BOOM! has changed its San Diego party plans at the Hyatt: It’s now dubbed the “BOOM! Three-Year Anniversary Drink Up!/Gay Pride Party”:
Where: Hyatt Grand Lobby Bar
When: Thursday July 24th from 9 to ??
What : As the sage Brian Wood stated, boycotting only hurts the wait staff so given that the Hyatt Hotel owner has decided to be a homophobic bigot the BOOM! DRINK UP is now the BOOM! DRINK UP/GAY PRIDE PARTY!Everybody, come, wave your freak flag high, tip the waiters and we will be taking shots of the party and sending the pictures directly to the proprietor to let him know exactly who his customers are and how much money he looks to lose in the future.
(For those not in the know, a “Drink Up” is just like a “Meet Up” but with people drinking. This will be a gathering of friends and fans, so make plans to stop by and see what’s happening!)
Per Chip Mosher, BOOM!’s sales and marketing director, the event is being listed on Prism’s Gay Agenda for the con.
The change to heir party, of course, stems from the recent attention the San Diego Manchester Grand Hyatt has received in regards to owner Doug Manchester’s large donation to support Proposition 8, which would outlaw gay marriages in California. More details on Manchester, the properties he owns and the boycott against him can be found here.
While I admire BOOM!’s creativity and I believe their intent is good, I don’t think spending money at the Hyatt is the best way to send a message. I agree with Tom, who comments here:
I’m baffled why it should take anything more than prominent people in the comics industry declaring they’re uncomfortable with a business this year to make folks consider with seriousness and respect the courtesy of a bare-minimum effort to patronize another place until the situation shakes out. Instead, the response from many people seems to be finding ways to justify continued patronage as if this were a very, very precious thing. In fact, most of the rationalizing being done on behalf of continued patronage not only invests it with importance, it seems to presume one’s decision to hang out and drink in a certain location comes as the fulfillment of an expectation for received business that no entity on earth should get to claim or have claimed on its behalf. The end result: no one simply disagrees. Rather, there seems to be a compulsion that one agree with the spirit of the objection being made and explain why they can’t do anything about it.
Lea Hernandez, meanwhile, posts another idea from GirlAMatic.com editor Lisa Jonte, involving saving receipts from other bars and sending them to Manchester. That sends a message that isn’t quite so mixed.
July 19th, 2008 at 8:32 pm
It appears that any comments that do not agree with the leftist agenda are not allowed here. Figures. You people are so tolerant…
July 19th, 2008 at 9:06 pm
We will no longer be selling Boom! comics at our stores. They don’t sell anyway……
July 19th, 2008 at 10:35 pm
I have never been prouder of being an employee of BOOM! than I when I read the above comment.
Of course when a bunch of Fool retailer’s customers ask for our upcoming Farscape comic, causing this dude to mutter under his breath “alright, this time I’ll make an exception,” that will be another proud moment. Then those same customers will see the ads for our other comics in the back of Farscape and get interested in those…
July 20th, 2008 at 2:27 am
“Fool retailer” seems to lack the courage of his convictions, or he’d post the name of his store along with his empty threat.
Or maybe he’s just a troll. The phrase “leftist agenda” was my first clue.
My store will of course continue to stock and sell Boom! books, but with just a little added pride, secure in the knowledge that the folks at Boom! are good people. Not that I really had any doubts on that score beforehand, but it’s always nice to see it confirmed.
Btw, JK… while I agree with the general sentiment of “Don’t Drink At The Hyatt,” doesn’t it seem that maybe a pre-arranged party, especially one that goes out of its way to send a pro-gay message, might earn something of a pass? If the sheer pain in the ass of last minute changes doesn’t mitigate the circumstances, then we should all be calling for people to give up their Hyatt reservations at the last minute and stay somewhere else, no?
July 20th, 2008 at 2:40 am
“While I admire BOOM!’s creativity and I believe their intent is good, I don’t think spending money at the Hyatt is the best way to send a message.”
It’s not. A better way is to build a time machine and go back to before we sent out a bazillion press releases and web notices and save-the-dates about the drink-up only to get sandbagged by the unfortunate news about the Hyatt’s politics. That way, we could put the horse back in the barn. Unfortunately, that’s not an option. Also, my standing first priority with a time machine is to stop myself from joining CrossGen, but I’m drifting off-topic.
