And I feel fine...
In the aftermath of back-to-back hurricanes Fanlib and Deletegate it’s not an accident that fandom is engaged in a discussion about authorial responsibility.
Where we imagined that we’ve been living in a somewhat secluded community (a country village of fandom, if you will) we have been shocked to discover -- 1st that others, fanlib, saw us as a resource (low cost, non-resident workers) that could be exploited and 2nd to re-discover ourselves as a barely tolerated group of ‘others’ (feel free to take this analogy anywhere you will) in a metaphoric Midwestern state who could be violently expelled from our homes without notice. Both threats carried the potential of legal prosecution, as well.
We reacted to fanlib with analysis and (on going) discussion and publishing of the fanlib project. Fans were made aware of the cost and risks of being involved in it.
But it also left us aware that the outside world was looking in (yes, but we tolerate the aca-fans because they’re fans) and when the WfI/6A attack came down some of us gave notice and fled. Some of us held back but set up refuges in foreign lands, stocking them with food, water and our f’lists. (I find it amusing that we’ve been warned that we may not be accepted in these other lands because our cultural values are too different and because our sheer numbers will put a strain on resources.) Some of us announced that we will not be moved and took up arms. (Arms is good. We have beaten back the forces of evil (Go us!) and now have a much better idea of our strength and numbers.) And some of us did what we do best and began to imagine and then draft out plans for a well-defended land were fans can live in peace and freedom, safe from exploitation and expulsion.
Not free, unfortunately, from each other. Having dealt, at least temporarily, with external threats, we’ve been left in a state of heightened anxiety and one of the classic responses to anxiety is to start looking around for a scapegoat - just in case the world comes to an end.
Where we imagined that we’ve been living in a somewhat secluded community (a country village of fandom, if you will) we have been shocked to discover -- 1st that others, fanlib, saw us as a resource (low cost, non-resident workers) that could be exploited and 2nd to re-discover ourselves as a barely tolerated group of ‘others’ (feel free to take this analogy anywhere you will) in a metaphoric Midwestern state who could be violently expelled from our homes without notice. Both threats carried the potential of legal prosecution, as well.
We reacted to fanlib with analysis and (on going) discussion and publishing of the fanlib project. Fans were made aware of the cost and risks of being involved in it.
But it also left us aware that the outside world was looking in (yes, but we tolerate the aca-fans because they’re fans) and when the WfI/6A attack came down some of us gave notice and fled. Some of us held back but set up refuges in foreign lands, stocking them with food, water and our f’lists. (I find it amusing that we’ve been warned that we may not be accepted in these other lands because our cultural values are too different and because our sheer numbers will put a strain on resources.) Some of us announced that we will not be moved and took up arms. (Arms is good. We have beaten back the forces of evil (Go us!) and now have a much better idea of our strength and numbers.) And some of us did what we do best and began to imagine and then draft out plans for a well-defended land were fans can live in peace and freedom, safe from exploitation and expulsion.
Not free, unfortunately, from each other. Having dealt, at least temporarily, with external threats, we’ve been left in a state of heightened anxiety and one of the classic responses to anxiety is to start looking around for a scapegoat - just in case the world comes to an end.