Date: Wed, 20 Apr 2005 09:03:27 -0700 (PDT)
From: N Lynch <sfbookfan at yahoo.com>
Subject: [WSFA] Re: rehash of mundanes VS fans
To: WSFA members <WSFAlist at WSFA.org>
Reply-To: WSFA members <WSFAlist at WSFA.org>

--- "Mike B." <omni at omniphile.com> wrote:
> I'm not sure that "weird conventions" and "not held
> in high regard" go
> together of necessity.  Consider Shriners.  They
> have some of the weirdest
> conventions I know of, but they are generally held
> in fairly high regard.  Why is that?

Probably because they (1) are established as a
charitable organization for much longer than fandom,
(2) come from a long tradition of men's clubs who get
together for social and charity work, (3) aren't
portrayed as *STAR TREK*
live-in-parent's-basement-geeks in the media, (4)
don't have conventions covered in the media as a look
at the geeks and women in little clothing, (5) are
prominent as a charity group, not as a group of geeks
who get together, etc.   They are usually older men
who have an established identity rather than the
everything lumped together as SF cons are.  When we
say we go to SF cons, we're generally asked what
actors we've met.  My brother-in-law still thinks we
worship William Shatner in fandom.

Fandom has been usurped by media fandom, comic fandom,
and anime fandom.  It's a little too late to try and
change that.  Remember the trial in the West a few
years ago when a TREK fan insisted on her TREK uniform
to be on the jury every day?  I've never heard of a
Shriner doing something similar.

As for fandom being so accepting, I sure didn't get
than impression this past year.  A conservative member
of the club even quit over it.

Nicki

"The man who enters a library is in the best society this world affords; the good and the great welcome him, surround him, and humbly ask to be allowed to become his servants."  -Andrew Carnegie
=====
MIMOSA web site: http://www.jophan.org/mimosa

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