Recently, I liked a page on facebook that I thought supported one of my favorite events, the Wellie Race (now the Wellie Walk). I've attended for the last four years and each year, my husband and I bring a different group of friends to "our" secret small town. The event takes place during the city's Irish Fest weekend in the month of October; in addition to the requisite Wellies, the participants wear all shades of greens or are in costume. My husband helped organize the event for a couple of years, but for the most part, I have had the pleasure of only attending. As many fundraisers as I've organized over the past five years, trust me, being "just a guest," is a true pleasure.
Unbeknownst to me, the founders/organizers of the event had some behind-the-scenes drama regarding the event. One of the founders used his page to spread some misleading (to my eyes) information about the walk/race, and always being the pot-stirrer, I decided to call him out on it. I have no loyalty to either side and have no idea what happened between them, but I really love this event. Our Wellie Race group usually caravans out there after a group picture and we have so much fun walking through this small town of charming houses and local stores. Every year, we end up buying bits and bobs from the antique shops, have breakfast in the cafe, buy sweets from the candy store, and basically support the tourism and economy of this town, in a fairly small, but still important way.
I understand that as one of the founders, this guy is emotionally attached to the event, but little did I know how much my comment would rile things up. In the space of one thread, I was accused of being hateful, meaningless, a free entertainer, libelous, and oh yeah, a blogger.
I found his ranting laughable, but what disturbed me is how easily I was dismissed. I've worked with this type of "gentleman" before. He is making a living writing and publishing a free newspaper while I am a "blogger who entertains people for free." I am meaningless while he is the founder of this event. His Irish readers are more valid than my "hipster" audience. I write fiction while he concentrates on the FACTS.
To that point, I would like to say, Fuck You. Immature, crass, stupid? Maybe. But that's what I want to say. Just because you're a man and you're older does not make your opinion more valid than mine. Just because your medium of communication is more traditional than how I choose to voice my opinion does not make you more important. I am making a living too, it might not be through my blogs, but I work very hard to create projects that mean something to me, projects that inspire me and support the things and the people that I believe in.
I've been dismissed as someone who doesn't know what she's doing before. By a similar type of man. And you know what I did? I blew the project out of the water and made it hugely successful. So I hope the behind-the-scenes "drama" dies down by next year. Because my Wellies are always ready for a little action.
