Griping about fandom culture

[violsva]

I just read a (locked) post about antis and actual psychiatric studies which the writer, for obvious reasons, put here instead of on Tumblr, and a lot of the comments, while acknowledging that she had damn good reasons for not wanting to deal with having it on Tumblr, wished that they could reblog it.

But that's not what struck me.

The thing is, while she made very good arguments, and she has a relevant professional background, posts full of very good arguments against anti tactics or censorship in fandom aren't actually rare. I have seen dozens of brilliant, serious, well-argued posts, by at least a dozen brilliant people (many of whom are subscribed to me!), over the past four years (or more, actually, and it's not like I've specifically sought them out), rebutting that bullshit, and the problem is they will never be enough.

I think it's clear by now that we could all have written or reblogged brilliant posts discussing dark fiction, internet pile-ons, and censorship every damn week for the past four years, and people would still be getting messages calling them pedophiles for drawing adults in the wrong art style.

...I just needed to get that off my chest. It's been so much nicer inside my head since I drifted away from Tumblr.

Comments

[staranise]

RIGHT?! That's the actual reason I didn't post it. It just wouldn't do any good.

[violsva]

Yeah :( :(

I mean, when I'm feeling less cynical I remember that there are lurkers, and new people coming into fandom all the time, etc, etc, but basically, more reasoned argument does not seem to be helping here. >.

[konsectatrix]

Basically. The best schooling would be letting them all turn 40.

[anarfea]

I guess the thing is I've never thought about those posts as being "for" antis. They're unreachable. Who they're for is the people who are being targeted or fear they might become targets who need reassurances that they're okay.

[violsva]

The original post was directly in response to an askbox question, so a lot more in the context of being for antis even if they wouldn't get much out of it; but yes, that is the antidote to my cynicism.

[pennypaperbrain]

Yeah, I see it like anarfea does, or try to. When I read that kind of post, I don't need any converting, but getting the extra insight into wtf is going on with these people makes it all feel just a little more navigable. Hopefully that effect is amplified for people who are seeing such a post for the first time.

ETA... It's been nicer inside my head too. It's no longer crammed with misguided groupthink rage about things which are only tangentially related to me anyway. Having to conduct my social life on tumblr felt like having to do it in the middle of an American High School playground (or whatever you call them in the US).

[violsva]

SO much. (SFAIK they call them playgrounds here too; they certainly do in Canada.)

Tumblr felt like ... it kept making unignorable demands on your emotions, or at least demands you would be judged for ignoring. And I don't want my emotions engaged 24/7. And there is no benefit for other people that my emotions be engaged!