Considering that I am writing and posting this at *this* particular time in the fandom, and while being on a short trip abroad (and thus leaving the blog unattended), may be careless. Well, I could have lied on this one because I really do not want to reopen old wounds. But in the spirit of openness, and clinging to the belief that only transparency and open interaction can eradicate problems (ever the idealist, Guylty?), I’ll say it was this one – United We Stand, Divided We Fall.
There is not really that much in the original post – it’ll only make sense to you if you were around at that time, last year – Guylty hardly ever keeps her writing that short *gg*. But nonetheless it was the blog post hardest for me to write because I wanted to make clear that I didn’t condone what was going on, while simultaneously avoiding any perpetuation of the discussion. Hence I did not engage in responding to comments. My aim was to express my opinion clearly, yet be constructive about the way forward. I am not sure whether that was achieved or not. Maybe the less said, the better. It’s all a massive learning curve for me, even after a year and a half of blogging in Armitageworld.
I’d like to point out that I do not intend this post today as an invitation to discuss the old issue however timely it may seem. It sort of sits in the past (although the principles evidently remain unresolved). Maybe it serves as a reminder that things happen, that pain and hurt is caused by words and actions, and that the dynamics of fandom (or any group one is a member of) can take things out of control and out of proportion. As a historian I am unfortunately not convinced that humans show any evidence of learning from past mistakes. As an optimist I believe that there is always hope that they will. Think of darling Guy…
Image edit by Mabelalexa on tumblr
Guylty Pleasure 
Ich ernenne dich zur Akrobatin: Seiltanz überm Abgrund. 😉
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Lol. Ich wiederhole dann noch mal – empathy is a bitch 😜
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hmm, stormy times are never pleasant and not even good memories. I think the reminder to concentrate on what unites is is always valid, however i don’t believe unity ‘en masse’ is a necessity or a requirement, not even for the enjoyment of the common hobby. We all need people to share our thoughts with, but we gravitate naturally to those similarly minded or with whom we have enough common ground for discussion with.
I’m not a believer in the overriding positiveness of mass reactions and am actually quite allergic to the ‘unity of masses’ in general.
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hm, i realise the above may seem confusing and not very positive as a message. What i mean in practice is i prefer to decide what actions to associate myself with and there is certainly power in numbers in that respect and i don’t shy away from chipping in on causes i believe in. I refuse to comply with group behaviour however as a general rule; just because i may have the same interest doesn’t mean i have to behave in similar ways to anyone else.
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The brevity is what made that post effective, I think. Sadly you are right about people not learning from mistakes. If there is an “original sin” of humanity, that’s got to be it. In any case, I still believe that our best hope lies in the study of history 🙂
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you would, wouldn’t you 😉 just as i believe the best hope is art, getting involved in it, learning about it, experiencing it from as early an age as possible 🙂 (beating our own drums ‘ggg’)
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Linnet and Hari: Could we agree that history and art are both equally worth or worthless, depending on how they are taught? 😉
It may be interesting to know that an opera was written in the year ABCD but I think the cultural context is more important. It may be interesting to know that War X lasted from Y to Z but the reasons that caused it are more important.
In other words: Understanding *why* something happened is key. 😛
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so with you 🙂 meant to say history was actually one of my favourite subjects in school 🙂 Equally fascinating now. All this stuff is important! Which is why i think kids still need to read all this stuff and talk about it and such rather than spend all those others stuck to some electronic device, which doesn’t stimulate thinking and pondering nearly as much but only stimulates impulse… imho
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Electronic devices? Goodness no, don’t open that can of worms! 😀 Sure, children should learn how to use that stuff (they do a lot better than we “oldies” do) but when I hear from kindergarten teachers that nowadays a lot of children are lacking in fine motor skills… *shudders* As I’ve said: Don’t open that can of worms. 😉
I think parents have to find a balance between things. LOL – yes, easier said than done. 😀
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That’s a good point about art. I admire the fact that theatres in the UK have these special low-cost tickets. You don’t see that as much in the US, and of course we are terrible as a nation in terms of funding the arts. It’s because many people don’t understand this very basic point about the value of the arts. And they are worried that their tax dollars might go toward something they disagree with.
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Dein Post hinterlässt mich etwas confused, da ich letztes Jahr das Fandom gerade erst entdeckt habe. Ich habe also keinerlei Ahnung um was es damals ging und somit auch nicht, warum es so schwer gefallen ist darüber zu schreiben. Entweder Du schickst mir noch eine email oder ich werde dumm sterben, auch kein Drama. Aber Du hast recht, eigentlich sollte das Fandom zusammen stehen, denn uns eint das Faible für diesen Schauspieler, eigentlich. Denn das Fandom und der Schauspieler verändern sich bzw. präsentieren sich neu. Es kommen so viele neue Fans hinzu, mit einem Hintergrund, der weit über North&South oder Thorin hinwegreicht. Und auch die Filmprojekte und Interessen bewegen sich weit von dem weg was uns “vertraut” ist. Ob die gemeinsamen Schnittmengen erhalten bleiben wird sich zeigen. Ich bin gespannt!
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Ich auch! Und ansonsten – ignorance is bliss 😉
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yes, it is difficult to highlight posts that deal with things we’d rather forget but if they hurt or embarrass us still, then we haven’t really dealt with them. looking back at that post though what really struck me was the comments, how so many hadn’t been aware of what was going on or hadn’t heard “the latest” yet. I think that’s important to keep in mind, that our blogging circle is not the whole fandom and our fandom is not the whole world.
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What you say there at the end of your comment is important. It’s easy to forget that we are just *one* group within the wider fandom.
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First and foremost, I’m thinking of you right now. Safe journeys.
No one ever DID tell me what happened. I was working and I couldn’t get to certain media… 😦
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Thank you Zee!! And don’t worry about the rest, I really don’t want to warm up old stuff. I was just being honest for my own purposes…
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Sweetie, I’m a Drama Queen. It’s how I energize…. lol!
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Lol. Ok…
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VROOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM!
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You spoke eloquently and honestly – encouraging everyone with a positivity that is admirable. Yours was a light of reason and I think you definitely achieved your goals. While that may have been a difficult post to make, it was a perfect post … and one that could be put on auto-reblog every three or four months. We can all use the reminder of not just the message but that there are wonderfully mature and thoughtful people out there in the universe. Brava, Ms. Guylty! Brava!
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Thank you Jolly, but too much honour for me 😉 Anyway, I don’t really want to preach, either. But I am trying to kill with kindness 💌
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I never published what I wrote about it, and although now might be a propitious or at least appropriate time, for various reasons I’m not going to publish it now, either. So I can imagine that was your most difficult post, even if all those events in fact convinced me of the opposite, i.e., that although I’d been trying to behave as if it were different, we were definitely not all one and never would be.
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I know, and I know we are *not* one, but I refuse to let that build walls between me and others. It’s possible for me to do that because I was not affected as you or others are and were. So I fully respect you drawing a different conclusion!
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And don’t get me wrong — I think you said the right thing for the occasion. It’s just not something I can say anymore. If history teaches us anything it might be why / how people get to be the way they are.
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