Pm I Got Today
Not sure if this is serious, or a prank, but I thought I would share a PM I got today from a "BIONICLEFan606":
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Hello,
I made an account on Bzpower specifically just to be able to contact you, Mr. Farshety.
I dont know anything about Bionicle, but I got your name from one of my brother's Bionicle books, and decided that you were the best person to come to.
My little brother, 15, is a really big fan of Lego Bricks, specifically Bionicle. He goes to Central High and plans to attend their College too.
The other day, my brother came home with a broken collar bone and scarred face from some school bullies all because of this stupid toy he like.
That's not all of it.
I am sick of going into his room, and see it covered and decorated with pictures of bionicles and displayments of his 'masks'.
He is becoming a reclusive to our family and is constantly on this website socializing with others about these toys that ruin lives.
I blame all of this entirely on you.
Please go home and think about how there is one teenage boy who you made into a freakin zombie and sucked into your little world.
I am leaving this message anonymous mostly because I will never be on this account again. My brothers name will also be kept entirely secret on this site.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
If it is serious, it raises some interesting questions in my mind --
1) Lots of anger at me, and at LEGO by extension, but no mention of any for the people who beat up his/her brother -- ignorant, intolerant people who would hurt someone for having an interest different from theirs. The evil here is people who want others to think like they do and act like they do -- they are the ones trying to create zombies incapable of independent thought.
2) If the account was created specifically to tell me about this, why was it created 12 days ago, and includes posts in the BIONICLE-based creations forums? And why keep it anonymous when you could simply cancel the account, and thus never hear from me?
3) If true, this is a tragic story. Even if not true, there may well be similar (if not as extreme) situations liek this out there, so it is worth discussing anyway. But I am not sure what BIONICLE is guilty of here other than being entertaining. No one is forced to adopt it as a hobby -- it is certainly not omnipresent in our culture or something a 15 year old is going to feel he has to be involved in against his will. It sounds like this person found an interest they were genuinely enthusiastic about ... so we are to blame for making BIONICLE worthy of interest.
BIONICLE is not a cult -- it's a toy line for 7-9 year olds, supported by a comic, a web site, and some books. There is no TV series popping up on your screen, no MMRPG everyone is talking about, or anything else forcing its way into your life. If BIONICLE is part of your life, it is because you actively chose it to be. And, unfortunately, standing up for things you care about can be painful. I know a lot of BZPers can testify to that.
If this young man was spending too much time on BIONICLE -- obsessing over it -- then that is something for the family to deal with. If we are going to blame/shut down everything that has the potential to absorb someone that much, we will not have much left in our culture.
Any thoughts?
Greg
105 Comments
Recommended Comments