A
couple years back, I responded to the then-recent allegations of Nathan Edmondson harassing women at conventions by saying that my platform here is open to anyone who would like to, anonymously or not, get word out about any harassment issues in comics they've had to deal with. I've never had anyone take me up on that offer, but in light of recent revelations, I'll put it out there again. As I wrote then...
To anyone out there reading this, I would like to offer my platform here as an outlet for speaking up against harassment in the comic industry. If you're concerned that using your own account to document your issues will result in harming your career, I can relay your story here anonymously. I don't work in the industry, nor do I have aspirations to, so I'm not concerned with what career bridges I might burn. As I stated earlier, I'm not even a journalist, so I don't feel the need to worry about keeping good relations with publishers so I can maintain some level of access to their news. My concern is equity. I want everyone to have the same opportunities based on their talents and skills, and I don't want anyone to feel slighted, much less threatened, because of of their gender/sexuality/race/disability.
This isn't a gossip site -- I don't think I could run one if I wanted to -- but I do want to call people out who treat others disrespectfully. Just because a creator is talented and/or popular gives them absolutely zero right to treat others in a degrading or demeaning manner. So if a creator harasses you (sexually or otherwise) and you're not comfortable having your name attached to complaints, feel free to contact me at sean@seankleefeld.com and I will do what I can to help get your story out there with whatever level of anonymity you desire.
If there are creators out there who are getting away with unacceptable behavior, they should be called out for it. I like to think I've displayed independence and integrity with my blog over the past several years, and I offer that along with this platform for anyone in comics who needs it.
The offer still stands. And it will continue to stand as long as I have a platform to leverage.
0 comments:
Post a Comment