Something’s rotten in the state of Denmark
Earlier this evening I was notified that the Bring Da King initiative — organized by Dave and Isabelle of Broca’s Area and Scarborough Dude of DicksnJanes – to raise funds to help bring James Whittingham to Podcasters Across Borders has been closed up and collected funds returned to generous contributors.
I have learned that there are two reasons for this decision. The first is that the campaign is still well short of its goal of $1000 which suggests not enough people were interested — or, more likely, that people who planned to contribute never got around to doing so.
The more distressing of the reasons is that some folks in the community have expressed their disapproval to raise funds to help a friend.
I appreciate that some people may not feel inclined to kick in any of their personal funds, however small, for their own reasons. I’m good with that. What concerns me is that some people feel it is their responsibility to discredit and dismiss the generosity of others.
My sincere congratulations to Dave, Iza and Scarborough Dude for taking it upon themselves to organize the campaign, demonstrating the true spirit of community, leadership and friendship. I am so sorry that your efforts were scrutinized. I’m also very sorry for James who was caught in the middle of this.
February 13th, 2008 at 7:55 am
We did our best. I sincerely thank all those that contributed, from three countries and two continents, and I thank especially the good humoured James.
I think this may indicate that the ‘community’ may be less communal that we might think…
February 13th, 2008 at 8:22 am
I unfortunately have not been able to make it to PAB myself. Maybe one day I’ll get there, but not this year. I do however listen to Buffet and hear the lead up and discussions about PAB. I too think it is said that people would criticize any attempt aimed at helping someone. One of the things I have loved about podcasting and specifically the Buffet and PAB was the community that it created. People making new friends and willing to help those friends out. It doesn’t matter if you agree with the ultimate goal or not, you have to respect someones attempt to help, if more people were willing to help others this would be a better place.
February 13th, 2008 at 8:26 am
oh what sad news!
The micro sadness of missing James and the macro sadness of a community with severe troubles…
I haven’t given up on either, though, and expect a triumphant post later in the week similar to the X/Y story below.
February 13th, 2008 at 8:47 am
Sigh. I was kind of hoping that the podcasting community was immune to Reason Two, which I’ve seen at play elsewhere in other so-called “communities”.
I suppose we can chalk it up to something sad in human nature, but it was nice to think for a while that maybe we podcasters were different.
I hope Andrea’s right — I’ve been chanelling as much positive energy as I can for this, and I’ll continue to do so.
February 13th, 2008 at 10:40 am
Oh bummer I was hoping for the chance to met him there or at least to hear about his adventures there.
February 13th, 2008 at 11:13 am
Well folks- podcasting brethren- and sisteren- I beg to differ. I love the whole idea of community, but community in my mind does not mean everyone ‘doing the right thing’ or following the expectations of others. If it comes to that, I want out - fast! I was outraged when the podcast community at large took it upon itself (?) to donate money for Hurricane Katrina - and I’m proud to say I didn’t give one red cent to this cause. Mainly political reasons- any government that can waste trillions fighting an unjust war had better be reminded to look after it’s own people. There were and are far more pressing causes needing attention, but New Orleans (I love the place) was the darling. James, lovable guy that he is, was never in need of our help- this was a whim, a fun idea, and if we had raised the money, it would have been a blast having him in Kingston. We didn’t - no harm done, nice try guys. Except now I detect a hint of animosity towards those who didn’t contribute, or were against the idea from the start- and man- this is wrong! Long live freedom of expression- fight conformity at every opportunity! No one should ever feel obliged to contribute to causes because it’s for the ‘community’. Fuck the community! 3 Cheers for free thinkers!
February 13th, 2008 at 2:14 pm
I applaud the people behind this initiative. It was a nice gesture, and while I was one of those who hadn’t (yet) contributed, I was shocked to hear that someone would actually have a problem with it and express their disapproval. There’s no room for that.
That being said, As with any group of people, the podcasting community has people with all kinds of opinions and motivations. I refuse to believe that the negative comments of a few people (I hope it was a few) is a sign of our community being in big trouble.
Even though the result of this experiment was less than was hoped, let’s not fall into the trap of assuming we have a huge problem in our community when we may not. I firmly believe that the podcasting community is blessed with many good people, probably more than many groups. We’ve seen many examples of this at different times (book drives, snowsuit funds, missing cameras, etc..) .
Should someone’s lack of willingness to contribute to this particular campaign mean they aren’t good people or that this isn’t a great community? I sure don’t think so.
It’s sad to see an initiative not reach it’s goals, but I’ve seen too many successes in this space to change my opinion about our community.
February 13th, 2008 at 3:25 pm
“You can’t please everyone, so you’ve got to please yourself…”
Don’t worry if some people complained, people always complain. It’s when MOST people complain you have to pay attention.
