"Scott Thomas": Poseur?

I've seen this estimation of the "Scott Thomas" persona linked all over the place. In it, John Barnes, a self-described 'book doctor' gives a diagnosis:

I see manuscripts with all nine of these symptoms [identical to those in the "Shock Troops" anecdotes] – you might think of it as one syndrome with nine common symptoms – about a half dozen times per year, generally from agents rather than as offers to book-doctor them since the creators usually have no money and the books have only limited commercial potential. And they all come from pretty much the same sort of person...[SNIP]

Barnes lays out the observable characteristics of such story-tellers, and states,

I can say that every single time I have been in a position to find out, the "used to be a cop," "I was a Green Beret," "I was a roof man for the Cleveland Fire Department," etc. etc. etc. has turned out to be a fake. Not that there are not guys with adventurous and romantic backgrounds around writing programs or in professional writing – I've known, among others, highly talented writers who were one-time paramedics, professional boxers, police, private eyes, back-country prospectors, and so forth.

But none of those guys [that have actual dangerous backgrounds] wrote like "Scott Thomas". (For that matter they don't write much like each other, either).

"Scott Thomas", however, writes exactly like the mid-20s macho MFA student who is lying about an adventurous background.

It's a "read the whole thing" sort of piece.

PREVIOUSLY:

Still Looking for "Scott Thomas's" Cohorts
Further Comments from Foer
A Note From New Republic's Foer
Digging into New Republic's Anonymous Source
Gruesome Stories from Anonymous Sources

Comments

[Kat-Missouri/USA]

You know who I thought of right off in writing style? Hunter thompson. Then I thought of Colby Buzzel.

I liked colby's writing, but he admitted freely he was influenced by Hunter Thompson and his favorite book: Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas. That is why he named his blog straight out: Fear and Loathing in Iraq

I know colby got out of the military so I doubt this is him. But it does seem like someone is trying to copy a certain writing style that is meant, as John Barnes notes, to shock and leave you unable to respond to the depravity. But, it is simply a writing device, not necessarily something that actually portrays reality.

I particularly liked the part where the fellow was wearing the skull on his head and everybody just laughed. I wonder how many "everyone's" were there? I wonder if Mr. Thomas left out some important parts of the story to insure the shock value stayed on? It certainly wouldn't do for someone in the story to walk up and say something eventually that that was enough of that, or smack him in the back of the head or any of the other normal responses that would, even eventually, come in response to that behavior. Even among the juvenile. There is always one person who has a little more sense than the others.

But, had Scott wrote that, he would have denigrated the shock value of his piece because then the readers would have felt relief at the end of the story because there was some decency after all. someone was there to re-enforce it. which, from studies of social groups, while certain behavior allowed to continue can bring down the attitude and behavior of a group, there is still always at least one who does not fall all the way in who at least makes even lame attempts to rein in the behavior or shows disgust.

That is where Mr. Thomas' piece fails the test in terms of social behaviors. It is not that young men do not say and do the stupidest things or disgusting things and laugh thinking they are cool. The unbelievable (besides issues of physical capabilities of bradleys or designs of bullets) is that there is not one person in his social stratosphere, platoon, squad, etc that would step in and rectify any of several matters, even if it was a half hearted rebuke.

He leaves those out or makes them collaborators. As Barnes notes, this is a literary device meant to assure the reader that there was more depravity to come so they should keep reading. Who is going to read the rest of the story if they know at the end of each sub story there is good and decency somewhere? Nobody, because then it would be the boring truth.