I simply cannot stand this anymore...

[crazeyal.livejournal.com]

I got a pleasant surprise Sunday morning. The hotel staff at the Sheraton greeted me with a "I saw you on television!!" Being the ham that I am, I did an immediate search for the video, with no luck. A few days later, I saw This post and it ticked me off a little. I then saw that there was a reply from someone from the TV station that was a decent apology. But nothing on-line. Nothing on the television.

I'm from South Carolina, so I don't see channel 11 very often (almost exclusively once a year, actually...) But I simply cannot get over their treatment of us. This is the HOME TEAM for Dragoncon.. How can they be so.. MUNDANELY IGNORANT??!

This is the first video 11 Alive online news and the report about Dragoncon's smell A quick thank you to Catgirlnikki and wiljra for the OP and email information.

I've crafted a letter, haven't sent it yet.. but I do not think this is going to be enough. I think "WE" need to let them know how big of a community they are mocking! If I get enough responses, I'd like to start a petition/write-in campaign to get an on-air apology.

Edit: I've found an online petition site. Let me know if the site's too bothersome or if you guys don't like the language. I went with quiet outrage, but you can add your own coments. Please post the link to every facebook, messagboard and webcomic artist you can think of. LET'S GET THESE BASTARDS!!

Petition is here




This is the letter I sent:

I spent my vacation in Atlanta last week, as it's my wedding anniversary, the wife and I give each other the present of attending Dragoncon. This is an annual event for us, and among the other pleasant and fun things that happened during the holiday weekend, the hotel staff came up to me and announced that they had "seen me on TV!!"



We were a bit too busy to watch tv, so after returning home I did an internet search to try and retrieve the footage. Apparently the picture of me was a bumper and not put online. In trying to find other footage, I reached out to the online community of Dragoncon. The topic of your coverage was already being hotly discussed. When I read the conversation and watched the footage, I quickly realized the reasons for the ire.



You have two large pieces of... work.. about this year's convention. One is simple reporting, the other is a story about the con's SMELL. Both of them were outrageously insulting.



The first piece has the unseen reporter insulting EVERY single person interviewed. "Does your father know you dress like that?" (It was a DRESS) "Do you wish you had those three months back?" (This to someone who was obviously proud of his work) "Let me guess not married, right?" (Because he dared dress in a full body costume) "Let me guess.. Love at first sight, right?" (said in a mocking tone and then a verbal roll of the eyes when they mentioned they met online) and on and on and ON!



The piece about the Dragoncon smell was simply juvenile. We, as a community, get the joke. We joke about it ourselves. ANY convention will generate and attract people with poor hygene. There is no way around it, and we live with it. But the truth of the matter is that there are only a small percentage of people who go beyond "Getting a little ripe". There is a differance between staying in the same clothes for two or three days and not having time for a second shower. It's the 1% of the people who simply don't give a damn that creates the problem. The entire con does not reek of sweat, and you don't need a clothespin to walk in the door. Your so-called reporting left this fact out.



As far as "reporting" goes, we are going to have to go back to the word INSULTING. Costuming, or COSPLAY as it's called in the community is a major draw to and about the convention. The sheer amount of other facets to the event makes it ludicrous that your station failed to mention it. The media guests numbered in the HUNDREDS. Panels, workshops, photo opportunities take place over all four days. The art show boasts hundreds more national and internationally known artists. The writer's workshops? The short film competition? The dealer room so massive it had to be put in three seperate ballrooms? The dances, concerts and films?



I am a self professed geek. I came to Dragoncon to play Dungeons and Dragons. I am also a graduate of the United States Marine Corps. I am also a homeowner with a successful career in Corporate and Military security. I have also been married for 9 years (which came from a successful relationship of 7 years before that!) I do not appreciate the labels and bias shown by your reporter and therefore, your station.



I am tempted to explain in verbage and volume, the exact nature of my displeasure. That would dilute the message and it's meaning. Please understand something else. "WE", meaning the people insulted by your actions and attitude, aren't nearly as stupid and pathetic as you apparently think we are. "WE" have quite a few numbers behind us. "WE" also talk to each other.



We also talk to SPONSORS



Good day,



Ray K Allen

AKA "The Devil"

Comments

BTW..

