rj_anderson (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
rj_anderson) wrote2004-11-15 01:25 pm
rj_anderson) wrote2004-11-15 01:25 pm
No, it isn't just your fandom...
...people in every fandom, of every kind, everywhere, are insane.
Whenever you get a large group of people together to discuss a common interest, and people are passionately interested and emotionally invested in the thing being discussed, it is absolutely inevitable that irrational behaviour will go on, flamewars will erupt, trolls will emerge, and before long the entire fandom will be dismissed as a bunch of wacked-out morons who seriously need to Get a Life.
The key to surviving in any fandom is to find a group of people who, even if they don't necessarily agree, are at least mature enough to handle disagreement sensibly. This can be difficult if a large percentage of your fandom is hormonally crazed and/or ON CRACK, but with a little searching and effort, it can be done. Then you stick with the sane people and ignore all the other stuff.
See? Much better.
No, this rant was not inspired by HP fandom. Though you can apply it there too if you like.
Whenever you get a large group of people together to discuss a common interest, and people are passionately interested and emotionally invested in the thing being discussed, it is absolutely inevitable that irrational behaviour will go on, flamewars will erupt, trolls will emerge, and before long the entire fandom will be dismissed as a bunch of wacked-out morons who seriously need to Get a Life.
The key to surviving in any fandom is to find a group of people who, even if they don't necessarily agree, are at least mature enough to handle disagreement sensibly. This can be difficult if a large percentage of your fandom is hormonally crazed and/or ON CRACK, but with a little searching and effort, it can be done. Then you stick with the sane people and ignore all the other stuff.
See? Much better.
No, this rant was not inspired by HP fandom. Though you can apply it there too if you like.
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[G,D&RVVF...]
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What I mean is, the vast majority of the problems and divisions and "flamewars" in the Christian church arise from people having their own ideas and theories and agendas about Christianity, instead of truly recognizing and bowing to the authority of Christ as the Head of the church. If believers were all imitating Christ and honoring Him above all, we would be unified and we would know how to handle disagreements and differences without destroying each other, bearing grudges, etc. After all, He Himself said, "By this shall all men know you are my disciples, if you have love one for another," and as John said, "We love, because He first loved us."
And the problems that often arise in fandom come from people taking their hobby far too seriously and treating it like worship. Therefore, you can't say anything negative about Person X's favorite character or ship because OMG THAT IS BLASPHEMY!!! And since in fandom there is no Christ-figure or other noble example we are all called to emulate and respect as the final authority, there isn't any way of telling people to behave other than asking them to exercise a degree of common sense that they may or may not actually possess.
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A), of course, applies to church factions' use of Christ as well.
OTOH, I think that fandom works precisely because there is no authority; there is potential for a rich tapestry of varied viewpoints that can be examined and played with for as long as any particular fan can sustain imagination and interest.
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And atheists would argue that (b) applies as well, since there are a number of passages which appear to contradict each other -- my favourite example is a couple of verses from Proverbs which are back to back:
Answer not a fool according to his folly, lest you, too, be like him.
Proverbs 26:4
Answer a fool according to his folly, lest he be wise in his own eyes.
Proverbs 26:5
And that advice is rather relevant to the madness of fandom also...
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Not.
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This is the first time I've seen somebody made the connection between the Church and fandoms, but I've got to say that what you've said are right. Although HP fandom is the only one that I've participated in, it is still enough for me to roll my eyes sometimes. People have got to stop all these defences they've built up that wall off every criticism towards their favorite characters. That's just plain unreasonable. While it's true that you don't have to agree with another fan's perspective of the book or the character, you don't need to force your perspective on them, either. That's one of the reasons it's hard to have rational discussions with fans sometimes. They aren't willing to compromise to the sake of learning.
~Shina Laris
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The problem is... it isn't even that simple. Because you can't always say "Oh, that's your interpretation and that's fine for you." Otherwise Paul wouldn't have gotten so stroppy about the fellows who said that you couldn't be a Christian unless you were circumcised -- and he was very eloquent about how wrong they were. There is such a thing as truth, and there are such things as heresies. There a need for a balance between both extremes, between a relaxed attitude towards differing interpretations, and a strong attitude towards things that are Just Plain Wrong. And of course, the mess arises because we can't all agree on where the borders are. Though I would think that the Creeds are a good model for That Which Is Important For Salvation, and everything else, while still important, isn't worth fighting over.
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ROTFL!