Donna

[botias]

One of the first people I saw at the con was James Marsters. I wandered the direction I saw him disappear in, not [just] because I'm a huge scary fan, but because I knew my roomies would be where he was going. I walked along the deck until I saw a row of doors with a woman plastered to each crack between. Mmmmm. JM leaves fans behind the way ghosts leave ectoplasm.

There were no available cracks so I sat down on a bench to watch the love. One of the women left her spot to come over and chat with me. So it was, that the first person I spoke to at the con was Donna known to some as 'Crazy Purple Lady'. She divided her time between me and the crack in the door. She shared with me her love of JM, during which it slipped that they would be retiring together this evening, her love of Jesus, Jesus' love for JM, and her JM picture collection. I smiled and nodded.

So she was one of my first con experiences and also part of the only thing about the con I really didn't like. The (I hate to say it) meanness of other con-goers toward her and other folks that, through some complicated equation in their heads, somehow came out as not nearly as cool as themselves. (We're at a fan convention people. Talk about shades of geek.)

I have an advantage in this area. A maternal Aunt V. has Down Syndrome so my mother had any such impulses educated out of her at an early age, and she was poised and ready to discourage this natural fear of, and prejudice toward, the odd and infirm in myself. Further, I have three small children. My 6yo told me yesterday, with absolute seriousness, that his workshop for creating new inventions was in the land of Christone, which is somewhere in the vicinity of the Bermuda Triangle. My 3yo's idea of fun is to have a cold pack dropped down his shirt so he can dance around and shriek until it falls out, and my 1yo thinks crinkly, glassine envelopes are the most engrossing thing ever.

So anyway, I hope folks find the patience, the compassion, the grace. That's what James would do.

Comments

[deborahw37.livejournal.com]

Thank you! Its good to know that some people have real class :)

[elynne.livejournal.com]

... you need a userpic of JM with a caption "What Would JM Do?" You know you need it. :D If I made one for you, you'd use it, right? ;)

[botias.livejournal.com]

To some extent someone has beaten you to it.


She was a Brit, very impressed by the religious programming available in the greater LA area.

[botias.livejournal.com]

:) Thank you for your support. I don't think my opinion is a popular one.

[bendy1.livejournal.com]

I greatly admire the way JM handled her and has handled others like her at past events. I just hope that the opinions I came across are the minority and that most people these days are more open minded, especially considering how we're all a bit weird in the world's eyes anyway :)

People are desperately paranoid about being fans, I think. But I agree, and thanks for posting :)

[botias.livejournal.com]

Me too.

Just out of curiousity is the WWJD thing across the pond as well? (What Would Jesus Do) For awhile, oh, about 7-10 years ago it was a bit of a mainstream fad. Little teeny-bopper bracelets with the letters WWJD and the like. It's still part of the popular culture. I don't know if I saw any upsurge in Jesus-like behavior however.

[bendy1.livejournal.com]

I know what it means but that might be because of tv and What Would Buffy Do... It isn't a whole religious thing, I think.

There isn't much of the original but WW(whatever or whoever)D is an understandable joke.

There again I run away from religion so it might have been a whole thing and passed me by :)