Chains of Mourning for Littleton

A fascinating article in this week's New York Times describes the impromptu construction of a "rambling, multicolor memorial" in Littleton, Colorado dedicated to the victims of the Columbine High School shootings. It consists of cards, flowers, balloons, and personal mementos deposited by thousands of visitors since the April 20th massacre.

Citing Edward T. Linenthal, a professor of religion and American culture, the article observes that there's nothing new about publicly honoring the dead, but shrines such as this one exemplify a fairly recent cultural phenomenon in the U.S.: "vividly public" displays of private emotions. This may stem, Linenthal theorizes, from a need to overcome feelings of powerlessness and to "experience a sense of unity, a 'community of bereavement' that transcends race, ethnicity and other distinctions."

People have also sought ways to meet these needs via the Internet: on memorial Websites which seemingly sprang up overnight after the tragedy; by condolences and prayers emailed directly to Columbine High School; through newsgroups and message boards devoted exclusively to discussion of the shootings; and through email chain letters – probably the least meaningful (not to mention the least respectable) way to seek a sense of community via the Internet, but no less popular for all that.

Mourning by chain letter

By definition, the main purpose of a chain letter is to get itself replicated by as many people as possible. "Forward this to everyone you know" is the standard plea, but chain letters also typically contain emotional hooks and threats calculated to persuade the reader to comply. They almost always promise more than they can deliver (i.e., something for nothing), and the fact of the matter is that the majority of email chain letters prove to be hoaxes. (See Anatomy of a Hoax for a classic example.)

On the surface, the four specimens at hand exhibit varying degrees of sincerity. Only the last is a certifiable hoax. The third oozes with sympathy, then attempts to shame recipients into forwarding it, calling its own integrity into question. The second purports to have originated from a Littleton resident – possibly a student at the high school – but so far attempts to verify this have been unsuccessful. The first example appears to have been written within hours of the shootings and contains misinformation that jibes with the earliest, sketchy news reports.

The authors of some of these letters may have been genuinely trying to reach out and connect with others, but it's hard to imagine a less fulfilling way to do so. Chain letters are anonymous texts offering no real contact, no real sharing of emotions or meeting of minds. It's really just a numbers game – how many people can we get this to?  Recipients may or may not imbue the messages with their own sentiments, perhaps enjoying a fleeting sense of satisfaction as they click the "Forward" button, but that's about the extent of it.

The fact that these texts are circulating at all suggests that people are desperate for ways to connect with their fellow human beings, to share their feelings, to do something, however futile. In this, perhaps, we see symptoms of the some of the same social afflictions – emotional isolation and a sense of powerlessness – that arguably contributed to the Littleton tragedy itself. The medium is indeed the message.

The Littleton chain letters: