Speaker for the Dead

Day 934, 16:27 • Published in Canada Canada • by Etemenanki

This is of course in direct reference to the events that took place involving Tyler F Durden, but are not limited to them. This is more about my thoughts on tragedy and death in the end really.

Last night, just before I was heading off to bed, I read Addy's article where he discussed what he believes has actually transpired in regards to Tyler. Personally, I believe he is probably correct. Another way to look at it is that Tyler has stepped away from the game because it was becoming to much of a strain on his relationship, thereby “saving” Marla, a metaphor for saving their relationship. Anyways, this entire thing is all predicated on a single post in the forums, from a new account, by someone with a single post, no proof given. Maybe I am just old, but I grew up not trusting anything online. All in all it is beside the point in my mind though whether it is true or not..

What has often bothered me though was the constant and emphatic outpouring of those who look at the dead as people who instantly need to be venerated and given something akin to sainthood, white washing what they have done and only remembering the good, discarding the bad. When I was a child, I read a book, the name of which I have used for the title of this article. One of the concepts presented in the book is that we as a species can never overcome tragedy, loss or death without truly expressing our thoughts and feelings about those whom are dead. We all carry baggage and many of us refuse to kick that baggage to the curb when someone has died, as we now see it as being disrespectful to the dead to do so. This book taught me otherwise. I have always thought that if I died, I would like my friends and family to remember me for who I was, not who they wanted me to be. I do not want them to forget the bad, for without the bad, I am not truly me.

I have had my issues with Tyler in the past. I think he is far to aggressive, preferring to hit something really hard with a brick when all you needed to do was to talk to it, and the problem could be solved. He was a meddler, he would stick his nose into something that he shouldn’t, and then when you asked him to leave, he would yell and holler bloody murder. He is smart, politically skilled and a media master, but he is also a showman and manipulator in the worst of ways. My feelings towards Tyler were crystallized the day he took responsibility for turning Samuel de Champlain into a martyr so he could keep the Union Nationale down in that congressional election. If he wasn’t just making it up to boost his credibility and his ego, it was a reckless act that nearly split this country and only further fanned the flames of hatred, and pushed the French speaking sections of this country further against the wall. If he was lying, it only showed that he had no regard for truth in polishing his own image.

Now, on the other hand, the man certainly knew how to run a party in a way that worked. He built the CPF, and I doubt anyone will forget that for a long time. He helped Canada during the war, and helped it after the war, doing his duty as a politician, making sure things got back up and running as quickly as they could be. I was the first person to post in his article right after Canada fell when he called on every single Canadian to stand up and continue to fight, despite us not having a country anymore.

I talked to him one night about a game that both of us mutually played, Hearts of Iron 2, and he seemed like a reasonable guy once the veil was torn aside and the real man was allowed to show. It seems that many of the big problems that I had with him were a product of his image, not with the real him. He called me a genius in that exchange. 4 months later, when he lost the race to run what was left of the CNC, Genius was not what he called me. Sorry, but I can’t actually write it here, but it started with the letter F.

Wether you believe he is dead or simply has left the game, what I am trying to say is we all have our views on him, and we are all entitled to those views. Some hated him, some loved him, some wanted to punch him in the face. Lying to yourself and others about your feelings about him only buries the truth, and Tyler never struck me much as one to let anything remain buried for long.


Feel free to post your thoughts and comments on Tyler as you wish, I certainly won’t judge you for your opinions. And thanks Addy for having the courage to write that article last night, I am sure it wasn’t the easiest of things to do.