Some of the folks on the Dooce community website have wanted to discuss it, but older/wiser/better compensated for their time heads have prevailed. Of course, Internet strangers should be allowed to have private lives, even after they pull back the curtain a little before dropping it.
I don't think most people wanted to gossip or declare Team Jon or Team Heather. I know I have an odd feeling of knowing people I can't possibly know, just because they are talented writers and convey a sense of their lives through their writing and photos. Harder to figure out is why the news bothered me so much; I really identify with Jon's grief for his years of effort and the effect the divorce will have on the kids. It's probably easier to take the news of divorces in our real-life circles because you can see a lot of those coming; body language tells people all over church when you least realize it.
Plus, we were all rooting for them, all the time, glad for the good stuff and howling at their tormentors when Maytag or the crazy homeowner or Mormons deserved it. It was part of the Dooce experience; so much that we got used to being chastised for mentioning that Heather stopped being funny about a year ago. That was the "f" word that could not be named. So now we know why she stopped being funny, and there's a weird sense of guilt about acknowledging that, too; like she wasn't dancing fast enough for us while her life was crumbling somewhere else.
I wonder what Leta thinks of what the internet says about her family. She is certainly a good enough reader to know. I couldn't stand the thought of being a preacher's wife with the public life that entails, so I can't imagine a fully public life on the internet.
I don't think most people wanted to gossip or declare Team Jon or Team Heather. I know I have an odd feeling of knowing people I can't possibly know, just because they are talented writers and convey a sense of their lives through their writing and photos. Harder to figure out is why the news bothered me so much; I really identify with Jon's grief for his years of effort and the effect the divorce will have on the kids. It's probably easier to take the news of divorces in our real-life circles because you can see a lot of those coming; body language tells people all over church when you least realize it.
Plus, we were all rooting for them, all the time, glad for the good stuff and howling at their tormentors when Maytag or the crazy homeowner or Mormons deserved it. It was part of the Dooce experience; so much that we got used to being chastised for mentioning that Heather stopped being funny about a year ago. That was the "f" word that could not be named. So now we know why she stopped being funny, and there's a weird sense of guilt about acknowledging that, too; like she wasn't dancing fast enough for us while her life was crumbling somewhere else.
I wonder what Leta thinks of what the internet says about her family. She is certainly a good enough reader to know. I couldn't stand the thought of being a preacher's wife with the public life that entails, so I can't imagine a fully public life on the internet.
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