Tag: ReedPop

The New York Comic Con is an harassment free zone

The New York Comic Con 2017 starts today. ReedPOP, the event’s organizers, have a strict rule about harassment. What is comic convention harassment? This is how it’s defined on their website:

  • Stalking
  • Intimidation
  • Offensive Verbal Comments
  • Physical Assault And/Or Battery
  • Harassing Or Non-Consensual Photography Or Recording
  • Sustained Disruption Of Panels, Signings, And Other Events
  • Bathroom Policing
  • Inappropriate Physical Contact
  • Unwelcome Physical Attention
  • Hate Symbols

I have never seen harassment at a comic convention

I’ve never seen harassment at a comic book convention, in that I’ve never seen any of the above take place. Then again, I haven’t been to a comic book convention in some time. Things may have changed a lot since the last time I went to one.

Also, I’ve never been to a comic convention B. Clay Moore, Isaac Goodhart, Kelly Thompson or Taylor Esposito were appearing. They are members of a super-secret Facebook group for comic professionals and in the group, talked openly about wishing to visit violence on Richard C. Meyer, the man behind the Diversity & Comics YouTube channel.

B. Clay Moore wrote, “The last thing Meyer is going to do is get violent at a con. But I’d love to follow him around trying to goad him into throwing a punch. ”

In response, Taylor Esposito wrote, “I’d love to yell “one punch” after you level him.”

One punch? Looks like Esposito and I like the same kind of anime.

One Punch Man (Photo: Geek.com)

Time and space

The best defense against anyone wishing you harm is time and space. Put as much time and space between you and the person wanting to do you harm. The last thing you want to do is stand your ground and square off against someone.

Fighting is hard work. It takes a lot of energy to fight someone. Again, the best thing to do is put as much distance between you and your assailant. It doesn’t matter if it’s at a comic con or a Walmart parking lot.

Richard C. Meyer doesn’t have anything to worry about. He’s a six-foot former Marine who’s fought in two desert wars.

If you haven’t subscribed to the Diversity & Comics YouTube channel, you really ought to. You don’t know what you’re missing. He’s probably the least pretentious, the most down to earth person you could hope to meet. He made me interested in comics again, something I didn’t even know was possible.

Update

You should not subscribe to Diversity & Comics. Richard C. Meyer is a bigot, lazy, and dishonest. Sometime’s I’m wrong and when I recommended his YouTube channel, I was dead wrong. I was so wrong, I could not even see right if I climbed a water tower (to compensate for the earth’s curvature) with a high-powered telescope.

Emerald City Comicon sued for not paying ‘volunteers’

Jerry Brooks is initiating a class action suit against Emerald City Comicon. He alleges the convention broke Washington state employment laws. They used volunteers to do tasks normally performed by paid employees. The convention referred to these volunteers as “minions.”

Emerald City Comicon did not pay minions.
Emerald City Comicon sued for not paying 'volunteers' - Bent CornerLegally, they were not in a position where they could take advantage of an unpaid volunteer labor force. They are not a non-profit organization. If they applied for and were granted non-profit status from the IRS, they could have used volunteers as workers.

They didn’t do that.

Emerald City Comicon is now owned by ReedPop. ReedPop paid Emerald City Comicon minions at this year’s event.

I think paying volunteers for the 2106 event is troublesome for the defendants. If Emerald City Comicon paid 2016 minions for the work they performed, why didn’t they pay their earlier minion workforce? I also have to think at least some of the minions paid in 2016 were minions in past conventions doing the same duties.

Something else that may be trouble for the defendants is the plaintiff. There’s a Linkedin profile for a Jerry Brooks who listed volunteer work for Emerald City Comicon, specifically, that he supervised over 100 volunteers. If this is the same Jerry Brooks who filed the lawsuit, he may have detailed records of the work done by the minions.

In retrospect, I wonder if the creators of the con wish they called their employees something other than “minions.” I doubt that term would go over real well in a courtroom. It’s probably related to the animated movie Despicable Me, but it sounds extremely pejorative. This is especially true if you’ve never watched Despicable Me.