Ignorance Pisses People Off!

So I was just reading a post on my friend Rima's blog, about an article that was published recently in The Daily Star. For those that don't know it's a gossip rag, which spouts endless shit about a lot of things that people care very little for. One of those tabloid papers that get terrible write ups for breaking up perfectly happy celebrity couples by fabricating affairs and the like.
But now it's taken the dive into fucking with cosplayers... I can't help laughing like a maniac here, because I know for a fact this is going to be one of the worst choices of their editorial history (THE ONLINE COMMUNITIES NEVER FORGET!!!!).
You can read the full article here but this is just a little excerpt:

"BONKERS Brits are planning to “wreak havoc” in the Big Brother house when it returns this summer.

Mad Big Brother wannabes are lining up to join the show and make the next series the wackiest-ever to hit telly screens.

They turned out in their droves yesterday as show bosses trawled a comic book convention for future housemates.

Staff hoped London’s Comic Con event would offer up some of the nation’s biggest oddballs.

And they were not disappointed as they hunted for contenders to enter the house that launched the celebrity careers of stars that include Chantelle Houghton, 27, Kate Lawler, 31, and Craig Phillips, 39.

Swarms of comic nuts turned out in fancy dress to compete for a place.

Many were dressed as their favourite superheroes such as Batman and Superman. Others wore even more extravagant outfits, trying to stand out from the outlandish crowd."

This article is peppered full of words like; "outlandish", "mad", "oddballs", "bonkers" "geek", "comic-nuts" and it even calls people such as Nicholas Cage and Jonathon Ross "self-confessed" comics fans. As if there is something to be ashamed of. The word confession has nuances of guilt, and suggests that an entire sub-culture of clever, educated, beautiful and creative people should feel guilty for liking something other people haven't heard of. 

There are several quotes in this article that sound -and I'm completely agreeing with Rima hear- utterly fabricated! 

From what I know of cosplayers, and I'm happy to say I know rather a lot having met hundreds of them, we are NOT destructive people. Most of us spend our lives creating, not destroying. So to read the words "I’d want to bring a bit of chaos to the house, it would be fun to wreck the place" makes me just a miiiiite bit skeptical. 

Another thing I'd like to touch on is the use of rather... what's the word... school playground-ish words such as "geek", and "oddball". Surely, at least you'd hope, that a journalist would be more mature in their approach to this? And perhaps nix the insults and treat the cosplay community with some respect. Something they clearly don't have as cosplayers have been made into a joke in this article. Further encouraging abusive behavior towards comic, anime, manga and games fans. 

And the government say that bullying is improving? Hardly, even the media are putting their two penneth in now!

I for one do not enjoy being reffered to as "mad" or "bonkers" when merely expressing my love for something. 

I don't go around screaming 'WHORE!!!!' at any girl who walks down the street in shorts or showing off her stomach.

Of course another thing the asswipe of a journalist has peppered the article with are words such as "droves", "trawled" and "hunted". Excuse me, but we are not cattle to be rounded up and assessed. 

I feel, personally, that the cosplay community wasn't just being delved into for possible TV talent it was being scoped out. Call me melodramatic, but it's genuinely how I feel.

But hey, if we get more news coverage perhaps that will be good. We'll become less of a 'OMG LOOK MUMMY A FREAK!!!' attraction.

I doubt that will happen though....

Please comment and share your views with me on this, I'd love to hear your thoughts!!

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Chiru

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