I for one did not contribute (I don’t think). But not because I wasn’t willing. I did respond to some call or other to join a Facebook Group and I anticipated making a small contribution but perhaps one of the downfalls was that it was never clear to me how or where to make that contribution. I guess I expected that someone would follow up and ask me. I couldn’t have been the only one (could I?)
February 13th, 2008 at 3:45 pm
I must make it clear there were not like a zillion people complaining or anything.
That said it was a bit annoying to hear such stuff, even if it was a small group.
It is a shame that airlines are not cheaper here in Canada, however, that is the way stuff is, so the amount we had was not enough.
The experience has, unfortunately, soured me a bit on ‘the community’ as Mark would say. Then again, I am not that idealistic. Boy I cannot wait for the school break to start next week…
February 13th, 2008 at 8:03 pm
I don’t fault people for not contributing to the Bring Da King fund (no animosity here at all, Scarborough Dude). Some people weren’t interested (and that’s completely fine) while some legitimately hadn’t gotten around to it — I know for a fact that I have a long list of good intentions that I often miss the deadline for (my heart is always in the right place even if my mind forgets).
The purpose of my post was to point out, as many people have picked up on, that there is always going to be a wide range of opinions in any community and everyone is entitled to have and express their opinions in a productive manner. It’s that range of opinions that gives a community its strength. You don’t have to agree and you also don’t have to be disrespectful. While Scarborough Dude’s comment can be seen as abrasive, he raises a good point and the important thing to note is that while he disagreed with fundraising efforts for the flood victims, I don’t ever recall him berating anyone for making a contribution of their own — precisely my point.
As Bob points out, I don’t believe that the community is in a terrible state right now. I want us to take this opportunity to remind ourselves of how to treat other people and their opinions. In a community, you trust that you are among friends that will treat you and your thoughts in a welcoming manner. Privilege with other people’s feelings has plagued families for too long; let’s not let privilege get in the way of friendships.
February 13th, 2008 at 8:08 pm
I too hold no ill will towards anyone that did not contribute. That would make me a jerk. I try not to be a jerk, though oddly enough, I am paid to be a know it all…
February 13th, 2008 at 10:30 pm
As I said to Ken privately (and I’m sure he won’t mind me repeating myself here), it’s never a problem if people don’t want to contribute to something; that’s their right, too, and Ken is right on there (as are many of the rest of you, too).
I’ve seen too many other communities torn apart by the negative, so I guess that’s what had me feeling a bit sad earlier. But there have been a lot of good, positive reminders that one complaining apple (or two) won’t spoil the bunch, so I’m going to keep thinking positive thoughts.
February 14th, 2008 at 8:49 am
Just a few thoughts…and forgive my scattered way of thinking.I think when you put so much energy towards something and to see it blow up, it is normal to feel exasperated after. Eh, dude? But you just go on, right? We know that… Dude, you always feel guilty about “animosity” but sometimes it’s a good thing to express it. You get it out of your system and you move on. Done…! No one has done anything wrong here but express their reactions. The community is like any other communities in everyone’s life. An extension of it. Podcasting is not some land of heaven where everyone shares and loves one another… It’s like any other worlds. And in any gourps, there are always groups and factions and those who get along and those who don’t. Let’s not forget that James had given a lot to the “community” with his reports. If I could have done it financially, I would have paid for his ticket myself. Because to me, it was a worthy cause. Laughter is my way of coping in life. James makes me laugh and I think it’s a positive thing. I thought it was a good thing to try. I learned a lot about other podcasts, I made my little promos…I made friends along the way! It wasn’t a complete bust for me. I also took one lesson and it is that the podcasting community is not any different than any other “brought-together” communities. The experience of podcasting ties us together but this is pretty much it. We are all unique in our approaches and expressions. I knew when it got stuck at 200 that it wouldn’t move. I sent emails about it. Remember dude? And I remember you said that you didn’t think it was going to work. But I thought maybe give it a try… The people who are engaged in their “communities” are always going to be “engaged”… Like me I don’t listen to podcasts much, I always will be like that. It’s my habit and my behavior. I have not found a place where I feel I need to listen to a lot of podcasts. Dave has…he has worked it in his daily habit. Not me.Just like I don’t Twitter…But I love meeting people and I loved doing the coverage of PAB with James. That rocked.It was so much fun. It made it very concrete for me and my family. So, as you see, there are different expressions and behaviours and ways to do things. If people express exasperation, I think it is normal. Just move on, now and let’s go! Life continues. And who knows…maybe James will be there one day…! Would be awesome. Anyway, thanks to those who did their best. I remember the elation we felt every time we got a new donation…it was such an awesome feeling. And like I said, I met some neat people along the way. Katherine and Dwight and Charles and Sage…and others…Now, I will recognize more people when I go in June. So…it’s not all lost. Kisses everyone and Happy Valentine’s Day.