Stupid news report about Dragon*con

[Ravenhull]

While I was at Dragon*Con last weekend, me and my wife were in costume for one of the contests when we were approached by a TV reporter for 11 Alive in Atlanta. We thought, sure, why not and stepped off to the side for a few moments.

Everything seemed fine for a few questions, then it got offensive. It seems that the only thing the reporter cared about was to ask about the personal hygine of the con goers, specificly the BO factor. Yes, I know the stereotype of the type, and what it is, but this guy seemed to be trying to perpetuate it further.

Finally, my wife got annoyed enough to tell him off a bit, and we walked off.

Well, last night I finally went to their site and found that, yes, they did air the story. Didn't thrill me that when I did a search for 'Dragoncon' on their site, the preview image was a closeup of my chainmail shirt. Sure enough, they used about 10 seconds of our interview consisting of me commenting on said shirt, but he managed to several people who were quite willing to say what he wanted to say.

Okay, yes there were a few offensive people there, but the vast majority of them were clean and pleasant. Hell, as my wife ranted afterwards, one of the worse smelling individual we've ever encounted was in the stands of a football game, but football fans are not an acceptable target.

As for the other stereotypes, I would have liked him to have looked around see how many couples, families, and second (or third or more) generation con goers there were there. No, we are not all losers living in our parents basement with no social skills. Many of us are typical people who enjoy Sci-fi/fantasy/gaming and such.

[Avril]

Your links aren't taking me to what you describe.

[Ravenhull]

The problem with posting from a work computer which doesn't like thier site. Try Googling ''11Alive'', then search their site for "Dragoncon". When I get home this evening, I'll see about fixing the links.

[crocoduck_hunter]

I have yet to see a news article on a gaming convention that I'd really call positive. Yes, you do get "gamer funk" at conventions, but really, you put any group of people together for 3-4 days and you can expect that some of them are going to be a bit below average when it comes to personal hygiene. I've met some stinky people at cons, but the guys at my job are easily as bad (among other things, they at least don't have the excuse of having stayed up till 3 am playing Magic for the past 2 days).

[Eddylizard]

I'm assuming from anecdotal evidence that Georgia is pretty bloody hot at this time of year.

Now it so happens that there are some individuals, myself included that even with regular bathing and industrial strength deodorant will sweat anyway in moderate to intense heat. Short of running back to the hotel room every fifteen minutes for a shower and a change of clothes, well...

Sounds like the journo had a negative agenda, but so what? Did the exhibition get some positive press as well? If so, ignore the journo. S/he won't put off anyone from coming next year - If there is a small problem with hygiene by some participants, then it hasn't affected attendance so far.

Whatever one chooses to to for recreation, there is always going to be someone who wants to find a small chink to diss it. Irritating as these persons are, they ultimately should be ignored, and one should get on with one's chosen pursuit.

[Tootsie Plunkette]

BTDT, so many times, in fandom and SCA.

My best friend won Best in Show at the LACon III masquerade. A reporter from the (then fairly new) Sci Fi Channel was doing reports from the con and asked if she would agree to be interviewed. The first question was "do you have enough towels in your room?" And it went downhill from there.

[fitz1980]

Originally Posted by crocoduck_hunter

I have yet to see a news article on a gaming convention that I'd really call positive. Yes, you do get "gamer funk" at conventions, but really, you put any group of people together for 3-4 days and you can expect that some of them are going to be a bit below average when it comes to personal hygiene.

I'd love to see 11 alive cover the big NASCAR race, where many fans camp out for the whole weekend, and focus solely on the BO factor. Can you imagine the outrage that would follow.

[TallGeekyGirl]

Originally Posted by fitz1980

I'd love to see 11 alive cover the big NASCAR race, where many fans camp out for the whole weekend, and focus solely on the BO factor. Can you imagine the outrage that would follow.

Well, those are hard-workin', hard playin', blue-collar patriotic Uh-mur-kins! It's ok fer them ta smell like beer and sweat! It shows how salt-of-the-earth they are!

Nerds, freaks, and geeks stink because they're socially inept losers who marinate in their own juices in front of a computer and never get laid. Besides... it's ok to pick on nerds. Everyone who went to high school (and never mentally left) knows that!

