THE WAY WE WERE

Contributed by: HARMONY

When did being a fan of a pop singer get so damn hard? This fandom used to be FUN. People would group together on their home boards, buzzing about his newest CD, his upcoming concerts, and just have fun chatting about his latest hairstyle and what not. They would plan pre parties for concerts, and speculate about who he was with, what he was doing, and what he was going to do next. When he was on a TV show, they would basically watch it together, Thudding and EEEEEing.

Fast forward a few years later. Fans are tearing each other apart, digging for information on other 'fans', and people just generally getting angsty over small things. People telling each other what they can and can not talk about. People being run off of boards for expressing an opinion that doesn't necessarily fall in line with their own way of thinking. And god Forbid you are of the opinion that he's gasp gay.....you're just a bad fan who doesn't belong on a fan board.

Now, I'm not talking about everyone here. Please don't get me wrong. But this is what I see going on with quite a few fans lately. Fans leaving because of other fans.

Now correct me if I'm wrong, but a fandom really is supposed to be fun. People come together to discuss the main thing they have in common.. the one they are a fan of. In a fandom, you shouldn't be afraid to say what you are thinking at the time, as long as you're not vile and nasty about it. You shouldn't be afraid that if you express a view people don't like, that you will be tarred and feathered.

In my opinion, some fans just take this whole fandom experience way too seriously. When you find yourself so emotionally invested that you are targeting people who you view as 'bad fans', and getting so worked up that you spend your days and nights trying to track people down, and trying to be the 'heroes' of the fandom, it's time to take a step back for at least a minute. Life is too short.

There are so many things in our real lives to stress over, that being a fan of somebody should be fun. It should be a way to take your mind off of your real life problems for a little while. Most of us deal with nasty people in our own lives, and fight with people. We shouldn't do it on the internet too.

After all, we have one thing in common. We all want the best for Clay Aiken. As hard as it may be to do, I hope we can all just come together, start healing from the past couple of years, and above all.. have fun!