TKO Creations

I didn’t get terribly into details on Gun Control itself in an earlier post, because I wanted to focus on the larger picture beyond that one issue.  But it is true that gun control in America is an issue to be addressed, so here are my somewhat disjointed thoughts on that specific topic.

• Thoughts like this don’t help the discussion, and honestly miss the mark.  While yes… there certainly are regular people who absolutely abhor anything but completely unfettered access to firearms, they are an insignificant minority of human beings (and I use that term loosely to describe those maniacs).  Go to any corner of this nation, and I think you will discover that Americans in fact don’t think the killing of children is bearable.  Next to no one objects to authorities at the very least better enforcing the laws we currently have, and would at least tolerate any new laws or actions that fall short of the ATF busting down their doors and taking the guns they own.
• So what is the proper target for our anger?  The gun manufacturers who look at the deaths and the casualties and decide their profit margins that come from anyone and their mother being able to buy a gun are more important.  The National Rifle Association should really be called the National Firearm Manufacturers Association at this point, and it’s that political lobby that has perpetually stalled and misrepresented every attempt to stiffen the laws that allow access to firearms.
• I do believe we need to extend the liability laws when it pertains to gun usage.  If your weapon has been used in a crime, you should be able to held liable for the damage done with it.  Starting with civil litigation (paying out in the case of a wrongful death suit, for example) with repeat offenses leading to criminal charges (if your weapons keep winding up in the hands of criminals… at some point, you become the criminal).
• In the case of black market weapons that had no previous established owner, the gun manufacturer can and should be held liable for the damage done.  That hopefully would end the little Manufacture – Mexico – hop the border to the U.S. black market triangle that seems to conveniently happen to the benefit of gun manufacturers.
• Which leads to every weapon in the U.S. being required to be registered to whoever legally owns said weapon.  Some states already do this… but it should be a national requirement.  Carrying an unlicensed firearm should start small (a minor fine), to a misdemeanor offense for repeated violations.  Careful monitoring of who owns what weapon and when it changes hands is a good thing, it’s not a sign that the “gubbermint” is going to steal your guns.

Gun Control doesn’t equal a gun-free nation.  First of all, that would never happen.  But clearly there needs to be some degree of responsibility imposed on gun manufacturers and the public that buys them, because we quite clearly and evidently can’t police ourselves on this score.

If you believe the general thrust of the Internet, creators and their audience are at war.

Whether its games taking away things that “fans” loved (like the illusion of choice in Mass Effect 3… or the lack of dungeon content in Guild Wars 2… or the recent decision to ban flying in expansions for World of Warcraft), authors not acknowledging a fan groups “ship” (like anything in Harry Potter) or killing a character they liked (pick a page at random in A Song of Fire and Ice).  TV shows changing their focus or direction (I’ve heard so much grumbling about Supernatural on this score)… fans seem to be convinced that creators want to make them cry and ruin their fun.

Now, on that same score, I’ve heard a plenty good number of creators grumble about “entitled”, “whiny” fans who don’t respect the creator’s vision, who just want to complain about something, anything, and want to drag creators down because the “fans” are jealous and don’t want to be reminded of their talentlessness or want to be catered to.

Now, sure… a great deal of this is the nature of the Internet, the place in the words of Kevin Smith via Ben Affleck is
” … where people can come together to bitch about movies and share pornography with one another.”  But there is a considerable bit of animosity, especially when change happens to something we are creating or care about.

I think one thing we all need to remember in the fan/creator dynamic is that none of us are really invested in each other, we are all invested emotionally and financially in the same intellectual property.  As a result, the decisions made and the things said really aren’t targeting people, it’s targeting our shared investment in this created work.

But in addition to that, here are some more things I think should be considered.

To Creators: Change is something of an anathema to your fans.  No matter what you do, you’re going to upset people.  But that’s not an excuse to just say “fuck it.  I’m gonna do what I want because people are gonna bitch anyway.”  Whenever you make a change, I think you should ask, “Is pursuing my creative vision worth the good will and the money I will likely lose?  Which is more important to me?”

