The Plain Layne Internet saga seems to be coming to a conclusion. For those that aren't aware of it, Plain Layne was a personal web journal, written by a local girl struggling with romance, career, sexual orientation, and sanity in the suburbs of the Twin Cities. It was a real life soap opera, and from my description it sounds awful (which is probably why I don't write soap operas). But in reality it was compelling stuff. I casually read her for the past year or so and I must admit to have believed it. In character development and plausibility it was flawless in execution. According to unconfirmed reports, her site was getting up to 10,000 visits a day.
Now it turns out it was all a hoax. This twenty-something, hip, messed up lesbian is really a thirty-something, establishment, suburban dad. Here's the story of why he did it. (Check out Berg for more on the back story). Apparently he did it because of a brush with mortality, failed business ventures, art, and the meaning of life. Or so he claims. It again all sounds plausible and the guy's a hell of a writer. But given his serial hoaxing tendencies (this isn't the first time he's pulled this scam) and flair for writing fiction, it's hard to know what to believe. And the only rule for dealing with a habitual liar is to assume he's lying. Always.
I suppose you couldn't blame him for embellishing his motivations a little bit. The alternative of simply telling people, "yes, I'm the guy who pretended to be a lesbian on the Internet for two years" isn't likely to enhance his real life prospects all that much. In any case, I think the this is a great story, and I hope more details are forthcoming on the truth behind the Plain Layne hoax. I believe Mitch Berg is going to try to get this guy on Northern Alliance Radio in the coming weeks. Stay tuned.
No comments:
Post a Comment