Dave Dorman DragonCon Boycott: An Update

Dear Friends,

Sometimes my gut checks are on target. Sadly, this is one of those situations. I wish it wasn’t, but I will continue to boycott DragonCon until this situation gets resolved. Yes, I know it’s a good show and a growing show. Yes, I know a lot of great people are organizing it these days. However, my hunch was right — alleged child molester Ed Kramer still receives 34% of the shares of DragonCon’s profit-–and I refuse to contribute to perpetuating that mentally disturbed and depraved individual’s alleged pedophilia in any way. I have zero tolerance for this activity. Nothing makes me more sick than even the idea of hurting children. Hurting anyone who is vulnerable and unable to defend themselves makes me sick to my stomach. I can’t support that in any way, especially while representing (in my own small way) an industry targeted to children. Watching the Penn State news unfold over the past couple of weeks also is making me sick. Mind you, it’s not that I’m so cold-hearted as to not realize that in most cases, the perpetrators were also abused as kids, but I have to hope that this activity will one day stop altogether. I just cannot stand it. Had I witnessed any situation like this, I would have sincerely been able to claim temporary insanity for killing the perpetrator with my bare hands.

Parents–and vulnerable single parents in particular–watch your kids and watch them closely. Be suspicious of anyone who takes a “special interest” in your child and tries to get your child alone. Relatives included. I’ll never forget a dear friend in Florida who was, at the time a single mom with a son who was absolutely precious to Denise and me. Her son’s soccer coach, a married man with 3 kids, kept trying to convince her to let him coach her son privately. She felt something was off, and shortly thereafter he was in the papers for molesting kids. Be vigilant. Don’t trust anyone unless you have very good reason to trust them. Remember, in every situation attracting large groups of kids, there’s someone out there who wants to get at them and will use every ploy to resonate with them – sports, comics, animals, videogaming, movies, camping, etc. In my mind’s eye, they’re all Pennywise the Clown.

A dear friend who prefers to remain anonymous just sent me this update:

Dave: Thought you might find this article of interest, as it mentions the exact % of shares Ed Kramer still owns in DragonCon. He is not a minority share owner, as he has the same percentage as Pat Henry, the current chairman and co-founder. Your decision to boycott Dragoncon continues to be sound.

http://www.facebook.com/l/MAQGmRPEcAQE4gn-FpdYk5JfH4KQ_orAxQpcSadjhRCK2bQ/www.ajc.com/news/atlanta/dragoncon-faces-appeal-1233100.html

And here’s an excerpt from the linked article above in the AJC / Atlanta Journal Constitution, a well respected newspaper:

DragonCon organizers have recently tried to distance the popular science fiction and fantasy convention from its ignominious co-founder, Edward Kramer, saying in a public statement that he has not had any involvement in planning or activities since his 2000 indictment on multiple child molestation charges.

Kramer did resign from the Atlanta convention in 2000, but he still holds 34 percent of the company’s stock. DragonCon president Pat Henry owns an equal amount, and the remaining third is divvied up between several other individuals, according to court records.

I hope for those of you who vehemently disagree with my stance, you will have more understanding as to why I am taking this position on the matter.

As always, thank you for reading,

Dave.