PhotoDude.com

Tue. May 22, 2001

At the End of the Rainbow, there's a Big Scam

At the End of the Rainbow, there’s a Big Scam – There’s probably been enough said about this, and the truth is, most people don’t even know who or what we’re talking about. But here I am to say…

....more. [A short ”In Our Last Episode” Recap … a full FAQ has been placed online, although it points fingers I’m not prepared to] Kaycee Nicole presented herself via her weblog as a 19 year old woman who was fighting cancer, over the course of nine months or so of entries at the site. Her ”mom,” ”Debbie” started up her own web log about three months ago. These web logs developed a large following, and lots of people invested themselves emotionally in Kaycee’s battle and recovery. They corresponded with her, via e-mail and chat, and some by phone. Some mailed her care packages. Not too long ago, Kaycee’s web log reported first that she was leaving the hospital, in remission, and then soon thereafter the discovery of a fatal liver ailment. Word of her death spread through the web log community the day after Mother’s Day.

Now, it turns out none of it ever happened. At least, not the way it was presented. It was all the product of one mind, and it didn’t belong to anyone named Kaycee.

I can only offer my own viewpoint. I think I first stumbled onto Kaycee’s weblog via Following Eden. I read a dozen or more entries, and remember being impressed by what seemed a surreally upbeat attitude. I never mentioned it in my web log, as it wasn’t exactly a ”find.” Many many others had made note of her before my visit. I did go back now and then, and at times found inspiring words, and wondered at the courage to post them. Other times, well, something struck me as a bit off. As soon as that unbidden thought would enter my head, I would stifle the cynical voice … ”shame! You’d be a ’bit off’ at times too if you were undergoing chemo. Others I respect have communicated with this woman regularly. You’re just trying to justify your position during an economic downturn, Mr. Instant Cynic. Shut up.” This worked well for months.

But the trip to Florida did me in. The sudden discovery of a fatal complication, and the quick trip to Florida with her Mom so Kaycee could see the ocean before she passed away. Mr. Instant Cynic busted out of his straight jacket, shouting ”TV Movie! TV Movie! On the Lifetime Channel!” The Mother’s Day post, followed immediately by the notice of Kaycee’s death seemed to tidy up the scripted plot in a nice Family TV like manner.

The small cubbyhole where Mr. Instant Cynic used to live was now occupied by a tiny voice that said maybe sometimes lives do end in this way, despite your cynical judgement on plot quality. However Mr. Instant Cynic had the upper hand, and whispered to Susan my dark suspicions. But I witnessed the mass outpouring of grief online, and left it there. I never commented about Kaycee in any way in my web log, until now, for better or for worse.

Then last weekend MetaFilter erupted with multiple enormous threads about the autheniticity of this web log. The first one was quite contentious, with many offended at the very mention this could be a hoax, especially so soon after Kaycee’s death. But in some way it may have brought out the truth, or at least, revealed what we thought was truth was not.

Frankly, I don’t know what to believe anymore. Any claims currently being made by ”Debbie” regarding her supposed ”good intentions” have no credibility with me. From Gomer’s Red Book: ”Fooled me once, shame on you. Fooled me twice, shame on me.” Others say, if the emotions that web site generated were real, and had an impact on your life, that’s all that matters. You should move on.

OK.

What about the 10 year old girl who was moved to use her allowance money to send a care package to Kaycee, and now her Mom is shielding her from the fact she was duped, right along with the rest of us? Of course, I read the story about that girl in a web log, so it might not be true.

Did you get that last point?

I’m certainly a big proponent of the ”It’s Your Web Site, Do What You Want” school of philosophy, and I think you have a right to reveal only what you want to reveal about yourself and your life. But I also think you enter an unwritten covenant that what you present will be real, in that it is a part of you, not someone else. It’s not a matter of a formal Identity Check, it’s a matter of Trust. Honesty. Credibilty. Reputation.

And Community. If you want to be a member, all you have to do is ante up a nickel of Truth.

There are many great stories to be told that did not actually happen to the writer. There are many great ways to present them, so that they have a wide impact on people. They are honest, credible ways, unlike what we saw in this case.

What we witnessed was deceit. Lies. Deliberate deception on a grand scale. Next to that, the story content is almost irrelevant. I’m thankful there are still people on this planet who are trying to gather up the tiny pieces of good in this shattered mess, who remind us that the fact people responded is the important thing, and that the bad karma is on the perpetrator’s head, not ours.

I’m not sure I’m one of those people today, if I ever was. Certainly, now, the next time I tell Mr. Instant Cynic to pipe down, he’s gonna say, ”yeah, the last time you told me that, who ended up saying ’I told ya so’?”

That’s the real damage of a hoax such as this. Next time, when it’s real, will we be so open? Or will we pause?

Thanks, Debbie. Mr. Instant Cynic is havin’ a drink in your honor.