Wednesday, October 07, 2009

Not So Anonymous

After you spend a day or two in Budapest, you quickly come to realize that this is a city that loves its statuary. Moreover, if you were an old guy alive during the infancy of this country and you don’t have a statue of you erected somewhere in town, you were probably the only loser on your block who didn’t. “Statues of old dudes” as Hubby put it, were on buildings, in parks, on monuments, and just about anywhere else the people of Hungary could fit one.

But my favourite of this plethora of statues, the one I most looked forward to visiting, sitting in the lap of, and fashioning my own future after, is known only as Anonymous. No one ever knew who exactly this chronicler of King Bela’s life was yet he made enough of an impact on his audience that they carved his unknown likeness in stone and set it out for future generations to revere.

Anonymous. I can barely spell the word correctly without my spell check and yet that is exactly who I am in the blogosphere. I am a giraffe who lives in Egypt with her husband who works for shady employers known only as the Instution. I’m a woman who shares parts of her life with other equally anonymous people all over the world. Some of you are less shrouded in secrecy than others, but to each other we are all faces on a screen and voices we hear in our heads.

I long to be like the man in the statue whose greatness has been deemed worthy by an entire country. Yet I hesitate because I know that I don’t want to walk into this greatness in shadowed anonymity. Am I the world traveling, blogging giraffe? Or am I a woman with a voice yearning to be heard above the din.

Anonymous had reasons for wearing his mask and so do many bloggers. We say we don’t want people to “know who we are” yet we continue to share ourselves – our featureless selves – with other strangers. Is the dream of being anonymous on the blogosphere a lie? Do you all know who I am because you have read my words and read between the lines of my repartee? Or am I simply one of a billion blogging drones sitting in a darkened room waiting fearfully and expectantly to be unmasked?

Who will erect a statue to the nameless blogger?

23 comments:

theUngourmet said...

I didn't know you were back (blogging that is)! Glad you are well!

These are interesting thoughts! I like the Anonymous statue.

Pseudo said...

Loved this post. Sometimes I feel that the people who have come to know me from my blog know me (or what is inside of me?) better than those who know my for real flesh self.

Unknown said...

Oh you know you want us to OUT you...LOL
I have met my closest friends here in Norway through my blog... weird? maybe, but it was like we knew each other before we actually met...so there was never any BS...know what I mean? - still early, needing some coffee here... : )

Connie said...

I think you have found the statue of the original nameless blogger - I love this Anonymous writer. Very striking, thought provoking, and timeless... and while I haven't seen the other statues to compare, I think I would agree to this being the best.

Tomer said...

> I can barely spell the word
> correctly

There is a good spell check program Spell Check Anywhere (SpellCheckAnywhere.Com). It works in all programs, including blogs and articles. It comes with an optional grammar check.

Caution/Lisa said...

That's brilliant writing. Absolutely brilliant. Since I'm not so smart, I'll have to spend the day thinking about this. Then I'll ask someone to explain it to me. I think I absolutely want to be unmasked. I think.

Christine Gram said...

I'm happy to be the nameless blogger. A few people that know the physical me read my blog and I try very hard to forget that they are there. It's amazing how much we sensor ourselves for society. I like the anonymity of blogging for the chance to just let the words flow.

LadyFi said...

We bloggers are both anonymous and yet familiar; masked and unmasked; writers sharing some parts of our lives, while letting others remain undiscovered.

Anonymous said...

Great blog---and I love the statue. :)
merthyrmum

Unknown said...

Love the statue and would visit it repeatedly myself. Great, thought provoking post today. Personally, I feel I kind of "put myself out there" with my posts but there's always something we hold back so that we can ultimately remain anonymous.

Susie said...

Great pictures!! I love statues and it would be cool to have a tribute to the nameless blogger:-)

Lydia said...

I've never had a mask. Though I never started the blog thinking I'd like keeping it up. I like being the blogosphere's equivalent of 'buck naked'! hah!!!

Crazee Juls said...

First of all--I'm glad to see you, nameless and faceless-back into the world of blogging...

And I simply adore this post-- very well put...and I think that the beauty of blogging is we can reveal as little or as much as we want... sometimes I question how open I am, but yet-it suits me... and I enjoy the mystery that is you! :)

Kaylia Metcalfe said...

Wow... how true. I love the statue shots by the way... verry nifty.

I had to make a choice when I started blogging about how much of mysself I would be sharing with the world... I am mostly happy with my choice, but sometimes I wonder....

The Blonde Duck said...

That is a seriously creepy statue.

Now I need to read more about goblin city.

Unknown said...

Thanks for popping by my blog. I am so happy to see you back!

And with such a poignant post? :)

Well, strangers willing to share lives will find friendships, even in the most unlikely of circumstances :)

Grand Pooba said...

Dang woman, that is some deep stuff! Yes you are anonymous in that we don't know your name or what you look like (At least I'm pretty sure you're not a giraffe in real life) but I think anyone who reads your blog does know you for the real you.

It is fun, however to not be so anonymous. I met a friend that I met through blogging yesterday in person and it was a great experience!

Betty W said...

This is partly why I started a new blog. In some way I wanted to be anonymous but in others I want to share and say it like it is. I know that some people here have found my new blog again, but it´s much better this way, knowing that the "real" people that think they "know" me, don´t read everything I write. Does that make sense?
Even if you were to reveal who you are, it wouldn´t make much difference to me. I love your writing and your insights, I like you for you. :)

Hit 40 said...

Blogging has special dynamics since you can not see the person's appearance or facial expression. You are sometimes getting to the core of who the person is...

and not their appearance.

N said...

Blogosphere is completely new to me until I started blogging. I think one can judge a person before meeting them through their writing. No one can really remain anonymous anymore...

Anonymous said...

Very thoughtful and thought-provoking post. I love the statue, too.

Unknown said...

I'm sure there will be monuments for some bloggers one day.
No idea if they will be for anonymous ones, or not though :)

Unknown said...

LMAO again...

“The institution” = Genius.

“Shady”= Inspired.

Baby, I will erect (Beavis and Butthead laugh) a statue of you any day.