--- In cerebus@yahoogroups.com, Rick Sharer <rlsharer@...> wrote:
>
I don't think he
> > is,
> > > I believe he's a Sexist (like me). :)
> > >
> >
> > - Hmm.. how'd that bullet feel as it entered your
> > foot?
> >
> > - More later...
>
> It felt great, thanks. You know, I knew when I typed
> that, that some people would misunderstand
> intentionally!
>
> TTM
>

No no, you misunderstand. Not your fault. Anyway...

This all started on April 24th. Dave sent me a multi page fax of an
argument he was having with Chet. Chet was trying to explain to Dave
that he shouldn't be surprised that people refer to him as a
misogynist since Dave's attitudes can easily fit him into the mold of
wht is currently considered to be an accepted definition of
misogynist. Dave cries foul. He doesn't hate women, and he shouldn't
be associated with what is considered the lowest form of human life.
Standards are standards. He is not a misogynist. And, would I go on
record stating Dave Sim is not a misogynist?

Absolutely, I said. I agree with you that Chet's argument is faulty.
While, yes, languages do evolve - words don't suddenly lose their
meanings. What Chet is describing is sexist, not misogynist.
Misogynist is a fairly specific term and if it and sexist meant the
same thing, there would be no need of the word. And, I do think you
that you fall into that category. I've had this argument on the
internet many times.

So, Dave faxes back that no - he is not a sexist, because in today's
world sexist is assumed to mean the same thing as misogynist
(hopefully you all notice the contradiction there, but I digress).
Furthermore, if I think he's a sexist then we're done.

He also faxes the form letter which indeed is meant to "weed out"
certain people. He's sending one out to everybody in his pile of six-
month back-logged fanmail, and responds to every fax with it
(including his invitation to be on the judges panel for the Doug
Wright Awards, fellow comic creators, people long thought to be
friends, EVERYBODY). He came to the realization that he spends a
foolish amount of time everyday communicating with people who think
he's the lowest form of life - and really, why should he?

We get into it. Very similar to some of the arguments here. Why do
you care about other people's opinions so much? I obviously support
you - probably more than just about anyone else. I don't think sexism
makes you bad guy at all, you just have a differently informed social
opinion than I. I think all such social "movements" - be it feminism,
maculism, whatever - are sexist because they promote or favor the
interests of one gender over another. I certainly don't think
Margaret is the lowest form of life because she's a feminist.

No good. I'm not allowed to sign the "I don't believe Dave Sim is a
misogynist" form even though I very clearly do not think Dave Sim is
a misogynist. Also, as proscribed by Dave Sim's letter, I will no
longer have any contact with him. This was not my wish, but Dave's.
After this next 3 weeks of posting glamourpuss #2 previews and the
selling off of the rest of the tracing paper illustration on eBay,
I'm no longer doing any work for him. Dave told me to hand off
whatever I can, and whatever I can't will be left to atrophy. I'm
still trying to figure that out (web space, passwords, work files,
paypal, etc).

We went on and on through 12 multi-page faxes (which, if you really
want to torture yourself, I'll email 'em to you - so Margaret doesn't
have to be the only one with bruises from banging her head against a
wall) as he bobbed and weaved through all sorts of subject matter
(University gender percentages, Speciesism, maternalism, violence,
etc, etc, etc) which really had nothing to do with the real
question...

... Why would you completely sever ties with someone who has had well
documented, deep divides in opinion with you - but has always handled
them in a civil, friendly manner?

In the end, I told him that if he was going to hold me to a different
standard than everyone else when putting this petition online then
the only way to make it fair would be to make it clear to people - in
context with Dave Sim's own words and beliefs - just what it is
they're signing. So, I reworded it into just two sentences, using
words affirmed by Dave throughout our conversation:

"We, the undersigned, do hereby declare that we do not believe Dave
Sim is a misogynist. Furthermore, he is in no way a bigot, sexist or
masculist but an anti-feminist - because feminism lowers societal and
academic standards, and contradicts the self-evident, overall
superiority of the male gender."

Mind you - he did not say this was incorrect. All he said was "It's
two sentences now, but that's only having passed through your hands.
Each Liberal you hand it to is going to want to add his or her own
qualifications..."

So, I made my case as best I could -- to no avail. So, I gave in to
his "decree of banishment" stating:

"I refuse to take part in such a foolish endeavor. I handed it off to
Margaret. This isn't about anti-feminism. It's about using
McCarthiest tactics to stroke your own ego and sense of martyrdom. As
I said before, I hold no ill will against you – but I am
disappointed."

"I wish you the best with all your future projects."

And I mean it. Odd as it may sound, I'm not angry with him. Ray used
to warn me about such things, and I told him long long ago that I
expected that Dave and I would have a major falling out at some
point. Sure, I thought it would be over religion -- and maybe in a
way it is;) But I'll still remember what an amazing experience it was
to help out someone whose work I so greatly admire. I'm a fanboy, I
admit it! It was fantastic while it lasted!

I do think this was spurred on by sales figures to some degree. While
Dave requested I didn't publish actual numbers, the sales for
glamourpuss #1 were on par with Echo #1, but lower than Rasl #1. Low
numbers, but in today's market - not that bad, really. Judenhass on
the other hand came in 30% lower than *that.* So Dave is taking a
step back, producing comics as a "hobbyist" and assuming that
anything he does will fail. If sales of #2 are half of number one,
and #3 half of that (if Dave's formula is correct) that will probably
be that. After which, he's content to stay at home and read books.

But hey, I'm not going anywhere (I would have made my "return"
sooner - but I got distracted by this, quite a few off list emails,
my best friend's brother dying, a weekend in VT, the NYCC, work,
illness, etc, etc, etc). I'll still be competing for those ebay
Cerebus & Dave Sim rarities, and I'm still in contact with Gerhard
(who I've always had a more "friendly" relationship with).

It's sort of a blessing, really. Jazz Bastards enter the studio to
begin work on their third CD next Friday. It's going to be a double-
disc effort, so I need all the "free time" I can get!

That's all for now. I've made a long story... not quite as long:)

-Jeff