Monday, January 2, 2012

500,000,000 Burdens Halved

There's been some discussion of hit counts in the Richard Armitage blogosphere in the last few weeks as the actual RA bloggers (i.e. everybody but me) are gearing up for new waves of interest.  There's some angst about staying relevant, keeping our tight knit group welcoming and just dealing with all those people looking at us (and really?  Put yourself in his shoes for a second).  I want you guys to consider something for a minute.

A few seconds ago @PostSecret tweeted that their blog has gotten its 500,000,000th hit.  We think we skate on the knife edge of confession?  We're not even close.  If you've never visited Post Secret (scroll down past the message for the current week's submissions) or seen the books or been to an event I urge you to do so.  Frank Warren's "community art project" has inspired beautiful, healing moments over the years.  My favorite emails are always the ones that say "I thought I was the only one who held that secret.  I feel like less of a freak now."  There have been post cards to that effect, as well.  I wish I could find the one I'm thinking of but the secret teller asked a stranger on a bus to rewrite her secret to hide her distinctive handwriting; when she told her secret the stranger said it was hers, too.  Moments like that are precious gifts from the Universe, your Higher Power, Ja, G-d, or whatever force you think is out there conspiring to shower you with blessings.  The Post Secret iPhone app had to be disabled due to bullying but the community has rallied around Warren's mission. 

The Post Secret online community takes it upon themselves to bless others all the time because they realize that they are the ones radically creating their community.  You know what?  So are we.  The RA community is only partly about him.  I think it's mostly about us.  With you guys I've found a group of funny, caring and creative people who are always willing to laugh with me and I consider that a huge blessing.  If you've been lurking the blogs, speak out; it's your fandom, too.  If you write one, keep going.  We all have those moments of feeling a little weird about all this but I don't know that we should.  It makes me feel less weird to count those who share it with me. 

  

8 comments:

  1. Love your post! I think you are right that it is frequently more about us, as individuals in the RA Fandom, than about him. But I think at our best moments we are a reflection of Richard Armitage and the qualities we love and admire in him. I'm a relative newcomer in the RA fan universe, but I find that true in my limited experience. The fact that so many are inspired by him is wonderful. This will be an exciting year.

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  2. I totally agree with you. IMHO, it's always been about the people of the fandom. It's a great creative, but most importantly, inclusive group.

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  3. I really do feel connected to so many people all over the world because of the RA fandom. It is such a great experience. Thanks for this post!

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  4. Even though I did not have a mobile device that could run the PostSecret app I was dismayed to see why it was taken down. It is unfortunate that there are so many malicious people who could not see the value in the ability to share one's secret.

    And today's Richard Armitage Confession pretty much hits the mark: I love that this man inspires a 'community of friends' instead of the usual internet trollfest.

    I think that the originators of the RA fan websites are to be commended for their work. We all have our own non-RA favorites and I do not think that any of them have the support provided by those early fans.

    Thanks for the post.

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  5. @faboamanto...you're right, especially that this is going to be a huge year. Thanks for commenting!

    @judiang...I love that you particularly are experiencing a creative burst right now. Inclusive is a good word.

    @phylly3...exactly and you're welcome!

    @Kathie...welcome to the blog and I agree about that particular "confession." That's a really good example of what I mean by creating our own community.

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  6. LOL!! Just now seeing this!

    I agree with what's been said. Great minds think alike? :D

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  7. I agree that the community is important. (Hence my new years' post.) I get a lot out of reading postsecret, too. However, most of the postsecret posters are much more anonymous than I am. I didn't work on protecting my anonymity very hard because I didn't think it mattered. In a different atmosphere, I may need to rethink that question. But that's speculative, until the different atmosphere emerges, of course. Maybe nothing will change.

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  8. @Frenz...LOL, I saw your "Secret" after I posted this.

    @Servetus...I guess we'll wait and see but I think we can be a positive influence at least on each other.

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Thanks for commenting!