For Anyone Who Might Come Calling

[litotease]

Hi, my name is Grace, and I'm a lurker.

I've been lurking around online, following one fandom to another (in alpha order: Battlestar Galactica, Buffy, Dead Zone, due South, Farscape, Firefly, Highlander,House, Hard Core Logo, Lord of the Rings, Man from U.N.C.L.E., The Sentinel, Smallville, Star Trek: TOS, Stargate: Atlantis, Stargate: SG1) for six

Comments

[lily_liedtome]

Re: Age

You know, it really doesn't bother me at all that you are older - and I am absolutely sure that you aren't the oldest person in fandom, not nearly. I think, because a lot of times our interactions begin in a faceless space - LJ, etc. - that what matters more than age is the quality of intellectual and artistic interaction, and mutual respect between all the parties involved.

Also, because we exist in a ageless (raceless, sexuality-fluid) space, and share a fannish vocabulary, I really have no idea how old anyone is unless they tell me, or I meet them in RL. And, honestly, I'm 19 (for the next ten days, at least); I'm young, and I worry that that makes me less reputable in fandom because, while I do have years of experience w/ fannish modus operandi, I don't have that much life experience, and in RL that means I get treated with a lot less respect and deferment than someone older than me (with more established rep, etc). My interactions with fandom have allowed me to see that perhaps the lack of respect in RL is the problem - obviously we all share a similar ability to grasp difficult concepts, and when no one has previous knowledge, we are all equally equipped to speak on a subject. *shrugs*

Sorry, that got a bit ramble-y. What I meant to say was: Would you mind terribly if I friend you?

Thanks!

P.S. Plus, JP is just hot - it's not even interpretation, it's just a fact. Oogle away. *grins*

[litotease]

I want to comment on your comment with something better than "word!", but my brain is so fried, I'm not coherent enough to do so right now. I'll try again later.

In the meantime,I'd love to be friended. May I friend back?

[lily_liedtome]

Of course!

[litotease]

c8h10n4o2junkie is my favorite person on the planet, and the one who's opinion I respect most. She's also my daughter, and I will maintain 'till the day I die that she popped out of the womb more grounded than I will ever be. She's 2 months away from her 24th birthday.

For years, I've been shocked by the number of people who will in conversation ask me what her school or life plans are while she's standing right beside me. 'Cuz, she's just a kid, right? Couldn't possibly be making her own decisions. (Good Lord, she's been making them since she was 18.) Argh.

Me? I was in a store in San Francisco last Summer, one of those little ones that has it's own stereo system, and OMG, the CD they had on was amazing. I asked the salesgirl who was playing, and she looked at me funny. "They're really wonderful," says I. Now she's skeptical. "Really. I like them a lot. What's their name?" I think she was really and truly blown away by the idea that some matronly, middle-aged woman might actually be grooving on Death Cab for Cutie. Argh, again.

Ageism -- and the preconceptions that come with it -- at either end of the spectrum sucks. One of the most literate, artistic, visually stunning fan vids I've seen in the Firefly fandom was done by someone I'm told was 16 at the time she made the vid.

(Apparently, I can't make a point without telling a story. If only I could tell fictional stories. *Sighs*)

[lily_liedtome]

Exactly!

Age =/= knowledge.

When you put it like that, ageism reminds me very much of sexism (and other -isms) - that assumption that a person is lesser because they are not what you are (and therefore cannot possibly communicate on your level).