Believe it or not, there is no wrong answer to that question, regardless of what some scoffing hipster might tell you about the pursuit of “art.”  The thing to remember is, that your fans aren’t necessary blind, or despise your “vision” or are too ignorant to understand.  People like what they like, and getting angry over your changes simply says, “I don’t like this.”  They really aren’t attacking you or dismissing your vision necessarily, even if it sounds like it.  They often don’t know any better way to express their distaste.

Getting angry or curt is understandable, but it doesn’t actually accomplish anything.  At some point in the entire process, someone has to be above the pettiness, and that responsibility pretty much has to stem from the creator, because it’s rare that a creator who acts so immaturely maintains any fans for very long.

To Fans: It’s important to remind yourself that regardless of your individual investment, there is no special relationship between a creator and his or her fans.  There is absolutely no obligation whatsoever to cater to your whims or desires.

Outside of a commissioned work, your money only entitles you to the product you received.  If you don’t like that product in the end, that’s fine, and it is entirely within your right to not support the product in the future.  It is even acceptable to try and explain what it is you don’t like, and what you’d rather experience.

What it doesn’t entitle you to is the right to behave as poorly or maliciously as you can to try and “convince” the creator they are making a “mistake.”  If a creator has decided to pursue his or her vision over your wants, that is final. Becoming rude and/or violent is terrible, juvenile behavior that has no place in acceptable interaction.  You do not make your point when you cross that line… if anything, you prove why you shouldn’t get what you want.

Take this with a grain of salt coming from a man who has never been, and never will be, nominated for a Hugo.

As I understand the story, a group of people led by the oh so charming sample of genteel masculinity, Vox Day, created a voting bloc (manned by fellow thinkers and borrowing from the GamerGate power pool) by effectively buying memberships in the World Science Fiction Convention and using that voting power to push a handful of retrograde, “space exploring and daring-doo” (read also, chauvinistic and borderline racist) stories to the forefront of the awards ceremony.

This, predictably, set off an Internet fire storm between people who think the 60’s should remain the 60’s, and conservatives who are dead set on opening new fronts in America’s “culture war” against “SJWs.”

Did this happen?  Probably.  Does Vox Day embody some of the worst kind of slimy anti-progressive thoughts in our country?  I’m sure (based on my limited experience with the man).  Are the Sad Puppies right that they’re simply doing what the “Social Justice Warriors” have been doing for years?  I’m sure.

But for those who are afraid this is a setback in the cause of equality and social justice… allow me to assure you, it isn’t.  Hell, in the realm of science fiction, they were abjectly defeated by the early 70’s.  The most prominent creators in the fields that they once felt they held dominion are now controlled by the likes of Joss Whedon and J.J. Abrams (being handed the helm from the likes of Gene Roddenberry in the process).  In ever increasing numbers, readers and those consuming science fiction are demanding women that are more than scenery and yes, even representation of capable minority characters.  Science Fiction is the perfect breeding ground for the sort of political and social exploration of what our civilization and culture could (and perhaps should) be.

This “new front” of theirs isn’t going to bear any fruit, and no commandeering an awards ceremony is going to change that.  There’s certainly dogged resistance, but let’s be honest… those who are fighting on the conservative side of this war deep down know they’re losing.  At this point, they’re merely desperately trying to dictate the terms of their surrender.

Rest easy, my friends.  The only thing the Sad Puppies might do is damage the reputation of the Hugo Awards.  Which, honestly, would be a pretty small and insignificant victory for those trying to resist the inevitable.

Welcome to the most boring place on the Internet… I guess.

Seriously, though.  Every year I promise to be more active in this blog.  Every year… well… I’m not.  I’m not someone who offers opinions easily, and outside of promoting my next book, which happens about every four months or so… I just really don’t have much I am willing to say.

I’m sorry.  I’m pretty bad at this.  I know.