The bigger the crowd, the more negligible the individual.
When there's 100 people around you can't really forget yourself.
And in this curious state I had the realization, at the moment of seeing that stranger there, that I was a person like everybody else. That I was known by my actions and words, that my internal universe was unavailable for inspection by others. They didn't know. They didn't know, because I never told them.
The analogy I use is that 'World of Warcraft' is like going to the mall: you see a ton of people there, but you don't really want to interact with them; you just want to know you're part of the human race. And if you get in trouble, you'll know someone else is there.
The new freedom of expression brought by the Internet goes far beyond politics. People relate to each other in new ways, posing questions about how we should respond to people when all that we know about them is what we have learned through a medium that permits all kinds of anonymity and deception.
It's changing a bit, but the thing in LA is everyone is either in the industry, or knows someone who is in the industry. So, they don't let on that they recognize you, that's what I've found out.
The thing that turned out to be interesting about CB radios was the ability to call out in the world with anonymity. You choose your handle. Race and class become non-signifiers.
We keep passing unseen through little moments of other people's lives.
We live in an age where anonymity is growing in magnitude like a bomb going off.
Generally, women can't do this, but men retain the ancient ability to leave a family and a past. They just unhook themselves, like removing a fake beard, and skulk discreetly back into society, changed men. Unrecognizable.
Nashville is only a couple of hours from New York, and people just move at a slower pace there - and they don't care who you are or what you do.
I find it slightly uncomfortable to see my face on a bus or a poster. I like just being known by my friends and family.
The many-headed multitude, whom inconstancy only doth by accident guide to well-doing! Who can set confidence there, where company takes away shame, and each may lay the fault upon his fellow?
