Entry tags:

books/authors, omg mock people mock, person: neil gaiman, political wank, twitter, wanking inside the house

Tax deductables! Pencil necks! Thieves! HIGH SPEED CAR CHASES!
Well, all right, maybe not high speed car chases. So, the background: last year, Neil Gaiman, author of such lovely things as Neverwhere and the Sandman series etc., was contacted to speak at a library in Minnesota for a hefty speaking fee, which was paid for by a fund which (a) stated any leftover money would be lost if not used, and (b) was also not available for books, salaries, or other useful things. Neil Gaiman did so, and subsequently donated the speaking fee to charities.

All's well that ends well, right? Well, except that Matt Dean, the House Majority Leader, decided it was time to let his long-simmering grudge be aired to the world: 'Dean said that Gaiman, "who I hate," was a "pencil-necked little weasel who stole $45,000 from the state of Minnesota."'

Neil is... well, he's not well pleased. Nor is his Twitter.

"Sad & funny. Minnesota Republicans have a "hate" list. Like Nixon did. I'm on it. They also don't like capitalism. http://t.co/FObmLGo"

"It's strange watching a grownup high school bully in power. But the bully vocabulary remains the same. http://t.co/FObmLGo"

"And for those curious how and why I made it onto the hate list, what I wrote at the time on my blog. http://bit.ly/lMxsWQ"

"Any nice, sane Minnesota Republicans reading this, please vote for someone who isn't a bully with a hate list next time."

"You can listen to the Stillwater speech that all the Pencil-neck fuss is about at http://bit.ly/k3lA1B (You need to go down to point 2.)"

He also happened to link to Dean's blog, which proceeded to crash. Whoops.

So you'd think that Dean would realize his mistake and apologize, right? Well... sort of. Why?

His mommy made him do it.

The universe collectively facepalms.

(Bonus funny from the comments, courtesy from someone called Lucas: "Do weasel thieves steal just weasels? Or do they also steal ferrets, otters, and wolverines? In the case of the latter, how do they arrange for transportation?")

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spawn_of_kong
2011-05-06 03:06 am UTC (link)

I know. How dare this situation cast Neil in a somewhat positive light, further demonstrating the fact that he is equally capable of achieving success or failure, just like the rest of us complex, mortal human beings. Doesn't anyone realize how much easier it is to automatically dislike someone on principle?

[Please note: this comment may or may not have been written after mulling the parent comment over longer than necessary.]

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	sandglass 2011-05-06 03:11 am UTC (link)
	Dude, you really need to get off this particular soap box. It's getting really old and makes you look really unreasonable. (Reply to this)(Parent)

	kumquat_of_doom 2011-05-06 03:17 am UTC (link)
	Dude, I love Neil Gaiman as much as the next squeeing fangirl (...okay, maybe not that much. But a lot.), but this is fucking Fandom Wank. Not the place for this! Or to borrow from one of the tags: omg mock, people, mock! (Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

spawn_of_kong
2011-05-06 03:42 am UTC (link)

This is the only thing I will say in response to the replies that I have gotten:

I actually endeavored to put aside my own feelings about Gaiman in my previous comment; my point was more how irrational it is to place anyone upon a pedestal or to demonize them. Perhaps I fail in empathizing with others on this point, but I really cannot comprehend how others can't happily live with the fact that artists are not completely good or bad, just human like the rest of us.

And yes, I was aware of where I was when I posted this. Hence couching my comment in sarcasm.

*sits on hands*

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sandglass
2011-05-06 04:06 am UTC (link)

Perhaps I fail in empathizing with others on this point, but I really cannot comprehend how others can't happily live with the fact that artists are not completely good or bad, just human like the rest of us.

You can accept that someone has flaws and still hate people who are bigoted and show their privilege without guilt. Him having flaws is not what this is about. The fact that you admit that you can't comprehend other people's feelings but still keep demanding they not have them isn't cool either. Especially since you keep bringing it up after people have explained it over and over.

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	eleutheria 2011-05-06 05:26 am UTC (link)
	OFLOG. Am I equally required to post a ten-point rational analysis of creators who make me squee, or am I only required to consider the ~~essential humanity~~ of artists who bug the living fuck out of me? (Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

	jerel 2011-05-08 05:01 am UTC (link)
	OFLOG. Am I equally required to post a ten-point rational analysis of creators who make me squee, or am I only required to consider the ~~essential humanity~~ of artists who bug the living fuck out of me? Yes. But you can decide which part of the question I'm answering. :) (Reply to this)(Parent)

	white_serpent 2011-05-06 08:15 pm UTC (link)
	Or to borrow from one of the tags: omg mock, people, mock! Which I've now added, because it's clearly appropriate. (Reply to this)(Parent)

eleutheria
2011-05-06 05:22 am UTC (link)

This kind of fan overinvestment is a giant part of why I don't like the guy, the many years in fandom where it was absolutely unacceptable to say "I don't like Gaiman and I really dislike his work" without getting a giant pile of OMG HDU! His recent fails only exacerbated that dislike.

I'm sure there are plenty of creators who you just plain dislike, for whatever reason that you shouldn't feel obligated to defend to their defensive fanbase.

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	smashingstars 2011-07-13 03:42 am UTC (link)
	I feel very much the same way, and I feel that Gaiman cultivates that overinvested fanbase so, personally, it seems like fair game to mock him for it. Didn't he send his Twitter followers after someone who didn't like Amanda Palmer's EvelynEvelyn fail? Gotta love a wank you can mock every side of. (Reply to this)(Parent)

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