A (sigh) Letter for Daniel...

Don Rosa donrosa at iglou.com
Wed Aug 9 14:23:19 CEST 2000


...even though I don't understand why we are posting these letters
publicly. But you must have your reasons, so...
I am a comics fan. I was a comics fan for over 35 years when I first
started getting paid to be a comics fan (writing and drawing Duck comics).
I still think of myself as nothing more than a comics fan, because unless I
was a huge fan of comics I would find ways of making more money, more
easily, than by doing Disney comic work. For years throughout the 70s &
early 80s I was one of America's most prolific and widest-read
comics-fan-writers, and that was in the days before fanzines paid
anything -- it was all done for free, just like writing to a modern ML,
done solely to express my ideas... in my own fashion.
And yet, I very seldom express myself on this list other than to answer
direct questions. But sometimes I DO express myself. I'm extremely sorry if
that intimidates you or if you think you need to protect others from that
intimidation. But you'll need to find some way to deal with that other than
very, very, very politely telling me to "shaddap".
Once before, with exactly this sort of message, you worried me enough that
this idea of yours was valid that I actually decided to swear off having
anything to do with this ML. But after a few months I realized I was being
foolish, that I would not give up being a comics fan because one person
thinks I should not express ideas in my own way in public. And if I express
my thoughts with a "firmness" that you don't like, sorry for my lack of
finesse, but I only say what I think. If someone disagrees with me, they
should just say so, their words are as important as mine on here; if
someone is afraid to do so, they need to deal with their lack of
self-respect and learn I'm no big deal, they don't need your protection.

> I hope we both can agree that
> contributing to this list should be fun, without the feeling of
> being in some kind of battle.

??? As near as I can tell, this feeling is something that's only in *your*
mind. I encourage you to get over it. Or you'll again make yourself unhappy
the next time I firmly express my ideas to my friends.
Now, let's stop putting these personal-angst messages here where they don't
belong.






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