#c5c

Which wheel to get. Hmmm

Panasport G7 C5C2?

or maybe Panasport G7 C5C? 

There have been a lot of rumblings lately complaining about the C5C. (If you don't know what the C5C is, then obviously this isn't directed at you, since you haven't been complaining.) Mostly, it's been complaints about what people apparently perceive as elitism and special treatment.

Before I go any further, let's get a few things out of the way: First, I am a member of the C5C. Second, I'm a fairly new member, having joined the group in October of last year. Third, I don't claim to speak for the entire group, or for anyone in it besides myself. Good? Good. Moving on:

We're not excluding you. Except we are.

Let's get straight what the C5C really is. We're a group of friends who... actually, I can stop there, because, for all practical purposes, that's what it is. Yes, we're all hardcore Halestorm fans on a level that's hard for most people to explain or understand. But that's not what it's really about -- it's really just a group of friends.

Yes, most of us met each other because we all congregated in the dark corners of the internet where psychotic Halestorm fans tend to be. Yes, we all talk about the band a lot. But ultimately, it's not really about the band. Just being really into Halestorm's music does not make you a C5. Being a C5 makes you a C5. And if you're not... well, you're not. Or maybe, you're not yet.

When you see us talking on Twitter about a C5C phone call or something, and then we don't invite non-C5s, it's not something sinister. We're not trying to make anyone feel bad, or to send some kind of a message by lording it over all the non-C5s out there. It's also not some super-exclusive VIP room where all sorts of wonderful things happen that non-members can only dream of. It's a bunch of friends talking on the phone.

We don't get special treatment. Except we do.

I don't know what the big deal is, but there seems to be some kind of assumption that the C5C gets special treatment from Halestorm. We don't, unless you count them hanging out and talking outside the venue after a show or posing for a few extra pictures as "special treatment." Every once in a while, an individual member will get some kind of perk, but -- and I want to make this absolutely clear -- it's not because they're a C5. It's because Halestorm is made up of great people who really care about their fans, and the truly hardcore fans like the ones that make up the C5C (as well as many others who are just as hardcore but not a part of the group) get noticed and recognized. If a C5 gets special treatment, it's because that individual is special, not because of some status or rank that comes with membership in a secret club. We're not the Stonecutters or anything. We're just fans that the band knows and recognizes. There are plenty of other fans out there that get the same treatment without being C5s.

Oh, and not to harp on the phone calls too much, but it's not like we all have Halestorm's personal cell phone numbers or anything. There's been exactly one C5C phone call I'm aware of that involved the band -- and that was a special occasion, which just goes to show that Halestorm are great people. All the other calls? Just us fans.

We don't think we're better than you. Except we do.

All that having been said, being a C5 is a big deal to me. No, I don't think it makes me superior to you. But you know what? I'm damn proud to be a part of this group. And I'm pretty vocal about being proud to be a part of this group. If you're having trouble understanding that, try this:

I used to be a member of the United States Navy. During that time, I earned a number of awards, including, just as an example, this one: The Navy and Marine Corps Achievement Medal, or NAM, awarded for "meritorious service or achievement in either combat or noncombat based on sustained performance or specific achievement of a superlative nature."

My time in the Navy is something I'm quite proud of, and this award in particular is a big deal to me. And it should be, because it represents not just my achievements, but the recognition of those achievements by my colleagues and commanders. In other words, it's not just about me and what I did, it's about the other people who worked with me and the fact that I earned their respect.

I didn't have to earn it. You can buy this medal on any Navy or Marine Corps base for around eight dollars, or the accompanying ribbon for day-to-day wear for less than one dollar. I could have done that and pinned it on my uniform and nobody would have batted an eye. Lots of people have these; some have a half-dozen or more. But that wouldn't have meant I'd earned it.

You could buy one too. Today. Right now. There are dozens of websites that sell medals and ribbons for military members, and they're not all as thorough about making sure their customers are really authorized to wear them as they should be. And if you go around wearing it, telling everybody you earned it when you clearly didn't, you're insulting me and every other person out there who actually did perform "meritorious service or achievement" for the United States Armed Forces.