A Garden of You

During class today Dr. Johnson shared a fascinating metaphor/analogy I found applicable to myself and which I have attempted to describe to others before. She said (and hopefully I'm not leaving anything out or misinterpreting) that when we send a text, email, or other message transmitted one way without face-to-face interaction then we create a sort of isolated personality comprised entirely of the message itself. This would be one of the "yous," and with each message their numbers increase. If we don't "tend" to these, and explain them, or keep track of who reads them, then the reader gains free rein to make judgments upon the writer based solely upon what has been written.
 To elaborate on what seems to me a rather complex metaphor, say I'm in a crowded place with a friend, and I make a racial joke to him because it seems rather funny at the moment. If someone who knows me insomuch as he has seen me before, knows my name, and knows what I look like, but has never actually heard me speak, then overhearing the joke may be the only impression they have of me at all. It's easy to see how, perhaps without any conscious consideration at all, that person will form an image of my personality in his head, and it may be defined as someone who makes racial jokes or perhaps is racist. Judgments begin to form, and I can't exactly talk to every possible person who may have heard me to explain, "hey, that's not how I really am. (If I could, that would be "tending the garden", in this case that of the personalities which begin to form in people's minds and are character judgments upon me)." The best evidence I have for this common psychological propensity comes from myself: as I progressed through grade school, if another student who I didn't know well but saw often in class was to make a rude remark to somebody as he walked past me in the hall, I would quickly find myself disliking the person, with no conscious attempt to judge that person's personality. Similarly, if a person was helpful to me, even once, I would later find myself approving of that person, in to the point that if I overheard a friend talking about that person, I might step in and make a positive comment about him, despite having next to no experience of that person. Occasionally I would catch myself making such judgments and wonder why. I have come to understand it as a psychological thing, perhaps evolutionary in origin- I can see how being forced to adapt to new circumstances might require a person to immediately judge their surroundings or other characters despite having an incomplete understanding of them.
I also think that the propensity for creating these sorts of splinter impressions has been aggravated by the creation of the internet, texting, and social media. A single email can sound rude if taken out of context, but if none is provided, then the interpretation of the email is left entirely to the perception of the reader, and from it a judgment can be formed. If I look at someones Facebook profile and see a picture or post that has been put up ironically, I can easily form a judgment of that person. Even in this blog as I type it I carefully choose each word, wary of how any reader may take them, and mindful of giving an impression that seems biased or foolish (See? Even now I attempt to tend to this, explaining everything I can think to before submitting it to be viewed and judged by any person desiring to read it. In fact, I'm sure others who have read my blogs have formed an idea of who I am, despite seeing only a handful of short blogs from me, each carefully chosen and catered to the reader. I wonder if I'm beginning to sound postmodern with this meta-ness, but what do I know, the interpretation is all up to the reader).
As soon as I hit publish, another judge-able splinter of my personality will be permanently added to the annals of the internet, and my classmates will have another tool with which to judge me, and I will have created another "me." Hopefully the disclaimer I have created by writing this blog itself will be sufficient tending. What do you guys think? And be careful how you answer, because I may choose to judge you.