We should stop spending out money on con and use it to help homeless people

[nikkiolie]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NvsySC6yNwk&feature=youtu.be

e.o I'm sorry I work my butt off in this terrible economy so I can have the money I need to support myself I deserve a darn treat every once in a while. Also read the comments, they make a good point. The reporter wouldn't be asking these kind of questions to someone taking their kids to disneyland or going to the supper bowl.

[reppy]

This YouTube channel seems sort of . . propaganda-y.  I'm not sure how "legitimate" this news organization is.  Has anyone ever heard of it before?

[Bresslol]

Those are the HARD questions. I also love how she got cut off at the end. Way classy.

I know a ton of geeks who do SOMETHING charitable. I, for example, do a 24-hour video game marathon to raise money for Children's Miracle Network every year.

Kumoricon also has a charity auction every year, as do most cons. Sounds like that reporter needs to get on the research train.

[nikkiolie]

Its Russia Today or something like that.

[reppy]

This video is anti-capitalist propaganda.  SEE?  This is what capitalism does to you!  It makes you ignore the poor, starving, and homeless so you can play DRESS UP!  hur hur hur.

Slightly tongue in cheek. ^^   

[@random]

The reporter wouldn't be asking these kind of questions to someone taking their kids to disneyland or going to the supper bowl.

D@#% straight.

[Washougal_Otaku]

^ Exactly.  I'm planning on posting that on their website, maybe...

[Fuyuko]

Oi, hypocrites will be hypocrites... That reporter should have put some more thought into the broadcast before airing it.

[Saki-the-cat]

Well that was stupid. Protest the ecocomy my ass. Do they realize the thousands- no, MILLIONS of dollars that comic-con and other comic conventions have brought in? How much money people get from working at airlines, resturants, hotels, and other forms of  transportation? If that's not helping the economy and helping people keep their jobs, i don't know what is.

[veraca]

Isn't it good for the economy that conventions exist in various cities? We spend our cash in lots of places, not just parking, hotels, gas and airplanes. Grocery stores, costume places, restaurants, and so many other things. Isn't it to get the economy kicking you have to spend money?

[superjaz]

^ Also fabric stores, I used to work in one and times NOT during the holidays making the sales quota wasn't a guarantee, and if we didn't then it could cut our hours.

Wow I really don't like that.  It sounds like they assume all the people who go to comicon (I would also say geeky conventions in general) don't do anything or don't care about big issues or about helping people.

Like we are all rich and chose to just blow our money instead of helping people?

I remember years where K-con was like the ONE fun thing a year I got to do, ONE, and just about the only thing I spent money on.
I would really like to ask that lady who did her hair?  makeup?  why not do it herself and give the money away?  Is she buying her lunch instead of bringing it from home?  then according to her logic then she is just as guilty as she makes us out to be.

We do help by having the con, and the con helps us. Besides $$ bring to the area,(which they really appreciate) con does put on a pretty successful charity auction that A LOT OF WORK IS PUT INTO, also this year had a mini event to raise $$ for Japan.
Its not about going and spending wads of cash
*Altho I think we have all had this moment, who wouldn't after not spending anything for almost a year? *
http://www.penny-arcade.com/comic/2011/7/20/
But con has brought so many friendships together, when I got married 2 1/2 years ago 2 of my bridesmaids I met thru con, one of which is godmother of my soon to be born baby.  I would not have met her if it weren't for k-con.

[nikkiolie]

^ I have waited till the last day then all the stuff I want is gone T.T and the only sizes of shirts are L and up.

[Saki-the-cat]

But con has brought so many friendships together, when I got married 2 1/2 years ago 2 of my bridesmaids I met thru con, one of which is godmother of my soon to be born baby.  I would not have met her if it weren't for k-con.

^^^This. I cannot even begain to tell you how many friends i've made through going to con and other cosplay events on the con forums.

[Washougal_Otaku]

Do they realize the thousands- no, MILLIONS of dollars that comic-con and other comic conventions have brought in?

They don't care; this is too nerdy for them to care.  Heaven forbid if they do just as much, perhaps even more, than others.

[RemSaverem]

Haven't watched the vid, but here are my thoughts.
(1) People will spend $ on what makes them happy, no matter the economy.
(2) We provide forms of entertainment that build community and prevent the kind of sense of boredom and isolation that, in the extreme, render more likely folks feeling alone & depressed & turning to inappropriate forms of entertainment (or much worse).
(3) We do have the charity auction. Though personally, I would've picked a grassroots one.
(4) We obviously promote a lot of business for a lot of folks.

However
Yes, absolutely, I believe that the amount of $ that any individual puts into con could be drastically reduced, with some of that better spent on --not necessarily charity; I'd say activism (fomenting social change) or radical self-sufficiency (e.g., learning to grow your own fruits & veggies, as I have).

This is a major reason why I personally no longer commute to meetings for the most part. I would rather pay off the vet bills for my cat and keep my electricity and water on so I can water my garden, and attend meetings by Skype than drive 4.5 hrs round trip for info I could later get in the minutes & conversations I could've had online or by phone. But that's just me, and I'm an ecoanarchist in my *ninth* year staffing this particular con.

This is also why I am a big fan of closet & thrift-store cosplay. Use what you've got & what you can afford--or what you can make. Yes, I'm a fan of things such as homemade corsets; in fact, Creation Station *at OryCon* is hosting a panel, "Custom Corsets: Construction and Q & A". For those who can learn to make their own, it's a fabulous resource; also a great panel for those who are hiring others to make them for them. I love corsets; they're my favorite piece of clothing, ever. But I have become realistic about my budget. I've had to. Whatever anyone's opinion of what I do or don't pull together for "authentic-looking" cosplay, or Steampunk gear, or SCAdian garb, well, that's their opinion, and I don't have to care about it. But if I overdraw my bank account for aesthetics, in the current economy, that would be beyond ridiculous, to outright dangerous.

