This forum is a welcome respite

[BiffPow]

I follow current events closely, digging for the truth. While I believe that people are mostly good, there’s increasing proof that the world is becoming stranger, more bizarre and even horrific.

This site provides a genuine respite from the hate and bizarro world insanity.

Thankful for the creativity and happy unity of the members here.

[Yellow Oval]

I know what you mean. 1966 seems like a couple thousand years ago on another planet altogether even though Scott and Ben, almost like archeologists, show us otherwise as with their visits to location sites which prove that world did exist at one time.

[BiffPow]

Indeed. You would think that civilization would improve, at least become more “civil.” With all of the problems that existed in 1966 and with the technological advances and the advantages and comforts we now have, I would take civilization in 1966 over what it has become in 2023.

[rsaffle]

No reason to bring ugly stuff up here. We are force-fed that everywhere else. Plenty of places to debate life and point fingers around.

I have a great life, but sometimes things happen and I have my good days and some not so good, but this forum and its membership always welcome me, encourage me and I thank you all. I make the time to drop in almost everyday.

[Scott Sebring]

I'm glad that this place can be a bit of a feel good haven. That's been the goal. Having said that, let's drop this particular subject of the outside world, politics, then vs now as it almost always escalates to bent noses and squashed toes between others. Thus, the no hot topics, politics rules for the board. Don't get me wrong, I understand the sentiment this thread was started with. I'm just playing the traffic cop to remind everybody to watch the speed limit and mind the pedestrians.

Now here are some personal experiences, thoughts and observations yet not any kind of proclamation for all. I've been writing material for an upcoming album I hope to complete in time for my 60th birthday that talks about some of my earliest days growing up as a kid in the South. To get those thoughts together, I've been jotting things down in a journal about memories as a kid and then making notes of what was actually going on around me in the rest of the world that I didn't have to experience first hand, deal with and go through. As a kid, I had the blissful ignorance of youth. Out of four brothers, I was the first to attend a desegregated school and thought nothing of it, whereas my brothers were all very racists (some still are). A very early memory was when we were driving home at night and I saw what looked like ghosts with candles in the field. I asked my dad if those were ghosts. He told me that it was just some people playing Halloween and to sit back down (no kids seats in those days). Many years later I mentioned it to my dad as it seemed like dream to me by then. He then told me that it was the KKK involved in a lynching and he had tried to drive as fast as he could down the road. Most of the daily horrors seemed to happen some place else far away to other people that we didn't know on the six o'clock news or in the newspaper. I just read the funnies and watched cartoons and shows like Batman. Bliss. Btw, I never did fit in with my Southern town and much of the mindset and people there assumed I wasn't from around there. Born and raised. So, bullying, shaming, isolation and so forth was part of the growing up process. I don't miss that world other than the blissful moments.

Fast forward to now. We are (or can be if we so wish) more connected to thousands of people and information on a minute by minute basis and most of us are not evolved, trained, adapted or experienced enough to adapt to dealing with that much saturation. It can easily be overload. It can easily be like eating too much stuff that isn't good for you. Just because there's and all you can eat buffet doesn't mean you are forced to eat all or any of it. Before the big social platforms and rather with places like this forum, when I originally joined almost 20 years ago now, it was a very dysfunctional and not a nice place but there were some friendly enough folks in the mix. There was a pecking order, flame wars out the wazoo in the merchandise section and severe bullying from groups that wanted to control things and proclaiming things with "well, the REAL fans" and would gang up on any post that countered their group. After about a year, I was made a moderator along with Lee Kirkham, and I tried to do my best as a newly deputized agent of the law. After having to ban a very bullying and volatile member back then, it literally started an ongoing personal goal for him to proclaim a feud towards me with him threatening me and hassling me in my personal life and workplace for years to come. But then the old forum crashed and burned on its original server and I relaunched it on this site and tried to gather all the members we could rally to join again. Over the span of that first year, I put together the rules that still stand on this forum to try and keep it a happy Bat-place to share our fandom. Friendships had been forged, the bullies didn't have fun anymore and went away. Pre Myspace, Facebook, Instagram and so on, this place was most people's social network and the rules kept us in check. Meanwhile, the outside world of this forum evolved faster than much of humankind was prepared for.

I completely believe in freedom of speech, belief and expression but I also believe in good manners, consideration and understanding. The rules we have here shouldn't apply to those others places but personal conduct should. This is a clubhouse of fans and is very strict with its club rules. More strict than almost any other forum out there. What I have had to learn in dealing with places like FB for the past 14 years is to finally learn to limit my time checking it out (no more than 5 minutes), not engage in arguments that won't change a thing. SHUT OFF the feed of either relatives, acquaintances or channels that rub me wrong. I don't HAVE to see or read it all or any of it. I mostly stay out of the 50 or so "Official" 66 Batman groups because the rules are not in place and it gets painful to read with so much misinformation, negativity, flaming and so on. I get pulled in by being tagged as an expert from time to time or its a picture of me with the Lost in Space Robot at SDCC and being discussed as the real deal from the 60s for the 100th time. After much learning and self discipline, I now have a rather happy experience with the relationships and encounters I have on the social platforms that I participate in. But I do see hyper sensitivity in folks from the "information overload". A 24/7 window to the horrors and injustices didn't exist in my childhood but they were happening out there in their own shape and form back then with many suffering in silence. I'll spend most of my time looking out the windows that nourish me, inspire me and stimulate me in a good way for my own health and sanity. I've learned to look through the curtains of those other windows rather bearing my head in the sand but not to stare out at them too long.

Sorry for the long post. But my own personal feeling and thought is this. I would never want to go back in time and live it at the age I am now. Visit? Sure. Especially if I could snag some sweet collectables and bring them back. But to live in it permanently and experience the attitudes, injustices and horrors of the reality of those times as they were with my near 60 something eyes? No thank you.

I'd rather hang with fun folks here.
***This post went way further into the sort of stuff than I wanted to avoid in this thread. But as the Administrator, I feel I wanted to provide some clarity as to why the board is structured the way it is and why I hope to avoid such conversations over here. I hope you understand. Please don't discuss any of the more negative observations from my post any further. Thank you***

[Lou Szabo]

Ditto. Love you all and your creativity and knowledge.

[Jimmy L. 66]

This is the reason why I come back. My favorite online experience

[BiffPow]

This is the reason why I come back. My favorite online experience