love and hate, and also just like

I was tipped off this morning that someone posted the prologue to A Dream That Could Not Last on one of those idol-hating sites. So I girded my loins and went over there—and you know, I sort of don't care. Is this the thing that has all this idolfic locked up, that someone who spends all their time hating Idol fans might make fun of your story?

This sort of thing goes on in fandom all the time. It's sort of like the people who go to opening night of a sf-f-comic movie and make fun of the people in costume. Dude, you're the one standing in line for two hours on opening day. I checked out the site, and there was an actual list of rules for how to not be a "crazy" idol fan. It's a distancing tactic: You are the crazy fan because you are doing this crazy thing. I am not a crazy fan not only because I'm not doing the crazy thing, but also because I recognize that this thing is crazy. I used to do that and you know, I had a lot less fun in fandom when I was worrying about crazy people and whether I was one of them. I have friends who are doing some of those so-called "crazy" things (like going to multiple concerts) and you know, they're having a lot of fun and meeting great people!

I was reading a piece earlier this week about public figure hate sites at Jezebel, prompted by another piece in the Guardian, which itself was probably prompted by the closing of RachelRaySucks:

I am still not a Rachael Ray fan. I find the woman to be extremely annoying and overexposed, but now I choose to just change the channel. I've become a much happier person now that I no longer dwell on someone who irritates the shit out of me. Life is too short to be so negative and mean-spirited. Besides, in this crappy economy, the last thing on my mind is Rachael Ray.

Sadie at Jezebel says:

However much you justify the forums as a means of venting or a joke that earnest people can't appreciate, it's hard to forget that they can easily become repositories of misogyny, hate and real ugliness, and even the site founders admit that the vitriol of some of their readers takes them aback. At the end of the day, however lighthearted the motivation, you're running something fueled entirely by negativity.

The Idol-hate sites I've seen seem to be obsessed with the way Idol funnels the "wrong" kinds of fans to shows—older women who are not hot, apparently. It's strange how ageist and misogynist they get. Mostly, though, you have to feel sorry for these people, that they hate something so much that they'll spend a lot of time on it.

So if you've come here from there to laugh at my story, then I'm glad I was able to write something that entertains you, even if your attitude is mean-spirited. There are worse things than being featured on a site making fun of someone who made a cake to look like Constantine's ass. You'll probably also notice that I talk about a lot of other things, like race in fandom, or HIMYM, or BSG. Anonymous comments are screened, as they always have been, so don't bother to make trouble.

Me, I'd rather spend my time on things I love, and making things for other people, because positive energy is positive!