Talking about... we WHAT?
To quote a friend of mine PlaidPooka, I'd like to talk about SASS. And sporking. And incorrect impressions.
SASS got started when I was im'ing with two friends who love Harry Potter as much as I do about how it would be nice to make a group for us. Nothing posh, nothing of epic proportions. Just a group of friends having a place to share ideas and offer each other support. The same way I imagine all groups get started.
We are not elitist. Nor are we snobbish. We're a small group because we just started two months ago and haven't made much effort to solicit new members. We aren't everyone's cup of tea. Our members write everything from lighthearted romance to dark drama. We offer emotional support for each other as well as writing suggestions.
When I created the group, that was my intention.
One of our members has an interest called sporking. If anyone doesn't know what it means, as I did not until recently, it is reworking a writer's story in a way that pokes fun at it. Unfortunately, it isn't in a "Gulliver's Travels" kind of way. It isn't satire so much as... well, I'm not sure what is a good word, to be honest. Except maybe mockery.
This love of sporking is something done long before the person joined our group. Recent events have made me aware of it. Let's leave it at that, shall we, as if you're reading this you most likely know the story already.
What you might not know, and which I want people to understand, is this.
I don't condone sporking. Neither does SASS as a group.
This wasn't done with the group's knowledge, consent, blessing, or anything else.
I'm a group owner. Not a mother. I have no right to tell people what they can or cannot do. So I am not going to ask that it stop, because that isn't my place. That doesn't mean I love it, or that the group members knew and jumped up and down in glee.
Some individuals realize that one person does not speak for an entire group. For that, I thank you. No one wants to be judged unfairly. I wouldn't, and I wouldn't want to do that to others.
For anyone who has gotten the impression that SASS is in favor of publicly trouncing other writers, that's not the case. I am aware that it's easy to look at one or two things, people, etc. and make a judgment from that. I am aware that not many people know our members and therefore can only go on what they read online. But there is not only one side to any story.
We can't all agree. That is just life. But we can all try to see the entire picture. Which is why I'm writing this post. I can't let there be half a picture.
Pooka had nothing to do with this sporking, she didn't co-write it, she didn't bake a cake for it, she didn't proclaim to love it. But she was maligned for it nonetheless.
Why would that be necessary?
If someone does something to someone personally, by all means, address it. But I have never known her to leave a hateful review, make nasty comments about people online, or be anything other than a good friend. If somebody knows a different Pooka than the one I'm friends with, please enlighten me. Because I don't see that she deserves to be put down for the actions of someone else.
There are over 9,000 members on WIKTT, I believe. If one person says something nasty, does that mean everyone else is nasty, too? Of course not. You don't throw the baby out with the bathwater.
The same goes for SASS. We're a group. But groups are made up of individuals. Individuals have their own ideas. And as Patrick Swayze said in Roadhouse: "opinions vary."
I'm willing to listen without prejudice. How about you?