Tuesday, July 26, 2011

personal space and expectation of celebrity

oy.  so if you're expecting a blog post about craftiness/my kids/homesteading, you know, anything i've ever posted about before, you may be in for a big fat disappointment.  in fact, if that's what you're looking for, just go ahead and totally skip me today.  cause it aint' happening.

for those of you that don't know, San Diego ComiCon was last weekend.  the mecca for geeks from around the globe.  3-4 days of comics, sci-fi, Scy-Fy, gaming, movie previews, and cosplay.  Costuming galore. i haven't had a chance to go yet, but i will.  oh yes, i will.  and while again, i haven't been there, i imagine that it's set up like Celebration (Star Wars Conventions): vendor rooms, panels, contests, and celebrity booths for autograph signing.

let me say that last part again but louder CELEBRITY BOOTHS FOR AUTOGRAPH SIGNING.

because apparently some people don't know when it is and when it isn't appropriate to ask for an autograph.  instead of waiting in line for an autograph like you should, apparently after (or before, not quite sure, but it's ComiCon, so probably both) a party, Will Wheaton was ambushed, separated from his friends and terrorized by what i can best describe as slobbering pack animals.  Will however tells it better here   .  

not cool people.  not cool.  

does waiting in line suck?  yes.  no one knows that more than me.  i waited in line for 6 hours at CV for Carrie Fisher.  then another two (in the same day) for David Prowse.  i know from waiting.  suck it up and take it like a man and don't ambush the man as he's trying to go somewhere with friends!  and certainly don't surround him and for all intents and purposes trap him with no escape.  i don't know what was going through his head at the time, but i can tell you that if it was me, but i would be terrified that you (in the global sense) were about to kill me, if not worse.  i'm sorry, but it's true.  

put yourself in his shoes.  you're walking along, possibly close to midnight.  it's dark, and from no where a group of people surround you and begin demanding something from you.  i think that whoever you are that did this, you're lucky that a) Will didn't come out swinging and b) it wasn't me, because i would have.  no one has ANY RIGHT to infringe on someones personal space.  NONE.  nameless attacker, you may have thought you were cute, but it's not 1950, and you're not waiting outside a Chuck Berry concert with Peggy Sue.  in this day and age, actors have very real fears of psychotic fans (of which i count you as one) trying to harm/kill them.  

please people, geeks and non geeks alike, actors are people.  and some of you (again in the global sense) have decided that they are people who have to be working 24/7.  that they have no expectation of privacy or of a 'real life'.  and that's just not true.  they are human.  with the same foibles and frailties as the rest of us.  wait in line like a good geekboy/geekgirl and get your stuff signed.  if you see a celeb in a restaurant or out on the street, awesome, you have a great story to tell your geek friends.  but leave them in peace.  there people, just like you.

and to Will, i'm sorry that this happened to you.  we're not all like that.  i hope that this hasn't soured you on conventions all together (cause i won't be able to go to SDCC till 2013 at least).  and i would also like to apologize about tweeting about someone bringing me you and/or Alan Tudyk in a big red bow.  that was insensitive of me.  i was only kidding.  i do that sometimes.  admittedly not always successfully.  anywho.

ok, i'm done.  back to the chalkboard paint adventure.....



3 comments:

  1. The picture of Wil Wheaton, Nathan Fillion, and Seth Green has got to be the best picture ever. I mean, I read your post and I love it and agree with you and PREACH IT, SISTER.

    But. I'm still in the midst of a geek girl swoon right now. I'll be honest.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Thanks Heather. As an autograph collector, I completely agree with you. I know some people who have have done far worse just for a signature. There is a time and a place and it's important to know the differences. Now, I can't say I always wait in line, and maybe I've interrupted a dinner or two or waited by a back door or stood in a parking lot for a few hours to ask for an autograph, but the difference between me and the pack of savages you describe is I was at least polite. I always ask, politely and I also apologize for any interruption. I never demand. If they say no, not now... I move on. And for goodness sake, it's always safety first. I sure don't want to see anyone get hurt. I got a ton of autograph horror stories I've heard and sometimes even witnessed but I'll save those for another time. :)

    ReplyDelete
  3. Amen! If the rest of us Geeks wait in line, so should you!

    ReplyDelete