Toss me inside a Hefty

“But without me you’re only you”

In celebration of Mike Patton’s 49th birthday I thought it would be a great time to discuss some ways we can all continue to contribute to the Mike Patton Tumblr fan Community :)

I have seen a lot of people over the course of my time here in this tumblr Patton community come and go in some very strange ways and it’s heartbreaking.

Let’s revamp this tumblr Patton fan community and make it something to be proud of.

Some fans might feel like they don’t know how to contribute to the “fandom”, or like their voice doesn’t matter, or that what they do contribute isn’t enjoyed by others.

Every single one of you is important to the tumblr Patton fan community, no matter how you contribute, big or small. No matter how many followers you have, no matter how many of Patton’s concerts or videos you’ve seen, whether you’ve met him or not, no matter how long or short you’ve been here, you MATTER.

Still, I know that some of you want to do more. So I thought I’d make a list of ways you can contribute to the Patton fan community on tumblr.

Be Positive!!! This is an important one. I’m sure everyone encourages positive content over negative. Not that you can’t make a post about something you think needs to be said or if anyone in the Patton bands stratosphere ever does something bad you can’t call them out on it. Btw talk about titi is strictly off limits out of respect.

Instead of putting complaining, harassing, or bullying in the tag, try to make it positive and good fun for everyone :D

Make Fanart! This is an obvious one, and it’s something not everyone can do. But I want to encourage you that if you like making art, even if you think you’re not as good as someone else or that no one will like it, post it anyways. :D There is no judgement of skill here, only encouragement. So don’t be afraid to post your art!!

Make GiIFs/Edits!!! This is something almost ANYONE can do!!! Not saying that gif makers or people who make edits aren’t talented or that they aren’t hard to do, but it’s something anyone can learn with photoshop or instagiffer or whatever else is out there. If you put some time and energy in, you could make gifs/edits too!!!! Just another way to contribute. :)

Make up fan fiction about Patton

Make a Text Post about Patton! Just silly things you think of while listening to him or watching one of his videos or something he said, or even a longer, more in depth post like this one. It’s just putting your thoughts out into the tag, and it can be whatever you want!!! Even if it’s just “I liked ___” or “___ was funny”. It doesn’t have to be elaborate or super well thought out or anything, just say what you want to tell the community!!!!

Encourage Someone! Go into someone’s askbox in the Patton community and tell them that you enjoy their blog content. Tell them that you’re glad they’re here.

Compliment them, encourage them, make new online friends! This is really something anyone can do, and you might just make someone’s day.. Or if you don’t want to go into someones askbox, make a general encouraging post to share in the tag!!

Everyone can use some more positivity in their lives. :D

Reblogging!!! People forget about this one all the time. You’re not only contributing when you make something, but you’re contributing when you encourage others too. When you share something someone else made. Even a simple reblog could MAKE someone’s day!

There are so many people out there in the tumblr Patton community, and so much content being made. Don’t underestimate reblogging, because it still means you belong and it still means you have contributed to the Patton fan community.

Remember how me and like three other people used to do fanart and photo edits and shit like that on a regular basis? Yeah, I cut that shit out when people started spending too much time speculating about whether or not Patton had an eating disorder. It felt creepy when it was popping up alongside photos taken from his family’s flickr that weren’t meant to be shared.

Yeah, the FNM fandom has changed a lot in the last couple of years, largely because it started as the FNM fandom and then took a sharp right into being the all Patton all the Time Fandom, had a brief stop as the Ship SS Patton/Dunn, and landed solidly in “Trevor Dunn is a child rapist and you have to believe me because I have inside sources and if you don’t believe me, a rando on the internet saying that, you’re a child rape apologist.”

Kind of hard to hang with the fandom and be positive when I, a CSA survivor, am getting hit with accusations of being a CSA apologist for questioning the child rape claims made by 2 people who showed up and gutted the tumblr fandom based on a couple of blurry photos of Trevor Dunn and a “take my word, there were paternity tests, but I can’t tell more to protect Ipecac insiders.”

Aww, man, yeah, it’s so sad people don’t participate in this fandom anymore. It’s not like people were sharing links to hardcore pornography with children when the Macumba thing went down. It’s not like one person deleted their tumblr because they were getting threats from someone in the fandom. It’s not like another person had their identity copied and then the identity thief used their name and image to threaten Mike’s wife. It’s not like people were shitting on a new fan who got to meet the band because “she hadn’t earned it.” It’s not like the fandom was getting completely toxic and driving people away over whether or not it was OK to ship real people. It’s not like people spent hundreds of words arguing about whether or not Patton used a dildo or if it was his real dick in the Tomahawk show photos.

There are people in this fandom who are fucking great; legitimately cool people who do a lot of rad shit like gif editing and sharing interviews and FB posts about new projects (and I don’t want to tag b/c this is obvs a callout post and I don’t want them dragged into it but whothehellisthervpig’s Kerrang scans are the coolest thing I see coming out of this fandom) and who I am happy to continue interacting with.

But then there are the people who turned the fandom toxic by making it all about them, and their proximity to band members or the secrets they know about record labels or the archive of Patton family photos they found and happily shared, adding comments about how Mike looked with his niece and calling him daddy.

I love FNM, I love Bungle, I love most of Patton’s projects - I also love Chuck Mosley, Imperial Teen, and Koolarrow’s entire output. I’m really excited about those artists and the music they make and I’m always happy to see them doing something they love and proud that they are progressing and expanding. I’m proud that these artists I love have inspired me to create art of my own unrelated to the band. But this? This petty infighting fandom shit? The “I fucked a member of the band” or “my boyfriend’s ex fucked a member of the band” or “read my fanfic about members of the band who are real people with real lives and relationships fucking each other in a way that I find appealing instead of considering that” or “I’ve got sekret contacts with the tour manager so you’ve totally gotta believe me with no proof of anything, trust me I’m special and know more than you” - that’s not shit to be proud of.

And that’s why I’m mostly out of this fandom. Hey what’s up to those folks I still see and communicate with, high fives.