An Overdue Rant

I want to preface this, by saying that the things said below are not directed at any one person or group.

Drama is nothing new to this fandom...from fake deaths to fake dicks, I think we all have nearly seen it all. And the one response that I find in every situation is "This is supposed to be a fun place" or "This isn't high school, quit acting like it". And while I agree with both of those statements, I don't believe either of them is true.

In high school, popularity, to most, was everything. If u were at the top of the social ranks, then u ruled the school and everyone looked up to you. The flip side to that, is in most cases the not so popular kids were made fun of or bullied simply because they weren't as popular as their peers. When I was in school, I didn't fit into either of those categories, simply because I just didn't care.

I've never been one to buy into the hype of popularity and I'm sorry, but I refuse to kiss anyone's ass, just so they'll like me. If you can't like me for who I am, then I don't need you...simple as that. I said all that to say this: this fandom is a lot like high school. We have our authors that we put on a pedestal or hold in higher esteem than others, and I'm not saying that there's anything wrong with that. However, in some cases a line is crossed and people get a little 'big for their britches' and use this popularity and the stage it provides as a means to degrade and run down authors who they feel are inferior. This is where my beef lies. We're all the same; no one is better than the next. Are some authors better writers or storytellers than others? Of course. But that doesn't give anyone the right to put those of us who aren't Icy's or Khar's down.

Just speaking from personal experience when I say, that the more a person writes, the better and more polished they become. When I first started writing my shit was rough at best, but that's not the point. My point, is that I had several people who encouraged me to stick with it and keep going, despite what some had to say. If this fandom had more people like that in it, then it would be a much better place.

To sum all this up, I don't believe that classism or elitism has any place in this fandom. I have friends who went through this and I believe I owe them an apology. I took the wrong side in that situation and for that, I am truly sorry. I hope y'all can accept that.

As I said up top, none of that was directed at any one person or group. If this offends you, then you're most likely guilty. If you feel the need to unfriend, unfollow, or delete me from your groups, then by all means go ahead. If you know me at all, then you know I'm not one to back down and I'll always speak my mind. I feel like I have sat back and watched this shit happen for too long now...something needed to be said and even if I'm the only one out there that feels this way, I'm still glad I said it.

A very wise and generally all around awsome woman once said:

"People have the right to their opinion, they can take it or leave it...but they don't have the right to criticize until they've stood in someone's shoes who has bared their soul.  That's what you do when you write...you take a little piece of you and set it out there for others to see it..for better or worse. It just kills me when people start bashing others as it makes that piece get a little smaller each time." -Nikka Bella

Sincerely, 

Jordan