Chip Mosher–really, truly, the hardest-working PR guy I’ve ever seen in comics–was gobsmacked and bitterly disappointed by the Hyatt revelation, and, on the fly, he mapped what I thought was a pretty clever course between the Scylla of pretending the Hyatt was just ducky and the Charybdis of trying to uninvite on an open invitation less than a week before San Diego when, like the rest of the solar system, we have a Horrifically Gigantic Trade Show to prep for and no time to eat or sleep as it is. Turning the party into a protest with Prism’s support was, I think, an inspired notion on Chip’s part given the unfortunate no-win choice of (a) supporting a douchebag millionaire with nary a peep or (b) alienating the dozens and dozens and dozens of fans, customers and business partners who (shock of shocks) don’t read comics newspages every day and will show up, will wonder where the hell we are and conclude we’re no-show assholes.
(I suppose we could also post BOOM! staffers at all the entrances and explain all this to everyone who tries to enter, or maybe pass out fliers. That’ll go well with the one-out-of-ten who’ll hear us until security hauls our asses away.)
Chip weighed all our options carefully and made embarrassment our weapon of choice. It might end up being effective, it might not, but I do know this: when you want to create an Gigantic Atmosphere Of Shame, Chip Mosher is absolutely your man.
Look, everyone at BOOM! wants to send a message to the Hyatt that this is Not Cool. This, given the alternatives and the short timeframe ahead, was the way we chose to do it. Others’ mileage may vary. Awesome. Short of anything illegal or immoral, I salute anyone’s approach to this problem. I wouldn’t dream of judging how anyone else handles it so long as they’re voting with their conscience, and I would ask the same courtesy. We’re all waving the same flag here.
That said, next year, with more than four already-high-stress days to plan ahead and organize and get the word out in an effective manner, absolutely–I say we boycott the holy living hell out of any place connected to gay-marriage opposition.
July 20th, 2008 at 5:28 am
So in order to support gay rights BOOM! is going to give the anti-gay marriage supporter more money but promise to not do that in the future?
Wouldn’t the Jonte/Hernandez/et al plan of going SOMEWHERE else for BOOM!s con party and sending the Hyatt’s owner a copy of the tab make a better point?
I mean Manchester has SAID he has no issues with taking gay people’s money, so I don’t see what point this party will have…
July 20th, 2008 at 10:50 am
I find it highlarious that straight bloggers sight instructions for a boycott when the rest of “us” plan no such thing.
I’ve mentioned this here:
http://www.popsyndicate.com/comics/story/boom_studios_gets_its_gay_on
http://www.popsyndicate.com/comics/story/to_do_love_in_at_the_hyatt
http://amboy00.livejournal.com/237365.html
Not drinking at the Hyatt (and in part, Marriott) is not a protest. It’s boring, and boring is never gay friendly.
July 20th, 2008 at 1:18 pm
LurkerWithout:
Glad to answer your question in a polite and civil manner if you’re willing to put your name to your post like I have to mine.
If not…then shut the fuck up and let the adults talk.
XOXOXOX,
MARK WAID
July 20th, 2008 at 2:38 pm
Whats with the whole leftist agenda among the online comics community? Not everyone supports this.
July 20th, 2008 at 3:20 pm
I don’t think tolerance is so much part of any agenda as much as it is, oh I don’t know, a positive human aspect that most of us try to strive towards and make others aware of.
July 20th, 2008 at 4:03 pm
What’s leftist about a pro-gay agenda? I know plenty of right-wing conservative gay men in favour of it. Don’t tell the UK’s most prominent right wing blogger, Iain Dale, that if you’re a bit of a whoopsie, you have to vote for the trots. He just had a Conservative Party front bencher at his civil union celebration.
Indeed, since gay men are less likely to have a family unit than straight men, they’re also more likely to have more money in their pockets and more likely to vote right.
It’s only natural.
July 20th, 2008 at 6:06 pm
Chris:
Well observed; I think part of the overall chaos here is that some people want to Send A Message, others just want to Vote With Their Conscience, and with emotions running high, it’s frighteningly easy for one side to denounce the other rather than give everyone credit for putting deliberate thought and weight into a personal decision. Viva tolerance, eh?
