This.
This is why I stated my own blog in the first place…moderation. I’ve been accused of not being able to keep my nose out of others peoples business before…and there’s some truth to that. Of course, that business is usually public (meaning I have every right to an opinion) and messy.
And you learn a few things too I suppose when you run a blog that does interviews. Things I never understood before about why people lie or just how bad most of us are at it. The petty things they say to make you go away that just makes you want to know…”what the heck is this guy hiding?”
I’ve had to let a few go, quite a few. And for the blog, that’s probably for the best. This is ‘Moby’s: A Happy Place’ after all, not ‘Moby’s: Spotlight’. Actually that sounds rather good…like it might be a big, big hit.
Anyways, it’s a combination of keeping politics (mostly) off these pages and not needing to write about artists lying through their teeth about using digital vs. hand-drawn work, or some dude peddling overpriced Kickstaters. Nope, I’ve learned to walk away from a few, and the blog is better for it.
And Then Alec Peters Wrote Himself A Check.
“Axanar? Last I heard they were trying to convince a court in San Francisco that the little white speck on top of a pile of chickenshit was not, at all or in any way, itself chickenshit.”
There was a neat list of the various ‘types’ of haters “detractors” and an admission that perhaps maybe some people had legitimate complaints.
It seemed like Axanar’s New PR Director, Mike Bawden, was open to listening and really wanted to know why on this green Earth could someone not support good ol’ shiny Axanar.
So I told him. See, here it is (Click for a larger image):
And I waited. And waited. In fact, I waited so long I started to write about it…
How it All Started
It all started with Axanar allowing Terry McIntosh anywhere near the project, so far as I can tell. He seems like a real party type, fun guy.
See what I mean! What a kidder, that Terry. But from a PR standpoint I’d give him an ‘F’. Here’s a little reason why and where the the whole story actually begins, like all good stories nowadays…on Facebook!
Imagine your a donor to Axanar. You’re excited about the project. You hear they have a new fundraiser starting, ‘maybe I should donate again?’ you ask yourself. But for some, the question comes with a catch: Indiegogo.
You see, a couple of bakers from Oregon are not allowed to decide who they do business with, but Indiegogo apparently is. This pisses off some people, makes others happy. Which side is correct no one seems to know and the two sides don’t seem like working together towards any sort of common ground. It’s called diversity, or something.
Who’s wrong or right depends on your point of view: Left? Right? Straight? Not so much? It’s the motherlode of controversy, one that involves BOTH politics and religion. So long story short there’s a bit of an embargo, a boycott against Indiegogo by Christians and conservatives for not allowing the bakers to use the service.
Great time to start using Indiegogo, eh? Well, Axanar does just that, and so believe it or not, a few people boycotted the fundraiser. Yeah, who knew?!? Well, one of those with ethical issues emailed Axanar about this very subject. How does Axanar respond?
Axanar responds by posting his/her email to a personal, but open and not private Facebook account! Hey look, there’s Terry again!:
So an Axanar donor has his email posted to be mocked on a public Facebook account belonging to Axanar’s head PR guy at the time, because he/she does not want to support Indiegogo’s outright discrimination towards Christians, and Terry’s the one getting kicked in the nuts? Everyone got that?
