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Warning: idealistic exhortation ahead. American audience aimed, but everyone is welcome.
Hmmm. I keep seeing references to the Patriot Act, and then folks say they are going to self-censor. Don’t do it! What is needed is not silence, but a chorus. If five thousand people have a problem, it’s headline news. If five have it, it’s urban legend. What bothered me about the Secret Service investigation of a fan recently was that she made no explicit threat against anyone’s life. She prayed someone would die, but that is not the same thing. She did not ask any human to kill them, nor did she suggest she would do it herself. These differences do matter. Speak up, say what you have to say, don’t be silenced. Self silencing is the deadliest threat.
I see a lot of comments mocking the idea of fandom being politically meaningful. I couldn’t disagree more. The act of public communication is always political, always has meaning. Sharing your views, experience, beliefs, feelings, etc. is powerful and the best means many of us have to increase pluralism in our various societies. Whether in story, poetry, music, or the amplification of another’s message, writing and speaking and creating art is inherently political.
Keep talking.
Hmmm. I keep seeing references to the Patriot Act, and then folks say they are going to self-censor. Don’t do it! What is needed is not silence, but a chorus. If five thousand people have a problem, it’s headline news. If five have it, it’s urban legend. What bothered me about the Secret Service investigation of a fan recently was that she made no explicit threat against anyone’s life. She prayed someone would die, but that is not the same thing. She did not ask any human to kill them, nor did she suggest she would do it herself. These differences do matter. Speak up, say what you have to say, don’t be silenced. Self silencing is the deadliest threat.
I see a lot of comments mocking the idea of fandom being politically meaningful. I couldn’t disagree more. The act of public communication is always political, always has meaning. Sharing your views, experience, beliefs, feelings, etc. is powerful and the best means many of us have to increase pluralism in our various societies. Whether in story, poetry, music, or the amplification of another’s message, writing and speaking and creating art is inherently political.
Keep talking.