Ok, I hadn't planned on posting anything about the Kaycee hoax. I figured I hadn't invested a heck of a lot of emotional energy into her story, and anything I was feeling others had said before and said a lot better than I ever could. But it's everywhere, and I'm dismayed at the pain and confusion that this has caused, and heartened by the love that has survived the revelation. To that end, here are some reactions I thought were worth posting:

Her name was not Kaycee and she was not my daughter....

the end of the whole mess

MeFi post one

MeFi post two

a conversation with my sister

Sorry

Loony

Halcyon's words

So What Happens Now?

For what it's worth, the strongest emotion I'm feeling is sadness at the destruction of trust. Whatever Debbie's/Kaycee's motives, she brought out the best in a lot of people, but it was done dishonestly and now those people feel used and betrayed.

And from now on, no matter how much these people who cared about her try to still feel good about the whole experience, it will color the next time they are asked to risk themselves emotionally. They'll wonder if it's real, if the person is telling them the truth, if, when they give their hearts, they will be treated with respect. If they'll be treated with the truth. Because this time they weren't.

My first reaction is "Oh, well. She was too good to be true in the first place. This is just one more example of peoples' insensitivity and callousness. Time to move on." But that's just my cynicism reacting to one more brick being put on the wall around my heart. Because I cried for her too.