First off I apologize I’m not a very eloquent or talented writer so this isn’t going to be the most grammatically correct statement you ever read. I also apologize for how long this is I’m not always very good at expressing my point concisely. Somewhere the ledge is shaking an angry fist at me.
So...
As some of you may or may not know, Im on this podcast. It Has a reputation for being offensive. It has a reputation for being dumb. We have earned both. while I know everything was meant in good fun I’ve Made a lot of inappropriate off-color jokes on that show and I’ll probably continue to do that till I die because for better or worst that’s who I am. This show and my long running band has also afforded me some small level of z-list celebrity. Up in till now I have used that to mostly promote myself and try to help my friends and family as best I could. I’m lucky to have the platform. On said platform I’ve said some things I shouldn’t have and I probably hurt some folks feelings. I’m not perfect and I’m not a very good guy. But I am in a position to rock the boat a bit.
This morning i got angry. So angry I reckoned I couldn’t sit on the sidelines anymore. I’m going to use the afore mentioned low cerelberty status to shine a light on what I feel is actually happening here. And what I feel is actually happening here is pretty fucking gross.
If nerd culture was a train I would be jumping off in between stops. A a part of me that wants to quit making stuff. Hang up my laptop and my microphones and never go near a synth again. I’m sickened by the behavior of some of the people who before this I would’ve called family.
Ya See, What the outside world calls “nerd culture” or “Geekdom” (or zillion other stupid names for fans) is something I hold very dear.
For me it’s always been a community of people who like something great that maybe the rest of the world didn’t know about or appreciate, but we got it. Not everybody but us? we were in on it.
Your Walking down the street and You see somebody in a “Hills have eyes shirt” or a cool cat or kitten who has a “Blue beetle” or “Star Trek” pin on their Jacket? Those are my people. THAT PERSON could even maybe be my friend! Depending on the situation seeing someone sporting their fandom could garner A head nod or full-blown hug. I love the stuff and I want to love the people who love the stuff.
In the crazy weird dark future time we live in, technology has unfortunately enabled us to shine a light in the yuckiest corners of the Internet. This Cyber spotlight has illuminated the sad fact that some of the people who say they love what I Love, only love it if they can see themselves in it.
They want their Star Wars white with only one female in it. They want their superheroes to have blond hair and blue eyes. they’re totally going to ignore the fact that there was no diversity in popular pop culture forever so they are going to act like the inclusion of people who don’t like them is in infestation. An Invading force trying to tear down the universes and properties they hold so dear.
There is nothing I could do to make racist misogynistic trolls not be racist and misogynistic. I can shine a light on their ugly actions but unfortunately in doing so I realize it’s only going to empower some of them, but Ill do it all the same. Those folks are not the reason I’m going to this. I don’t think the Trolls are the biggest part of the problem. Their fucking problem and they will be addressed But hate is old as time itself, it predates 10 sided dice and cosplay by a solid forever.
So who am I After?
It’s the enabler‘s. The apologist the people who are downright in denial.
They claim people are getting bullied simply because the movies are bad not because they are females or look different from them, and yes the fact that they think that that’s acceptable is part of the problem right there. Justifying this type of behavior in any instance is deplorable.
But anyway, we all know what’s going on I don’t have to beat it with a stick. We have eyes we see it every day. What I want to do is is show the people who are in denial (or just don’t know) that there’s so much of this that it’s happening everywhere in every facet of fandom, that they can’t fucking deny it anymore. They can’t act like this is a political agenda.
I’m going to do this a few ways. For starters I’m going to start a blog named “Dr. Troll Hunter” i’ll post stories about this happening to celebrities on the Internet and in their daily life. I hope to help give this situation some scope, put the problem in perspective. Also, and more importantly I’ll post your stories.
I want to hear what happened to you.
I want YOU to have a platform to tell everyone your story. If you were a fan and you are a fan or a performer who has fallen victim to this sorta shitty thing I want to hear about it. It doesn’t have to be cyber bullying maybe you were run out of your tabletop RPG? A promoter or a venue owner said something racist or misogynist to you? I want to know about it. I want to let everyone else know about it.
Piecing all the stories together should give everyone whether they want to see it or not an accurate view of the problem.
I’ll also use The Podcast and The Band to share them as best I can.
Together we can at very least abolish this crazy conspiracy theory that these are the fans speaking their mind about things they’re passionate about and that the hate rhetoric is actually a media constructed propaganda campaign.
Fantasy should be for everyone. Not just white men not just any men it should be for all of us.
There’s a pretty good chance that this may not work there’s a pretty good chance that no one on either side will step forward and I am just writing this in setting all this up to make myself feel better. There’s also a slim chance that in doing this it puts me in the crosshairs of people who will try and discredit me and tear me down. They won’t have to look very hard to find bad things about me I’m not a very good person.
But in reality it maybe time to fight fire with fire. maybe you guys really do need a villain in your corner.
So send me your stories in a voice memo in a email. Send it to the email that’s listed below. And I will do everything in my power to help spread the word. But it’s not just about the fight. Maybe the most important part of this whole endeavor is to let all of you see that you’re not alone. I’m just building the ring giving you all a venue. This is all of our fight and we don’t need to fight alone.
Email: Dynamomarz1776@gmail.com
The Blog is (this is the Blog)
Hugs
Dynamo Susan Marz
AKA Doctor Troll Hunter
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