[crazeyal.livejournal.com]

Ellen M. Crooke
Vice President News and Information Center
WXIA 11 Alive / Myatltv
Atlanta, Georgia
www.11alive.com
404-733-2210
ecrooke@wxia.gannett.com

[orcapotter.livejournal.com]

I'm glad my group and I are not the only ones who found that "report" absolutely insulting and out of taste. I love it, too, how the anchor at the end of the segment tried to be all like, "aw, we joke all in good fun, we love Dragon*con" etc. But seriously, the reporter was blatantly insulting everyone he interviewed. If you get a petition or something together, my group and I won't hesitate to sign it.

[scyllacat.livejournal.com]

That's what they said every time I got up off the floor ready to cry, "Aw, we kid, we tease, it's just a joke, can't you take a joke, SHEEZ!"

[fnordx.livejournal.com]

Might want to point out that any gathering of football fans will also have the same smell, but no one mentions the BO and beer smell coming from them.

You may also want to point out that someone that they know, someone they work with, someone they care about and respect, is likely one of us. We live in Atlanta, and we watch their station. 35,000 people with enough disposable income to come to a con is quite a nice demographic, and they likely don't want to piss those people off.

[gothpanda.livejournal.com]

And no gathering of football fans makes it into the "Babes of Maxim"

Well Written

[muerandah.livejournal.com]

Excellent letter.

[bantiarna.livejournal.com]

You may also wish to mention that the several thousands of us that come each year spend quite a bit of money, contributing to the local economy.
Ive heard more than one person mention that the con has gotten to big for its current location and could be moved just up the road to the Carolina Center in Greenville, SC. Greenville will no turn down the money.

[charismaryllis.livejournal.com]

yes, including many people who would never be in atlanta otherwise...including me. :)

[childwoman.livejournal.com]

I would say don't bother b/c people who mock like that won't be moved by your letter.

[crazeyal.livejournal.com]

No.

They *WILL* be moved by thousands of potential customers telling them to KNOCK IT OFF OR ELSE!!

[babbeyroad.livejournal.com]

Please send that in!
I was so insulted by that 11alive bullshit.

[wiebke.livejournal.com]

Good letter. Do send it!

[wolfchylde.livejournal.com]

Bravo! And more of us SHOULD write in!

[gnomeyhead.livejournal.com]

I think I'll send in a letter. I went with my family of 5! People don't realize how much fun D*C can be for alot of people...they just pick on it. :(

[tears-of-nienna.livejournal.com]

I was seriously annoyed with the mocking tone of the reporter interviewing people. I could see the anchor himself coming to hang with us at the Hyatt bar, maybe, but I wanted to strangle the reporter. Possibly there is a reason his face was never shown...

Although I kind of love the guy who responded to the smirky "Not many dates, right?" question with explanations of why his character doesn't get any. :)

I hope your letter gets their attention.

[gothpanda.livejournal.com]

Your icon made me giggle

[elementalamber.livejournal.com]

It IS an excellent letter. I know it's a little ridiculous, but I feel like the smell thing... The smell of some folk at D*C has been an ongoing joke for years. But I feel like it's okay for US to joke about it, because they're our people. :)

I love your letter. Definitely send it. And be sure to let us know if you get a response!

It's so odd to me that anyone could be that unaware or distainful of the fact that geeks are professional, money-making and money-spending humans who make up a decent percentage of the population. You'd think that the tens of thousands of people at the convention might have tipped them off.

[oakthorne.livejournal.com]

And frankly? Any sizeable gathering of people is going to overwhelm the air conditioning resources of the place they gather, and the smell is going to result. It's biology colliding with physics - can't be helped. I've smelt the same smell at conventions and gatherings for a wide variety of folks. It happens.

[scandalkitty.livejournal.com]

Excellent letter, the last two paragraphs in particular had me practically applauding you. I too plan to write to a letter to 11 Alive, I've already written to VA tech. Is the above address the best place to write 11 Alive? I'd be more than happy to be part of a petition or write in campaign.

[pixiekingtom.livejournal.com]

I may have missed something. Why VA Tech?

[thedooz.livejournal.com]

will definitely sign a petition if you get one together and will prob be writing a letter myself.

[lilia2000.livejournal.com]

Good letter! I think this is a great idea!

I noticed a post in the previous thread where someone commented how we all make fun of the smell....but I think it is in a very different sort of way. We make fun because we love. We know we smell. But we accept that as part of the Con. But for an outsider to come and simply make fun of the smell, is not right. Espeially since those who saw that clip were most likely not apart of the Convention and all they will know about it is "Oh, Dragon*Con is that smell convention". Not the place where fans and friends come together to share what they love.

