PSA: I have a voice, I will use it.

[rogueslayer452]

Due to recent events in fandom, I think it's time to address certain issues to anyone who reads my journal.

As someone who has opinions on various subjects, I don't appreciate being told to silence myself because others don't agree with my viewpoints. I have the right to say how I feel about something, especially if it's something that I truly care about. I can be heavily opinionated and critical at times along with very positive and optimistic, and I always try to rationalize and come to a common ground on such issues that I previously had a momentary reactionary response to. Because of what has happened in fandom there's been a huge divide, by those who express their opinions openly and those who think anyone that doesn't think highly of something are "haters" and are purely negative. I don't expect everyone to agree with my stances or opinions, in fact I encourage opposition because I do want to have civil debates and come to a middle ground on certain things in order to understand them better or gain a different perspective. Anyone who has known me for a while knows I do this with my meta discussions quite a bit. I have a reactionary response, and then the analytical part of my brain starts working. That's just how I roll.

Am I less of a fan for voicing my opinions on something I disagree with? Absolutely not. I feel that as fans we should be able to discuss our likes and dislikes about what is happening in fandom, because otherwise if we only spoke positively where would that get us? Not everything is going to be sunshine and rainbows, in fact when pointing out flaws and the mistakes and even speaking out against what is happening, it may be noticed and might be corrected if TPTB are listening to their audiences. This is the purpose of a fanbase, you see, and there are plenty of examples of this having been successful because of the fans making their voices known and heard by the masses.

I am not apologizing for speaking my mind on certain things, and I'm certainly not going to censor myself just because others disagree with my viewpoints and don't want to hear it.

Also, please note that being critical isn't the same as being negative. There's a massive difference between hating a particular fandom and hating the direction and how it's being handled. I think many are confusing the two, and while I understand people are still running on high emotions and being reactionary, it's getting to be ridiculous having to explain myself and defend my stance to those who don't understand or refuse to listen.

Comments

[allodole.livejournal.com]

No one has the right to go SHUT UP YOUR OPINION DOES NOT MATTER to anyone. Not even when the opinion is very different from your own. If you don't like it, then well.. it is rather easy to ignore and leave it alone. My mind can't comprehend why is this so hard to understand to so many people, gosh.

Obviously I'm not talking about you, bb. I enjoy talking with you a lot. :)

I am very glad to strike up a conversation with people who are rational and actually respect other people's opinions and give me new things to think about, new points of view from where to look from. And yes, having civil debates with people who don't think the way you do is something I have grown very fond of. Not everything is perfect and while I don't really like to, say, over-analyze everything, talking about the flaws as well as what is good is something I very much enjoy. It would be dull if everyone thought the same of everything, after all.

What I'm trying to say is that I agree with you!

[rogueslayer452.livejournal.com]

Yeah, exactly. And as an example the basis of which we friended each other was because of having a conversation like that and even when we didn't agree or have the same opinion on certain things we still were able to be civil and nice about it. That's how I feel some people in fandom should be regardless, even if it means resulting into "agree to disagree" kind of chat and that would be that. Simple, right? But nothing can ever be that simple, esp in fandom where drama and shenanigans ensue over the most trivial things.

[allodole.livejournal.com]

Exactly! It seems to be quite a hard concept for some people to grasp- that other people can have completely different opinions. And then they just don't even try to look at things from another point of view.
Especially in SPN-fandom and that's why I don't go around much, since people get very emotional over the show and are very vocal about their opinions (myself included). As you've said, there's a difference between being negative and being critical.

[rogueslayer452.livejournal.com]

That fandom is incredibly loud when it comes to being defensive, as well. Like, I'm defensive too (particularly when it comes to Misha/Castiel, I tend to get protective of him) but I still manage to try and be civil and understanding, presenting myself in a way that is argumentative but poised, if you know what I mean. But there are other people who just blatantly attack others for even stating an opinion that they get either defensive or offended in that "how dare you speak of something against what I think!" kind of way and it's...rather scary, to be honest. It's like I can't conduct a proper debate with someone without someone else jumping in and attacking me because I dared to have an opinion. Or you know, say that I disliked something without being accused of being a "hater" and why I'm still watching the show if I can't say something nice.

Boggles the mind, this fandom. It gets very craycray in the worst kind of ways, the reaction after the premiere was an example of that especially. This is why I stay on the fringes of fandom, with my tight-knit circle of sane friends. :)

[allodole.livejournal.com]

Yep. I'm very defensive when it comes to Dean- and Sam and Cas, to a lesser extent, so yeah, I know what you mean. Still, it's not so impossible to at least try to be civil and listen to what others have to say.
It is scary! I've only recently dared to even comment in a SPN-community because frankly, I found a lot of people in the fandom scary as hell. I definitely know what you mean!

The reactions after the premiere- oh dear, don't even remind me. /sigh
Heh, same here. It's safer and at least you're surrounded by people who are capable of civil conversation, even when they don't agree. :D

[rogueslayer452.livejournal.com]

They're known for being batshit insane so it's not really a surprise, but still. And really there's nothing wrong with being vocal about something, just as long as it's done maturely, which this fandom can often not be as you can tell. *sighs*

What's funny is some of my friends I've met through the SPN fandom so, heh. At least there's sanity somewhere here amirite? ;p

[allodole.livejournal.com]

Indeed. And it's even more baffling to me when most of the audience are people in their twenties, one would think that there'd be more mature people around, but no. Oh well. Can't have everything, I guess.

You're right :D

[rogueslayer452.livejournal.com]

It's really bewildering because as I'm 23, I feel like I'm far more mature than some people in fandom who are my age or even older than that. Bizarre, really. O_o

[allodole.livejournal.com]

And I'm 20 and I feel the same. :(