Very recently (months ago) we had a person post on our facebook that we should ban homestuck. This bothered me a bit because . . . well why would you say such a thing? This bothered one of our upper level staffers quite a bit and she had to do a rant on her personal facebook about it because she’s into homestuck. The really odd thing is that this guy was a brony (or so I’ve been told).

So what makes a ponies okay, but homestuck not okay? There are always people who hate people for no reason. But . . . hate isn’t welcome at our convention. There are always ignorant people lobbying to ban a particular fandom for some reason or another. The interesting part is they’re usually part of another fandom that someone else it trying to get banned. Go figure.

The argument is that “____ isn’t anime.” . . . so? Is that all ya got?

I like to think of SNAFU Con in college terms: we’re majoring in anime, and minoring in general geek studies. We will always have a very strong anime emphasis as a general rule, but that doesn’t mean we want to exclude ANYBODY. Because guess what – the people that like anime have (gasp) other interests, too. We are a gathering of anime fans here to unite over our love of anime. What’s wrong with showing other common interests?

It is okay to say “I don’t like that” because guess what – it’s our differences that make us awesome. It’s not bad that you don’t like something. You’re free to dislike something. Just don’t judge someone because they love homestuck, because they might judge you for loving ponies.

Many of us were picked on at one point or another for our fandom. Many of us still are being picked on or looked down on for our fandom. We embrace our love of TV shows, games, books, comics, etc., that others consider immature and or childish. As such, even the most well balanced, mature, or successful of us are looked down on by friends, family, or acquaintances that “just don’t get it.” We’re told to “grow up,” or “get a life,” because of our hobbies, and our passions.

Most of us in this situation have learned to live with it. We either don’t care what our family thinks, or they have learned to stop voicing their negative opinion. Some of us live with the pain of a loved one looking down upon us on a regular basis and tolerate it out of love. Many of us have withdrawn from people in general and almost every one of us has some sort of problem communicating or acting normally in a social situation. We do tend to feel more comfortable and “ourselves” with people just like us (other geeks, otaku, or gamers).

This convention strives to be safe place for all of us to come out of our shells and express our passion; to be able to socialize like a “normal” person without fear of judgment. Everyone you see here is just like you, a passionate individual who loves something “geeky.” Our primary focus is anime, but we also have secondary foci on gaming, comics, sci-fi, science, and anything else “geeky.”

It makes us sad when we see people like us who are looked down on for loving something, looking down on someone else for loving something that they just don’t get, either. Pots and kettles, people. A brony should not be looking down on a home stucker. A naruto fan should not be making fun of a furry.

As individuals, there are members of the staff who also “don’t get” your fandom. We tolerate and accept that you love it and therefore it is valid. Love it, and express your love for it. We will not put you down for expressing your love, providing your expression does not violate any con rules.

We sincerely hope that you will not put down other people’s love or passion for something that you might not “get.” We ask that if you do have a distaste for the fans of a particular fandom, no matter the reason, that you do not express it at con, in our forums, on our facebook, or anywhere else involved with the convention.

We support expressions of love, and we will not condone expressions of hate.