'Now,' you might think. 'That is just ridiculous! Why should I take your word for anything!'
Well, how about this?
This week a number of Steamers, both in the Netherlands and the US have left our community over a number of conflicts; that are in this case unrelated to each other. Others are being accused over, he-said, she-said-situations, that appear to be based on rumors and misinterpretations without much evidence to back these up. Yet, people eat these claims up and start picking sides, screaming how shocked they are, and 'How dare they. We don't want this in our community! This is not what Steampunk is about!'
Perpetuating unfounded rumors apparently is though.... Just saying.
And all this bickering leads to people leaving the community. Man and women like Mickey Knox just wanted to make stuff. Rather they need to for therapeutic reasons or just because they want to, they don't consider themselves Artists or their work Art. Making is their true passion. So that is what they are going to do. Make stuff, not related to Steampunk.
For those thinking about starting something original after Steampunk. Play-Doh might be an untapped resource to build community about.
But this infighting makes it about people and patty things people want. Attention, influence, money and the need to vent frustrations. These feuds have hit the community hard. And the most annoying thing is that the spectators on social media get carried away. They take sides on their word when certain bad things have transpired based of the claimants popularity or the reputation of the accused. But often these people take sides without knowing all the facts, or even what people are accused off in the first place.
I am not claiming to be above all of this! I to have speculated about peoples motivations without being aware of all the facts. I recently learned new information one something that happened two years ago! Two damn years before somebody finally told me something I would have liked to know all the way back, because as a result I unintentionally spread wrong information! In this case it didn't change anything, but it could have.
So, are you in the know when you respond to dramatic posts?
Just something to think about.
Just something to think about.
But why are people getting drawn in with all this stuff?
It's dramatic and that is exciting. It's a reallife soapopera happening in front of our eyes, and becuase these fights or held in public view and in written word people can follow it in real time. And random people can respond and participate, even though they have nothing to do with it, causing new drama. And people remember negative things. The stuff you make stuff is nice, but quickly forgotten. Especially in a scene like Steampunk were we are bombarded with people's creations. People see your picture of your latest DIY Steampunk Dogwalking Device, give it a like and move on to the next post.
But drama and rumors! That is the kind of shit that sticks in our memories! It hits that emotional sweetspot that engages us in a medium that, quiet frankly, doesn't challenge our sensitivities that much. But when you learn about the background of an artist and the personal stuff he or she went through, and bad things that happend. You look differently at their work. When you see Mickey twinlinked Gatlinggun. It's an awesome creation. But when you know how he went out, what will really go through your mind? The same goes for other tragedies that befalls artists. On a fleamarket were I was, a vendor joked about a David Bowie CD and how the value went up because he died recently. He joked at the time, but it's true. Knowing stuff about artists makes us feel like we have a connection with them. That we identify with them, or aspire to be like them.
That is both positive and negative. I want to have fond memories of Mickey Knox's his contributions to the community. Not the shit that caused him and his family to leave.
But can we change it... I dunno. You can can blame communities, groups or 'systems' all you want. Some people are naturally born assholes. I am working to get a panel together to discuss these matters more in depth and what we can do about it. But the best place to start is with 'You'.
So these (I hope) are going to be my final words on the Issue:
Life is pointless.
We're all gonna die.
Come with us and let's make more Steampunk.
