I don't tend to dive in to defend folks over there, because doing so tends to perpetuate the topic of 'X from my flist is an arse', and I worry that any positive comment will backfire since there will inevitably be those presuming it's the insulted party anon-defending themselves, perpetuating the topic even more. I didn't dive in to defend myself when I was being reamed for what I still consider a perfectly reasonable sequence of events, because there's just no point.

I do think there are positives about that place: it's not all bitching, and it's made me smile on multiple occasions over the last few months. But ye gods, it's demonstrated a side to fandom (and humanity in general) of late which is plain ugly. I lost sleep over this shit last night, and I'm a reasonably sane and competent human being with a career and a life and all that shiny stuff. I'm actively angry about how several friends of mine have been treated, and I hate feeling hamstrung about expressing that, for fear that I'll just make it worse, or (cowardice alert!) invite even more crap upon my own head.

In other words: I sympathise, I'm sorry you feel undefended, you aren't the only person feeling like this, and I hope it's a temporary fandom-on-hiatus-thus-bored-and-bitchy thing that sort of fades away when there's new canon to pick at instead of actual real live human beings. (And as a side-note to that, I think people tend to be comfy slinging casual mud at you, because your fandom persona is that of a cheery teflon type who will shrug it off. I think a lot of people are assuming that about each other. I don't think anyone alive could be that fucking teflon.)

It's not you being crap. Now go about your daily awesome, please.