Wednesday, August 19, 2009

Come Again?

Someone who signed off as "Moron" (his word, not mine) wrote that if we don't like a show, don't go back next year; that they will change or die.

While that may appear simple enough, that is neither the point, nor the solution.

The point is, change will not come unless someone points out what needs improving, and provides possible alternatives and solutions. You cannot fix something if you don't even know it's broken.

And the point is, we do not want the shows to simply "die". We want them to get better. But how can they get better if the organizers do not even know when something is amiss?

The person who wrote that cryptic little message is basically saying that we should dispense with medical care - that things should either get better on their own, or die. HotKarz does not feel that way. We believe that things should not die simply because we neglect to help them. We feel they should be given whatever medicine may be necessary to make them well.

I understand that some folks do not like the hubbub that sometimes occurs when an event needs help in improving. Change is never without some pain. But if the choice is between experiencing the pain of change, or letting something just wither and die, I'm all for the change, even if it hurts.

Think about it - if you want to remodel your kitchen, you first need to do some tearing down of the old. To landscape your yard, you need to first dig things up. Shows are no different from anything else - to improve them, we must first be willing to undo some of the old ways.

Some of the old ways are good - I'm all for traditions that work well and treat folks fairly. Such "old ways" should be saved and incorporated into the improved shows. But other "old ways" are diseased, and need to be discarded - just like remodeling a kitchen. If you find dry rot, rip it out.

So, I guess my response to "Moron" is simply this - if we do not like a show, we should first try to help them improve - and you do not do that by remaining silent. Only if the organizers refuse to improve would we then choose to not return, and support instead those shows that support all of us fairly.

/

No comments: