If you are going to take the "moral" high ground, make sure you are not standing over a pit

[puppetmaker]

After talking to a friend about something that happened at World Con and the outrage that has followed I had a moment of clarity of something that has bugged me about fandom for years. I am frankly tired of people who were not directly affected by the situation expressing their "moral" (and I use the term loosely) outrage when the parties involved are adults and it is now a matter being sorted out between them rather than fandom as a whole. Fandom gets up on its hobby-horse of outrage at the drop of a hat and usually without all the facts other than hearsay. It is sort of like that old game of Telephone where you pass a phrase (or in the case of fandom a story) around a circle and you would be amazed what comes back to you. I have seen it happen over and over again and have been involved or at the point of origin for the story that leads to the mob pulling out its pitchforks and torches to go off on a rampage over something that is really nothing in the big scheme of things.

I am thinking about pimpin' my puppet Panel on a couple of the DragonCon boards so I might have an audience. I also found out that some good friends that I was hoping were going to make it for Dragon on managed to clear the decks so that they are definitely going to be there. I think I should convince one or both to join the puppet panel on the Costuming track considering what they do for a living. So tomorrow we are off to Atlanta. Today I finish the Doctors and fix up one doll. I don't think the other two are going to get done by tomorrow. I am getting excited about this convention.

I am grateful that I will have so many friends at DragonCon.

Comments

[norda.livejournal.com]

Thank you, thank you, Thank you, Kath.

I have never met the parties involved, nor was I present at the event. Neither were some of my dearest friends, who still have taken it upon themselves to mount this hobby horse. It frankly bemuses me, when it does not sadden me.

Until I hear fom either of the two parties directly involved, I'm not going to express an opinion one way or the other.

[coffeeem.livejournal.com]

I know just the sort of thing you mean, and Oy!

But the circumstances of this incident make it significant. A well-known and respected figure in the field (and out of it) does a sexist, inappropriate thing to a woman on stage in front of a huge audience at the most important event in science fiction. If the community treats it as a private fan feud and doesn't make a fuss, the message is, "That behavior isn't something that this community objects to. We think it's normal for important men to humiliate important women in public." It does affect more than the two parties directly involved; if the fannish community doesn't step up immediately and say, "We don't do that here," any of us could be treated the same way, and expect neither support nor sympathy from the community.

The man involved has apologized publicly. That was the right thing to do. But I think the public outrage was also right; the incident was hurtful to all of us.

[jeff-morris.livejournal.com]

Well....let me ask you this. What were your impressions when Bush gave German Chancellor Merkel the impromptu massage? Was this also something that's really nothing in the greater scheme of things?

Just asking. I don't have an interest in either side.

JSM