Personally, I plan to steer myself away from the Hyatt as much as feasible not because I think my lack of business sends a message, but because all other things being equal, I’m not as comfortable giving my money to the Hyatt as I am some neighboring bar. Personal choice; I wouldn’t foist that view on anyone else nor intentionally guilt them that they didn’t follow suit and, again, I’d appreciate the same courtesy.
My real fear now is that we all end up at the Hilton, congratulatory in our moral vigilance, only to discover that the bartenders are using harpseal skulls as cocktail shakers.
Thanks for signing your name to your post, though; sorry to pop off earlier at that other guy and sully the overall discourse, but (even by internet standards) I was agog at the irony of someone hiding behind an anonymous identity while preaching to me about The Right Way To Stand Up For Your Beliefs….
July 20th, 2008 at 7:44 pm
“If not…then shut the fuck up and let the adults talk.”
Ever the class act, aren’t you Mark? Way to win hearts and minds, and all that.
July 20th, 2008 at 10:17 pm
Whoah, spend all day waiting in line for The Dark Knight, and look what happens while I’m away … sorry I missed it. (Well, not really, as it was a stellar movie).
I think it’s easiest to start with this part of Mark’s first comment: “We’re all waving the same flag here.” That’s definitely true, and we should keep that fact top of mind here. We agree on the why, Mark, just not the how.
I understand that you guys are stuck between a rock and a hard place, esp. as you’d already advertised a party at the Hyatt before all this came to light. It’s a tough situation, and if I can use more than one cliche in a paragraph, you’re trying to make lemonade here out of lemons. I appreciate you coming on here and explaining how you arrived at your decision. I just don’t personally agree with it. Again, the creativity and intent are awesome, I just don’t agree with the part where the Hyatt gets money.
And I’m ok with disagreeing on this — I’m not arguing that people should stop buying BOOM! books or stop supporting you guys or anything knee jerk like that. I still plan to come by the booth to hang out with Chip and Ian, and meet folks like Matt and Dan and you. And I’ll be at your panel on Friday. As you said, “Your mileage may vary,” and mine does … but that doesn’t mean I’m going to try and run you down with my car. We can agree to disagree, and be civil about it.
EDIT: I did not see that Mark had apologized for his comment to LurkerWithout, so I’ve edited out part of my comment. My apologies to Mark.
July 20th, 2008 at 11:09 pm
No one agrees with the part where the Hyatt gets the money. I kinda thought I’d made that clear that no one likes that part. But that’s the best we can do at this late date. And while I appreciate the concept of a boycott and am with you in spirit, I think the odds are almost invisibly small that, with four days’ notice, anyone alive can get 125,000 comics fans to agree to a concrete boycott when, after forty years, we still can’t get any two of them to agree on when the Silver Age ended. But I will in no way mock, belittle or question anyone who wants to go the boycott route; as I said, I’m not going to judge anyone who votes with his conscience.
I appreciate the civility (well, except for the attempt at an upbraid). I’ve said my piece and don’t know what more I can add (other than I’ve no regret for not being civil to some anonymous guy who wants to lecture me on How To Stand Up).
See you next week.
July 21st, 2008 at 12:01 am
1. I think the vast majority of the people pointing out the original story have tried to be as sympathetic as possible concerning those companies and individuals whose previous plans leave them in a bit of a lurch.
2. As far as the issue generally, sometimes it’s not about advancing the leftist agenda as much as it’s about a few people declining to patronize a business that has made some of their industry friends uncomfortable simply because of who they are.
3. Not this time, though. This time it’s all about advancing the leftist agenda.
4. I mean, come on: like I have industry friends.
5. I promise to buy five copies of a Boom! comic every time Mark Waid comes on-line and pummels some guy on a comments thread. That was awesome.
July 21st, 2008 at 1:58 am
@ Mark:
“My real fear now is that we all end up at the Hilton, congratulatory in our moral vigilance, only to discover that the bartenders are using harpseal skulls as cocktail shakers.”
You didn’t know about that?
Oh…awkward.
July 21st, 2008 at 7:22 pm
yo spurgeon, i’ll see your five copies and raise you–a little brave and the bold might just be in order. Keep it up Waid. I’ll buy your summer home with Boom money.