From Films in Review: Shocker of a Story About Sam & Grayson

[David]

Thank you for these comments.
I agree with you about Sam Hall's writing--for much of it's run the writing on the show was brilliant, with 1795, Haunting of Collinwood  & 1897 as the highest points. But I suspect the author's portrait of Sam the man is accurate.
We really need to address the abusive attempts by a small group of bullies to exclude those they deem "uncool" from fandom--this is disgusting behavior. It's not just a Facebook phenomenon but how fans interact with each other at the fests themselves.
Most of it comes from the "first Wave" of fest attendees who've been attending since the 80s.
Fandom is for everyone.

As stated earlier, I've been subjected to multiple smear campaigns from that crowd for admitting that I have a sex life and for talking about gay cast members openly and honestly.
I've also been subjected to jokes about mental illness. This is particularly reprehensible as I'm a childhood survivor of what's known as "gay conversion therapy" and I live with PTSD--Post Traumatic Stress Disorder.
The same fans who insist that Jonathan Frid wasn't gay (when we all know he was) view my PTSD as a joke and as a weapon they can use against me--how low are we going to sink?
Where is the decency and accountability?

I've already written about this topic for South Florida Gay News. Huffington Post may be next. Enough is enough.

[MagnusTrask]

David... I think it's a society-in-general problem, rather than a fandom problem.  You might expect fandom to be better than mainstream society.  You're much more involved in fandom than I am, but being more on the outside, I get the same impression from the world at large.  Fandom should be better, but perhaps just isn't.

[David]

Good point.
I'm not as involved with fandom as you might think, though I once was.
I stopped attending festivals regularly around 20 years ago, and have since stopped attending all together because of the toxic, vindictive behavior.
Yet the attacks have continued, all coming from people I don't interact with online or off.
Three fans have just given me signed statements verifying that they'd been "advised" not to associate me. These notes name who the "advice" came from, a prominent fan I've never met, never spoken too, but who has relentlessly for years bad mouthed me and tried to undermine me professionally.
I've had enough of this BS.
Fandom should be an escape from this kind of crap. Instead it's a cesspool of such conduct.

[MagnusTrask]

I think I've always been looking for some cooler group of people to merge with, who don't have the insanity of the world at large in them.  I'm about your age, and I haven't found it.

[David]

I've found it with individual friends, but I don't think it exists within groups or organizations.
I hope to God that my life is never so empty that I would try to hurt people just to "prove" that I'm a "better" fan of a TV show.

[Nancy]

I think I've always been looking for some cooler group of people to merge with, who don't have the insanity of the world at large in them.  I'm about your age, and I haven't found it.

And you won't looking to large groups, as you indicated.  Large groups have issues.  Getting back to Sam Hall, he and Grayson had one fan stalker for about a decade!  Stalking was harder to prove back then so the creep got away with it.  The recent bio about Grayson Hall mentioned this.  The issues that come with fame

[David]

There's a fan who stalked Kathy Cody to the point that Kathy had to publicly ask the fan to stop--that fan deliberately provoked Kathy.
As for the fan who continues to this day to stalk me (same person who bothered Kathy) I will be involving the police.
For God's sake, this is just a TV show.

[Mysterious Benefactor]

Um, this topic has perhaps gotten way OT. Let's reign things in and get back to the original subject, meaning the article - or let's just end things. 

[David]

Sounds good to me.

[Joeytrom]

Just to make one more comment on the DS fans, one fan produced zine called "Fangs for the Memories" is about the DS fandom ovet the years.

[Nancy]

Yes, that's a zine that Helen Samaras published.