Aussiecon 4 Masquerade - Who to Blame

[dalekboy]

Some of you will have heard about the kerfuffle at the Aussiecon 4 Masquerade. Without going into the details as to why things blew up the way they did after the event (that's something for another post), I just wanted to talk about who was to blame for it.

The person to blame is me. No one else, just me.

I'd like to make that 100% clear.

I'm big on people taking responsibility for their actions, and while Nick is the person who delivered the line one member of our audience seemed to find so very offensive, the reason the anecdote was told was me. In an unscripted moment (we had run out of material quite some time before), I essentially grabbed a gun, loaded it, cocked it, then tossed it to my friend, and it went off in his hands. The amount of control he had over the situation at the time was minimal.

That an individual found the line hurtful is unfortunate, was certainly never intended, and I am sorry that it has caused him pain. However, his choices over how to present what happened, who to demand apologies from, and who he was upset at I have found rather perplexing, hence this post to clear up who should be attacked over the incident.

So, to make it absolutely crystal clear to anyone - Rose and Perry weren't to blame and neither was the Aussiecon 4 ConCom, the hundreds of audience members for laughing at the time, or Nick.

The blame is mine and I'm quite prepared to wear it.

I should also point out that Nick doesn't want me taking the blame, but I am insisting, and have told him to refer anyone hassling him about this issue to me. I will not stand idly by and see him blamed for my mistake. Especially when it's by people who weren't there and are basing all their opinions on hearsay.

I would ask that anyone you see discussing the situation also gets pointed to this post.

Comments

Re: Fear not for the reaction of the silent majority (of, um, randoms)

[dalekboy.livejournal.com]

Thanks matey.

One thing I find interesting is that some of the people who attacked me on this, didn't know or read the guy previously. So they take the side of one person they don't know against another person they don't know. Very weird.

Next con you're at that I'm at, introduce yourself. I can never quite make the connection between LJ people and RL people, and I do like to.

Re: Fear not for the reaction of the silent majority (of, um, randoms)

[e-dan.livejournal.com]

That is weird, yeah.

Nods, will properly introduce next opportunity :)