount their advice, only that you must consider it along with all the things that make you *you*. I can't tell you who you are, or whether or not you're a were. I can't even define the concept for someone else, as my concept of "wereness" is is based on my own experiences, feelings, and inner dialogues.
Sounds all mystical and spooky? Not really... it's the same thing that man has done ever since he became aware of his own existence; the discovery of himself. What drives you? What makes you do what you do? Don't settle for easy, pat answers that came off of a web page. Ask yourself those questions and examine the answers for their truthfulness. When you think you've got a handle on it, ask them again and see what you come up with then. And keep asking, until the day you die.
If, after long and careful deliberation, you find that all of these nebulous, vague personal definitions of "wereness" that others have postulated are similar to your own answers, then congratulations. You've taken a big first step in deciding for yourself who you are, instead of letting popular culture do it for you. Now ask the questions again. And again. Safari posted a long monologue about his own discoveries and changing philosophies; would that everyone had the fortitude to take such a long, hard look at themselves. You probably won't like all that you find- I would be surprised if anyone could examine their soul and not find things about themselves they dislike. But they know more about themselves than they knew before, and have gone a lot farther towards becoming a whole person than many ever will.
For me, "wereness" is a simple statement of feeling and being. It's not about what it can do for me; it's about my quest to understand myself. It doesn't make me jump higher, run faster, or score with chicks. It does color my philosophies, my outlook, and my being; it is a part of me, but it is not the whole of me.
So I ask you again: Are you were?
Take your time with your answer. It may take a long time, and it may never be answered. But the journey is the goal, in this case.
Page: 2/2
We looked the "Insta-Were" in my previous essay. Many folks are disgusted and fed-up with the number of Insta-Weres appearing on forums and discussion groups; and no few are quite vocal about it. What to do about the Insta-Were? Do they really present any threat to "were community" at large, or just themselves?
As usual, I'm of many different minds on this matter. On one hand, I can say well, who am I to judge to what this person says? My own beliefs are so far from what the majority of people consider "normal" that it would be rather hypocritical for me to point and sneer at someone else for what they believe.
On another hand, I can be concerned for what that person is doing to themselves. Sometimes I read another "I just found this site yesterday and it sounds cool and I want to be a were; tell me how" and I wonder if they realize just how much inner turmoil they're setting themselves up for by pretending to be something they're not. Some folks will treat it as an interesting phase to go through and drift away from it; others will take the whole thing to heart and become distraught when they realize they're not what they thought they were, or what they thought they wanted to be. I want to caution them against jumping into such a radical re-definition of themselves without considering if the definition fits; but my best efforts at phrasing this politely usually end up being met with "Yeah? Who the hell are you, anyway!" Note that I'm not dismissing the idea that someone can feel a certain way for a long time and only be able to put a name to it after reading a web site; had AHWW been grouped a year or so earlier than it was, I probably would be in this category. As it was, I managed to put a name to what I had felt for all of my life before AHWW came along, but the supportive element present in a worldwide on-line community wasn't in place and I had some tough times coming to grips with it. I suspect that a lot of folks who state "I've only just recently discovered my wereness" have actually harbored these feelings for quite some time, and only came to consciously realize what those feelings were upon reading about others. But I also feel that there are some people out there getting caught up in "shifter's disease" and fooling themselves into believing they're something they're not; either through a desire to be a part of a group, acceptance, self-image problems, feelings of powerless-ness in real life, or a "wow, that's neat!" fascination with "occult" or fringe things. They're setting themselves up for a fall, and often have committed themselves too far on this path to accept gentle criticism.
On a third hand (Kat topples over after lifting too many hands), I'm angered by the damage folks do not only to themselves, but to the community as a whole. This damage ranges from my rolling my eyes at yet another overly-gothic, role-playing description of Studly McGrimfang, Alpha of the BloodWalkers Clan, Leader of Free Wolves and Scourge of The Wyrm, that makes an outsider believe that anyone claiming to be were is as froopy as this guy; to the folks that, having polished their newly-minted wereness to high gleam, take it upon themselves to be the avatars of lycanthropy worldwide and bleed out furious scolding (poorly written, mis-spelled, un-punctuated) monologues across countless virtual pages berating anyone whose acerbic barbs pierce their thin skin. These flame wars propagate across not just one of the virtual gathering places but across all of them, as these self-appointed warriors of Lycanthropic Justice hop on the latest bandwagon and proceed to bad-mouth the offenders of their (or someone else's', having heard about it fourth-hand and in passing) dignity in every on-line community they can find. The rest of us know that to reply, even with an even-handed, fair assessment of the situation, is to propagate this mess to higher levels; and are forced to pull shut the hatches and hope to ride it out. It's a no-win situation.
But the potentially the most damaging aspect of insta-were syndrome looms in the future; and we've already seen the warning signs. That's the person who, so enamored in the role-playing mindset, begins to envision himself as a real-life warrior for therianthropy. It's one thing to grouse about how stupid humanity is as a whole- I'm certainly the biggest cynical misanthropic son of a bitch I know, and every day I see new examples of human stupidity; but I realize at the same time that I am still human myself, and not infallible- but it's another thing entirely to plot the destruction of the human race, or certain sub-sects of it. The grousing I take in stride, so long as it doesn't reach ridiculous, "I'm so above all the stoopid hyoomans" proportions; but to seriously advocate the murder of other people... No. *That* attitude has the potential to do serious, irreparable harm to the very concept of therianthropy. Look at how the general public views "vampires" now. All they've seen of that community are news stories about some kid who convinced his friends to murder another person and drink their blood. Does that kid represent the vampire community as a whole? Of course not. But that image is forever ingrained in the public's mind now. So, too, was the image of the Dungeons and Dragons gamer forever cast as an eccentric, dangerous satanist after a few people and a couple of well-publicized incidents in the '80s.
I'd like to think no one is mentally damaged enough to join our little "vampire hunter" on his quest to slay the mythical creatures who cut the nuts off his best friend. But I've seen weirder things. You think you get strange looks when you "out" your were-side to a friend or co-worker? Wait until Tobias goes completely off his nut and hacks up someone he thought was a vampire and captures the lead slot in an "Extra" episode. Then the public will be convinced that anyone who calls themselves a werewolf is exactly the kind of slavering beast that Hollywood portrays.
Jakkal hit the nail square on the head when she said that people are too lazy these days to deeply examine themselves. Lycanthropy is *not* a fad of the week. It is a part of the essence of what makes you *you*. It's not a magic key to immortality, super-strength, or instant leadership and acceptance. It's another part of your psyche; it can be good, bad, or indifferent. It's not something you can pick up after reading a couple of web sites; it's not something you suddenly decide to be. It's something you have to examine, slowly, painfully, until you realize what it is and how it's a part of you. Discovering and developing it is a part of your growth as a person, a journey that will last your lifetime, a quest that you may never finish. You can't take the easy way out on this. To do so will screw with your psyche in ways that could take years to untangle. You owe it to yourself to be honest with yourself.
Taken from Shifters.org archive
web.archive.org/web/20060115110252/http://www.therianthropy.org/SO/essays.htm