Spontaneous Musings

1. I may or may not live to regret this - but I decided to train to become a small group facilitator for my church - to facilitate difficult conversations about Gaza. They've hired an expert in this, a transman, to train facilitators and host the discussions. I listened to the transman's sermons? He's good.

So, as it turns out? I was right - a fight broke out in the church over the Gaza issue. Hardly surprising fights have broken out across social media on this issue, and there's been protests, some rather violent across the college campuses. (When will people realize that fighting over it - gets you nowhere? Shutting people down doesn't solve the problem - you can't divorce or kill or erase or demonize people just because they don't see the world the same way. Social media unfortunately has sent folks the wrong message in that regard.)

I got into a fight with someone on social media about it. Without going into gory detail, it ended badly. They all do. It was a difficult conversation - and I'm thinking I could have handled it better? On the other hand, I've come to the conclusion after over 20 years on various and sundry social media platforms - that social media logarithm is not designed for discussion or debate, but for promotion, advertising, marketing, and propaganda. It wants whatever we say to go viral and get lots of hits - and that's a marketing logarithm not a discussion logarithm and it's untenable for social justice work or any meaningful discussion.

No, the real work should be face to face. Listening to people. Not throwing ideas at them. Perhaps this training will help? Perhaps it will give me a new avenue to help?



2. I was also right about the new X-men editor, Brevort entering into a fight he can't win.

Zack J - X-men Fan

"Tom, not to be rude but that's just simply not true.

Jean was married to Scott (Hickman & Duggan's X-Men) and at minimum in a sexual relationship with Wolverine (X-Force, X Lives of Wolverine). Additionally Scott was romantically entangled with Emma (Cable, Duggan's X-Men) at the same time.

I get that the line moved away from this and focused on more "normal" pairings and relationships but I would hope you would trust your audience to understand what is happening on that page."

Tom B - Newly minted X-men Editor

If anything wound up X-Fandom last week, Zack, it was my comments about this situation. And I had a couple people come back and show me assorted pages and moments from the X-Books to support their position that such a “thruple” relationship was in force between Cyclops, Jean Grey and Wolverine. And you’re entitled to read anything the way you want to, of course. But speaking of just the letter of what is on the page, rather than the spirit, I’m still unconvinced that there’s enough evidence to support this position within the stories themselves. And most of those examples came from very early in the Krakoa era, and haven’t been reflected in more recent times, not that I was shown, anyway. So I’m not saying that it didn’t happen—everybody gets to have their own head canon about whatever they like. But I do still hold to my original thesis, which is that while Jonathan may have cheekily made a reference or two to such a situation in interviews, there isn’t a whole lot to support it as a thing within the stories themselves. Your mileage may vary.

Hee Hee. I kind of figured that out already. I ship with the story grain, a lot of folks ship against and are always disappointed.

Also loved this, and kind of wish the Buffy writers and various soap writers had the guts to say the same thing:

Han

Tom, fans don't want the marriage of Scott and Jean. The vast majority of fans want her away of Scott. I hate the way that Scott was out of character in krakoa sharin his wife with his rival. And the way that she was with Scot and Logan and the same time. this writing is embarrassing for any woman.

Tom

I tell you, Han, I’m always skeptical when anybody tells me that the “vast majority of fans” wants. Because I don’t know that anybody is in a better vantage point to be able to determine that than we are. I will absolutely concede that some fans feel as you say, and they may be all of the fans in your immediate circle, certainly. But that isn’t all fans, not even close. So I appreciate your point of view, but I’m still going to have my guys tell the stories that they want to tell."

I love that quote. So true. I really wish television writers could say this.

I really like the new editor in chief of the X-men.

And I continue to be entertained by the editor dealing with fans...after declaring there was no romantic relationship between Wolverine and Jean on the page. (There was, however, he is correct that it was kind of a blink and you missed it moment. Various writers flirted with it, as did various artists, but it never quite took - because it did not work.


yoyo

I have a 4 part question

Firstly are all the intimate scenes of jean and logan in x-force #10 and more recently in wolverine #48 not considered canon now , meaning scott and jean were always a monogamous married couple and jean was never with logan or even dating him?

Secondly if they are retconned does this means all the jean/logan scenes in x-force are not reality but maybe sometype of illusion on logan while on krakoa to make him stay on the island longer?

Thirdly when jean said "I love you" to both scott and logan do they have different meaning one is romantic and the second just as a friend?

Fourth based on your comic book knowledge now that storm is an avenger who is better at lightning storm or thor?"

Tom

You guys are really hung up on this, eh, Yoyo? [ You've no idea, dear god - welcome to fandom.] Lots of questions about it this week. But I don’t know why you’d think that anything is being made non-canonical. If anything, I think what I was saying is that there’s precious little that’s there on the page and canonical in the first place. But any of this will be addressed in the pages of the stories—my answers here are no more canonical than Jonathan’s in his interviews or whatever. To your last question, what does “better at lightning “ even entail?"