So, with that in mind, I don't think you should focus on how to change the mind of someone who already looks at you as less than them, but rather how to change the culture in which this sort of behavior is acceptable.
Concur. I see complacency as the enemy, currently. Since Ellison issued what is (for him) probably a sincere apology, many will consider the matter closed for all time... until the next time it happens. Then collective amnesia will settle in for many of the Old Boys' Club, and they will act as if it's the first time and wonder why everyone's getting upset at this one little thing... and around and around we go.
Which is why the pressure must be maintained. The best place to start would be the cons, and the con organizers. Security and guest escort should be tighter, of course, but that's true anywhere.
I come from a background of attending a handful of comics conventions. I have some idea of how the "mainstream" ones go. And the prevalent mentality is upsetting, to say the least. I really don't like browsing Artist Alley and running smack dab into a booth for a porn star. This, at a supposedly family-oriented pop culture convention (Wizard World, to be specific).
I think it would be worlds more beneficial to suggest/lobby for a change in con mentality and behavior in times of relative "peace," versus during flare-ups like these. It's too easy for the ostriches to dismiss an angry person because of their anger, no matter how just it is. A reasoned (and stubbornly persistent) appeal to con organizers could do a lot to see the atmosphere change. Gradually, perhaps, but "inches and degrees" is better than nothing at all.
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timeasmymeasure
Re: some early morning ramblings from the west coast...
Date: 2006-08-30 07:45 pm (UTC)Concur. I see complacency as the enemy, currently. Since Ellison issued what is (for him) probably a sincere apology, many will consider the matter closed for all time... until the next time it happens. Then collective amnesia will settle in for many of the Old Boys' Club, and they will act as if it's the first time and wonder why everyone's getting upset at this one little thing... and around and around we go.
Which is why the pressure must be maintained. The best place to start would be the cons, and the con organizers. Security and guest escort should be tighter, of course, but that's true anywhere.
I come from a background of attending a handful of comics conventions. I have some idea of how the "mainstream" ones go. And the prevalent mentality is upsetting, to say the least. I really don't like browsing Artist Alley and running smack dab into a booth for a porn star. This, at a supposedly family-oriented pop culture convention (Wizard World, to be specific).
I think it would be worlds more beneficial to suggest/lobby for a change in con mentality and behavior in times of relative "peace," versus during flare-ups like these. It's too easy for the ostriches to dismiss an angry person because of their anger, no matter how just it is. A reasoned (and stubbornly persistent) appeal to con organizers could do a lot to see the atmosphere change. Gradually, perhaps, but "inches and degrees" is better than nothing at all.