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Phanny, v. 3, issue 1, Spring 1944

page 1

1           PHANNY              1

FANDOM AS A WAY OF LIFE

(Plus other more-or-less unrelated topics, and all inspired by the remarks of Lowndes, Kepner, the Ashley's, Laney, EEE, Speer, Widner, Stanley, Bridges, Trudy, and others.)

"Doc", has already stated the essense of this when he said that Fandom "is not a completely unorthodox and different way of life." Accepting this as a starter, we must conclude that fans need to mix into non-fan affairs if anything resembling a complete way of life is to be achieved.

My initial reacion to the "Slan Center" idea was one of cautious approval; I even indicated that I might "jine up" after the war. I'm rather certain now, that I shall do nothing of the sort. I think such a movement impies a unity in thought and action, and an acceptance of certain norms of behavior, which do not at present exists, and which once established, would be unacceptable to me.

There is an inconsistancy there; how can I say that unformulated plnas would be unacceptable to me? Well, there are signboards along the way, which I will enumarate later; but first, lets consider to just what extent Fandom may be considered a way of life at the present time.

I think that the Fantasy Sense, with whatever interpretation you wish to give that term, may be accepted as one of the main elements in the differences between fans and non-fans; perhaps the only important factor. This sense at its best serves as a very satisfactory sort of glass through which to observe the doings of that interesting majority whose members have never developed this Sense, or else lost it with the approach of maturity. It also may serve as a very useful guide to determining the direction of a fans non-fan activities.
It makes a more logical basis for making decisions than, for example, the credos of State Church of a major Political Party. It is sounder primarily because it's possessors are enabled to perceive more cl early than most, many of the "Worlds of If," and to compare these Worlds with the one in which we live, with those other possible manifsetations in multi-dimensional space-time, some of which may be superior to our own.

But the suggestion that fans should set up an expanded Slan Center, with the expectation that it may, in time, become a sort of arsenal of progress while the rest of the world pursues a course of senseless self-destruction, is really too much for an intelligent fan to take seriously. As an exercise in mental gymnastics, it is OK, of course. However that may be, it necessarily impies a degree of gloomy pessimism usually associated with such professional "viewers with alarm" as elderly dyspeptics whose milk-and-bread diet has gone sour on them.

Such a project implies that fans in general, and other with very similar qualities, are in general more level-headed, more progressive, more intersted in human welfare as opposed to individual gain, and more willing to co-operate for the general welfate, than are equally intelligent groups. It also implies a sensitiveness to and understanding of slight changes, before those changes become apparent to the general public. I will agree that there ismore genuine altruistic interest in future human happiness than i common to similar groups, and that there is an unusual sensitivity to social and cultural changes. As to progress, fans can't afree on a definition of that; they have already demonstrated a rather highly developed opposition to all efforts to promote genuine co-operation (they are alwyas writing stiff like this) and I haven't heard any of them lay claim to being level-headed. As for alertness and sensitivity to change; well, those are the prime requirements of a good soldier, and there seems to be a plethora of those on both sides of the current fracas.

Just why fans are so prone to look on the dark side, and moan over the lost opportunities of our time is hard to say. If anything is to be learned from history, it is this; history is cyclic; that is, it tends to repeat itself within broad limits. And each crest represents an advance in human development. In earliest historical times, the most advanced peoples killed all prisoners captured in war. Now we look with horror upon such practices. At a later date,

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1 PHANNY 1 FANDOM AS A WAY OF LIFE (Plus other more-or-less unrelated topics, and all inspired by the remarks of Lowndes, Kepner, the Ashley's, Laney, EEE, Speer, Widner, Stanley, Bridges, Trudy, and others.) "Doc", has already stated the essense of this when he said that Fandom "is not a completely unorthodox and different way of life." Accepting this as a starter, we must conclude that fans need to mix into non-fan affairs if anything resembling a complete way of life is to be achieved. My initial reacion to the "Slan Center" idea was one of cautious approval; I even indicated that I might "jine up" after the war. I'm rather certain now, that I shall do nothing of the sort. I think such a movement impies a unity in thought and action, and an acceptance of certain norms of behavior, which do not at present exists, and which once established, would be unacceptable to me. There is an inconsistancy there; how can I say that unformulated plnas would be unacceptable to me? Well, there are signboards along the way, which I will enumarate later; but first, lets consider to just what extent Fandom may be considered a way of life at the present time. I think that the Fantasy Sense, with whatever interpretation you wish to give that term, may be accepted as one of the main elements in the differences between fans and non-fans; perhaps the only important factor. This sense at its best serves as a very satisfactory sort of glass through which to observe the doings of that interesting majority whose members have never developed this Sense, or else lost it with the approach of maturity. It also may serve as a very useful guide to determining the direction of a fans non-fan activities. It makes a more logical basis for making decisions than, for example, the credos of State Church of a major Political Party. It is sounder primarily because it's possessors are enabled to perceive more cl early than most, many of the "Worlds of If," and to compare these Worlds with the one in which we live, with those other possible manifsetations in multi-dimensional space-time, some of which may be superior to our own. But the suggestion that fans should set up an expanded Slan Center, with the expectation that it may, in time, become a sort of arsenal of progress while the rest of the world pursues a course of senseless self-destruction, is really too much for an intelligent fan to take seriously. As an exercise in mental gymnastics, it is OK, of course. However that may be, it necessarily impies a degree of gloomy pessimism usually associated with such professional "viewers with alarm" as elderly dyspeptics whose milk-and-bread diet has gone sour on them. Such a project implies that fans in general, and other with very similar qualities, are in general more level-headed, more progressive, more intersted in human welfare as opposed to individual gain, and more willing to co-operate for the general welfate, than are equally intelligent groups. It also implies a sensitiveness to and understanding of slight changes, before those changes become apparent to the general public. I will agree that there ismore genuine altruistic interest in future human happiness than i common to similar groups, and that there is an unusual sensitivity to social and cultural changes. As to progress, fans can't afree on a definition of that; they have already demonstrated a rather highly developed opposition to all efforts to promote genuine co-operation (they are alwyas writing stiff like this) and I haven't heard any of them lay claim to being level-headed. As for alertness and sensitivity to change; well, those are the prime requirements of a good soldier, and there seems to be a plethora of those on both sides of the current fracas. Just why fans are so prone to look on the dark side, and moan over the lost opportunities of our time is hard to say. If anything is to be learned from history, it is this; history is cyclic; that is, it tends to repeat itself within broad limits. And each crest represents an advance in human development. In earliest historical times, the most advanced peoples killed all prisoners captured in war. Now we look with horror upon such practices. At a later date,