conuly

Interesting post.

I'm only posting it to quote a specific comment:

I bet you don't believe in imaginary friends, either. Your world sounds so sterile and literal.

WTF is that supposed to mean? Of course he doesn't believe in imaginary friends! 'cuz they're imaginary. That's the meaning of the word!

What Anonymous means, of course, is "don't think they're appropriate", which is something else altogether. It's also a straw man - people don't lie to their kids about imaginary friends. People *do* lie to their kids about Santa. Children aren't expected to actually believe their imaginary friends are real. They *are* expected to believe that Santa is real. Whether or not you consider this a bad thing, the two things are not comprable.

Don't believe in imaginary friends. What a nonsensical set of words. It's like complimenting Shrubboy by calling him an incredible speaker. Not only are you wrong in the sense that you mean the word, but you're right in the literal etymology which nobody uses - he is quite honestly not credible. Whee, tangent!