So *shrug* everyone should use their best discretion, and put their $ where their personal ethics are.

[Washougal_Otaku]

(4) We obviously promote a lot of business for a lot of folks.

It's only obvious to those who are able to look at things openly; that "news cast" was clearly intended to belittle the nerds of America without any real thought.

[acton]

I been doing right of center and Republican causes and this line of thinking is not new to me.  The reporter  is stroking a holy than tho attitude. I tangled with many activist who get into as hissy fit because I have the audacity to spend my money how I want to than their pet cause. In fat I dare say spending at a con is more effective  (as in supporting job, businesses and small time dealers) than  giving it to a cause where 70% or more of the donation is spent on salaries and fundraising than helping the poor. It just another side of the politics of envy.

[Washougal_Otaku]

I been doing right of center and Republican causes and this line of thinking is not new to me.  The reporter  is stroking a holy than tho attitude.

Keep in mind that it's not just the Republicans that are like that...

[@random]

I been doing right of center and Republican causes and this line of thinking is not new to me.  The reporter  is stroking a holy than tho attitude.

Keep in mind that it's not just the Republicans that are like that...

This. Anyone can be a jerkbutt, no matter what cause they subscribe to. 'Most anyone who won't change their mind and won't change the subject qualifies. (^_^)

(And IMO, the jerkbutts usually have more in common with each other than they do with the people on "their side".)

[kittykat1blabla]

Isn't it good for the economy that conventions exist in various cities? We spend our cash in lots of places, not just parking, hotels, gas and airplanes. Grocery stores, costume places, restaurants, and so many other things. Isn't it to get the economy kicking you have to spend money?

Thats true, if we didn't spend our money on those sorts of things and instead stayed at home or something we would be doing worse for the economy. Sure we don't give it to the charity or something. But for people like my age, teenagers, going to these conventions are surely giving more money to the economy then they would normally if they didn't go. And not only that, but the people setting up the convention aren't paying for all the events and space with nothing, if we didn't go to these, then there wouldn't be the con which gives all that money to the convention centers or hotels.

[Washougal_Otaku]

(And IMO, the jerkbutts usually have more in common with each other than they do with the people on "their side".)

This wins the best statement award!

As for this main topic, I think it'd be fair to say that traveling to a con does more for the economy than donating time/money to helping the homeless, as that "reporter" recommended.

[Titus_Love_Doll]

ehh o.O is it bad that me and my sister togeather spent alittle over 3,000 on costumes. and con cost. well mostly my sister i spend $10 dollars :p

[Venusgate]

Yeah, you selfish bastards that have to save up to have a couple hundred dollars. Why aren't you spending all your extra money on other people?

How dare you have a hobby that costs less than $400 a year.

[Titus_Love_Doll]

WE saved up alot from last year con to now for all our con stuff, even me I have to sell things to get new costumes  my dad payed for my ticket this year. for my birthday. and beside cosplay is an art! not a hobbie >D we are artful in our amamzing costumes

[Saki-the-cat]

WE saved up alot from last year con to now for all our con stuff, even me I have to sell things to get new costumes  my dad payed for my ticket this year. for my birthday. and beside cosplay is an art! not a hobbie >D we are artful in our amamzing costumes

Well, art IS a hobby...Even so, hobbies are great to have. They make people happy, weather it be stamp collecting, painting, hiking, sports, making costumes, cosplaying, reading books or manga, watching anime. It's all considered a hobby if you really like it and you like doing it a lot.
Really, i don't know about the rest of you guys, but when i go to a con/store/whatever and get a new button pin or keychain for my collections, i'm happy as a clam :'3

[superjaz]

So does this mean we are all going to hell?

sing that is  ah <3 bad puns

[@random]

Yeah, you selfish bastards that have to save up to have a couple hundred dollars. Why aren't you spending all your extra money on other people?

How dare you have a hobby that costs less than $400 a year.

Roffle. (^_^)

Good point. Plus, I wonder how much more the reporter makes than the average con-goer and/or their parents... and how much less she actually volunteers her time, energy, and money? The loudest and meanest self-righteousness usually seems to come from those who feel slightly guilty about their own lives. Not always, but usually.

(Not to mention that as an average, even though the well-off end of the spectrum has much more disposable income, people on the lower end of the income scale handily out-give them in this regard.)

[Washougal_Otaku]

So does this mean we are all going to hell?

sing that is  ah <3 bad puns

It took me awhile to get that...

[Lylandra76]

Ok so I just looked this up on ask.com and don't know how accurate it is but, Super Bowl tickets cost from $1700 to $6100 a ticket for a game that lasts at most what 4 or 5 hours?(I'm not a football fan). And people will pay a grand to get their families to Disney world  then there are the hotels and food and rides and their gripeing about one weekend of "geek" invasions to spend money in their towns?

Well as far as I am conserned they can just *&^% off. 

I am not hurting anyone and I earned the money so I can spend it how I want to so there! :'p And as far as giving to cherity I don't give money only time, I prefer to volonteer locally. As they say "Think globally, act locally." Also I have/am learning useful skills like sewing and thinking outside the box(some of these cosplays are very creative).

[Washougal_Otaku]

As a football fan I can say that those figures are a little off.  Did you hear about the 400 or so fans that were ousted from attending last year's Bowl?  They were originally offered $2,400 each, which was 3 times their ticket prices.  They would've been pretty decent seats, too.  (On a side note, they were given a new offer of being able to attend a future Super Bowl of their choosing; it doesn't even have to be SB46).  Though I can see some tickets going past $1,000, there's no way that a single ticket would be as much as $6,100.  That figure might've included airfare and hotels.