PSA: I have a voice, I will use it.
Oct. 2nd, 2010 06:14 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
rogueslayer452Due 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.
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.
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no subject
Date: 2010-10-02 07:13 pm (UTC)Am I less of a fan for voicing my opinions on something I disagree with? Absolutely not.
Completely agreed. Hell, I think that might even make you even more of a fan, because you're willing to question what's set in front of you. You care enough to want it to be as good as it can be, instead of just buggering off because you can't be bothered to have an opinion.
(Somewhat OT, but that is exactly why I was never all that active in Glee fandom. If you didn't think everything going on was ~*~WONDERFUL~*~ and dared to express your opinion outside flock you would get jumped by a few dozen people telling you why your opinion was stupid.)
no subject
Date: 2010-10-03 01:18 pm (UTC)That's not of topic at all, in fact that's precisely what I'm referring to because there are people who will have that kind of attitude of if you don't speak nicely about a fandom then you aren't a true fan. It's ridiculous. Fandom isn't a hivemind, we all have opinions and feelings about things that may differ from each other, and we're all allowed to express them whether people agree with it or not. To say that just because we speak against something doesn't make us a "true fan" is rather idiotic and an elitist thing to say. I know that fandom can sometimes act cliquish, but sometimes it goes too far especially recently.