See the difference?

[bufungla]

Originally Posted by Ravenhull

While I was at Dragon*Con last weekend, me and my wife were in costume for one of the contests when we were approached by a TV reporter for 11 Alive in Atlanta. We thought, sure, why not and stepped off to the side for a few moments.

Everything seemed fine for a few questions, then it got offensive. It seems that the only thing the reporter cared about was to ask about the personal hygine of the con goers, specificly the BO factor. Yes, I know the stereotype of the type, and what it is, but this guy seemed to be trying to perpetuate it further.

Finally, my wife got annoyed enough to tell him off a bit, and we walked off.

Well, last night I finally went to their site and found that, yes, they did air the story. Didn't thrill me that when I did a search for 'Dragoncon' on their site, the preview image was a closeup of my chainmail shirt. Sure enough, they used about 10 seconds of our interview consisting of me commenting on said shirt, but he managed to several people who were quite willing to say what he wanted to say.

Okay, yes there were a few offensive people there, but the vast majority of them were clean and pleasant. Hell, as my wife ranted afterwards, one of the worse smelling individual we've ever encounted was in the stands of a football game, but football fans are not an acceptable target.

As for the other stereotypes, I would have liked him to have looked around see how many couples, families, and second (or third or more) generation con goers there were there. No, we are not all losers living in our parents basement with no social skills. Many of us are typical people who enjoy Sci-fi/fantasy/gaming and such.

You know, a similar thing happens to the regulars at Renaissance faires who show up in garb, and if it were contained to poking fun at the outfits, I wouldn't even mind. After all, I'm the one choosing to wear outlandish clothing, so I shouldn't be surprised when people have a reaction to it. It's when they invent issues like poor hygiene or stupidity that I get upset. This happened to friends of mine on Penn and Teller's series on Showtime. The program staff filmed and interviewed several of my friends visiting a faire in Charlotte, NC, and not only did they deny what program it was to air on, they edited the responses they got when they asked the rennies if they'd like to live in the in the Renaissance (they all said "Hell, no!") to make it look like they thought the 1500s was one big party in the woods. Similarly, an article in a free weekly periodical had a review of the local faire, and the entire piece fixated on making fun of the place and the regulars for not being historically accurate (which is hardly the point of the place, and many people wrote the author to tell her so).

The pattern I noticed is that people want to make fun of other people wearing weird clothing or participating in some strange activity they don't understand, but on a certain level realize they'd be seen as bullies for picking on these people for something as harmless as that. Therefore, they have to find (or invent) something to justify the ridicule; they're "stupid", they "have no life", they have "poor hygiene", or they really believe their fantasy world is "real". Also, as you said, it's also a function of how socially acceptable the activity is; grown men can dress up as hogs in dresses, paint their minivan in gawdawful colors and festoon it with flags and not receive a single derogatory comment from anybody - if the activity is football. Let somebody go to a Star Trek convention in Starfleet uniform in a car with a few Trek-related bumperstickers on it, however, and s/he's a mental case.

[Lainie]

One of my favorite moments in Leonard Nimoy's wonderful appearance on Wait, Wait Don't Tell Me was when someone made a coment about Trek fans living in their mom's basements, or some such stereotypical crap, and Nimoy shut them down most effectively.

[Ravenhull]

Originally Posted by Lainie

One of my favorite moments in Leonard Nimoy's wonderful appearance on Wait, Wait Don't Tell Me was when someone made a coment about Trek fans living in their mom's basements, or some such stereotypical crap, and Nimoy shut them down most effectively.

Went and looked for that:

Not My Job: Leonard Nimoy

[Aud 1]

My favorit bit of that is when the one non-trekker on the panel says something sweet that Nimoy commpliments her on and then Peter is so jealous.

[Lainie]

Originally Posted by Aud 1

My favorit bit of that is when the one non-trekker on the panel says something sweet that Nimoy commpliments her on and then Peter is so jealous.

"I knew we shouldn't have let girls in!" IIRC, it was Peter who'd been shut down earlier for his stereotypical Trekkie comment.

[Admiraldinty]

If it's any consolation, it appears that the video has been removed. There is a thumbnail shot of your chain mail, but the link doesn't go anywhere.