Here we go again...

[owl]

After disposing of msscribe, bad_penny now is doing Cassandra Claire and the plagiarism thing. This fandom was founded on teh crazy.

Comments

[aquarius-1977.livejournal.com]

Most Star Trek fans feel that their fandom is based on tolerance and acceptance, because of the way Roddenberry pushed social boundaries in the 60's. Looking back from our perch here in the new millennium, the original series still has its problems--objectification of women, cowboy diplomacy that seems to conflict with the show's message of peace and tolerance--but I think subsequent series and even the films do a good job of explaining how Kirk was in the middle of times that were changing in a big way and that there were a lot of adjustments being made.

That said, that message of equality and tolerance spills out into the fandom. Human nature dictates that it doesn't always work, but for the most part they try. They are probably the most united group of fans the world has ever seen since the first letter-writing campaign to NBC that saved the show in 1967. Fans, cast members, and production people alike all say that the one recurring thing in the fandom is the sense of belonging it creates. So maybe Trek does attract more of the "mentally unstable" element because heaven knows they probably haven't gotten much acceptance anywhere else, or perhaps it's as you said and there is a social consience of sorts within the fandom that won't allow them to be run off.

Either way, I've been going to Star Trek conventions since the late 80's, and yes, it does attract a colorful crowd, but I've also been to multifandom cons and I haven't really seen much evidence that the other fandoms have any more "normal" of a fan base. In any situation, most fans are mostly harmless, and if you don't bother them, they won't bother you.

[(Anonymous)]

There's a man confined to a wheelchair who comes to Balticon every year dressed as a klingon, and his costume is really awesome. A lot of work clearly went into its creation, and I can't help stare every time I see him. I'm a big costume nerd, so I'm always like "oh that is so awesome!" (Klingons are the best people to get make-up advice from... especially when prosthetics get involved).

This one time I saw him, I was going down the hall in the opposite direction from him, and some other guy going the same direction as me cracked some wiseass comment as soon as he thought he was out of hearing distance about how the guy would have to kill himself if he was a 'real' klingon, and that it was really pathetic blah blah blah. Fortunately, he was passing right by someone in a starfleet uniform when he said it, and they ripped him a new one before I had a chance. I shook their hand later and thanked them for looking after their fellow fen, and they were basically like "that's just the way Trek fen do things." I thought that was really sweet. I'd like to think that my fellow Star Wars and Firefly fen would defend their own that way, and probably a lot of them would, but just as many of them would tolerate that sort of asshatery without comment (and I can think of a few who might start it themselves).

[leeflower.livejournal.com]

oops... sorry, that was me. Forgot to log in >_<.