A Rose By Any Other Name

This is an article that came out in Oct. but I missed it. It's still relevant so I wanted to post it.



"We've all heard the stereotypes and the tired cliches. If you're a fan and other people know about it, someone had told you to "Get a life," per William Shatner. The person probably even thought it was funny, because as my dad would say, there's always someone who'd laugh at a rubber crutch, too. The truth is, we do have lives. We have jobs and classes and families and pets as well as our fandom-related hobbies. What's more, because fandom acts as a large, loosely-knit community, we can spread information and gather help with just a quick post or email, and when that particular power is turned towards helping others, we bring out something else the get-a-lifers don't see: fandom's unlimited capacity for giving.

Shelters are popular recipients for fannish charity funds. Over Labor Day weekend, a Supernatural fan-run group called Fandom Rocks raised over $1,000 for the Lawrence Community Shelter, a homeless shelter in Lawrence, Kansas. Lawrence is the hometown of the Winchester brothers, so naming a charity in that city seemed fitting. Fandom Rocks raised another $1,000 for SOS Children's Villages, a non-governmental organization that operates in over one hundred countries providing assistance and resources to children and families in poverty and in the wake of humanitarian and natural disasters.

So the next time your pet mundane is laughing at your online habits and telling you to get a life, feel free to tell him or her that you and your fandom friends gave your time and energy to raise money for people in need, and that you had a great time doing it. If they're still laughing, hit 'em with the rubber crutch."