No, it isn't just your fandom...

[rj_anderson]

...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.

Comments

[mistraltoes.livejournal.com]

Well, in Buffy fandom people tend to suggest that Joss Whedon is the final authority, but that doesn't work because: a) they only do it when they can find a quote from Joss that supports their position; b) Joss flip-flops on his own position; c) Joss makes frequent and egregious errors; d) Joss lies.

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.

[kerravonsen]

A), of course, applies to church factions' use of Christ as well.

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...

[mistraltoes.livejournal.com]

Funny how Buddhist paradoxes are called 'koans' and are way cool ways to get one to think, and biblical paradoxes are supposed disproof of the Bible.

Not.