Thread:Livin4Skating/@comment-14284535-20130802235321

I joined this wiki for the expressed purpose of writing this for you. (I did a few other things, but this is the main point.)  I want you to know that you are not the only person who has go through the garbage you have experienced.

Many years ago, I was a very important person in several science fiction fandoms, especially Doctor Who and Star Trek. (My contributions include an inspiration for the opening titles of the Sylvester McCoy era of "Doctor Who" and the original idea of the recolourisation process of the Jon Pertwee stories.)  When "Star Trek: The Next Generation" came out, I was the only person in upper level ST fandom who did not like it. (I still don't.)

The results were thunderously bad. I started getting anonymous phone calls at all hours. I got death threats when I did pick up the phone from people who could not believe I could not appreciate the genius of ST:TNG. I was physically threatened at a large gaming convention in Wisconsin that shall remain nameless. I was invited to a media convention in central Michigan for the express purpose of repenting or being beaten up by the other 999 attendees. All this was over my differing opinion on the quality of a TV show.

I find iCarly fandom to be endlessly fascinating compared to the mainline science fiction / fantasy series. It has apparently acquired the worst of them as well as the best (passion, quality FF, quality of analysis).

When you get harassed or bullied like you have been, you have to remember that you have friends and acquaintances who see the good in you and value your existence, beliefs, etc. Find your good places outside of the places that your tormenters come from. Believe me, I know it's hard: I was the first non-white in my old elementary school district. When I was a kindergartner, teachers used to hold me in the air against a wall by my hands and arms so that the bullies could beat me up. It took a long time to get over all of that - in my case, that has taken a psychiatrist, a therapist, and a trip to a place like "Troubled Waters" when the first love of my life dumped me 15 years later.

Feel free to contact me if you want me to go into more detail or for advice on how to deal with the kind of crab that you have been getting. You don't deserve it.

iEmbargo 