[darkxlightninja.livejournal.com]

Pshhh some people just don't understand. I think the reporter tried to make it funny for viewers, but the viewers are probably thinking, "that was terribly insulting." And it is! We, cosplayers should and will be recongized at our art and love for conventions.

I think you SHOULD send that letter. I think they need to make a public apology, because it was just plain mean and cruel.

Maybe WE as cosplayers should get together and insult them to see how it feels.

[phantomminuet.livejournal.com]

Say what you will about conventions, in general, but the smell situation was much more noticeable at Dragon*con this year than it has been in past years. I have theories about why that is so, but everyone's so damn touchy that I don't usually express them.

As for this report, please. Like people mocking geeks and nerds and sci fi fans is anything new. If you had been a part of sci fi fandom as long as I've been a part of sci fi fandom (TOS fan since 1971), you'd let it roll off of you like water off a duck.

[wildflowerz.livejournal.com]

See, I thought the exact opposite. I usually have quite a few cringing moments from bad smells, but this year, I can only really recall experiencing it once. In past years, it was at least a dozen times. However, really, considering the amount of people there, it's not really that bad.

[drhaggis.livejournal.com]

I have written my own letter with a similar tone. This is bad "reporting" and should be called out as such.

[crazeyal.livejournal.com]

Look above guys! There is a link to a petition!

[rakshi.livejournal.com]

Signed. And an email sent as well.

this is just crap.

Thanks for organizing this.

[laurie-robey.livejournal.com]

Actually, I smelled more sweat and BO as soon as I got to the baggage claim area at the airport on the way into the con than I ever did at DragonCon. A 2-minute piece about the smell of a convention is what I've come to expect from mainstream media, but we should still let them know how stupid their reports were.

[mir280.livejournal.com]

I was highly offended when I saw the coverage by news11 on the internet. And then I saw the coverage CNN did and was much MUCH happier!!! They actually know how to interview the Media realations director repectfully. They talked about cosplay and the effect the economy has had on attendance at Dragon Con (NONE!!). There were numerous articles and video clips and all were done in a very very professional and respectful way. It was SOOOOO much better than stupid news11's coverage.

[braidedmane.livejournal.com]

Do you by chance have a link to the CNN coverage? I was having difficulty finding it, on account of getting too many hits on google.

[crazeyal.livejournal.com]

Spread the word! I just hit Sluggy Freelance and Devils Panties forums.

[carencey77.livejournal.com]

hehe, if they DON'T want to apologize, we can just film promos for their competing stations at next year's Dragon*con and put them on youtube. (I was going to suggest a "why we won't be watching WXIA" vid, but not sure if they could force it to be taken down for using their name.)

[puskunk.livejournal.com]

Hmmm. IANAL, but they are the stations call letters. The call letters are assigned by the FCC, so I don't think that anything done that is Fair Use could be forced down.

[mir280.livejournal.com]

A few links:

http://www.cnn.com/video/#/video/living/2009/09/05/whitfield.dragoncon.intv.cnn?iref=videosearch

http://www.cnn.com/video/#/video/us/2009/09/05/pkg.dragoncon.parade.cnn?iref=videosearch

http://marquee.blogs.cnn.com/category/dragon-con/

[filkertom.livejournal.com]

Might also help to remind them of things like, for instance, forty-four of the fifty top-grossing films of all time (http://www.imdb.com/boxoffice/alltimegross?region=world-wide) are SF/fantasy, comic book related, or fables involving talking animals, and five of the other six (Titanic, The Passion of the Christ, Forrest Gump, The Da Vinci Code, and Mamma Mia!) are basically fanfic. (Mamma Mia! being songfic.)

[gothpanda.livejournal.com]

Saw an interview once with Will Smith where he admitted to choosing his summer blockbusters based on the fact that they are giant *science fiction* flicks, because they always have the biggest draw!

[positive-pat.livejournal.com]

Okay call me stupid but I just watched the videos and I swear after going to 2 Cons now, I have never noticed any bad smells at Dragon Con as far as the people were concerned. The only bad smell I have experienced both years was the horrible smell coming up from a couple of the streets as you stand on the corners waiting to cross the street. Sewer Smell Yuk!!!! I live in Atlanta and would hate for the Con to leave here.

[crazeyal.livejournal.com]

Why would we call you stupid?? One of the main points of the protest is that con funk happens in isolated incidents. It's individual people who usually have bad hygene to begin with. It has very little to do with conventions or fandom in general. It's just the numbers. You get a thousand people and a few of them WILL be from the lower end of the spectrum.