Neil Gaiman responds to "pencil-necked weasel" insult by Matt Dean [INTERVIEW]

Correction: Neil Gaiman donates to SCIENTOLOGY.

Gaiman says he is not a scientologist.  But he was brought up as a scientologist, because his parents were prominent scientologists.

 I can never decide if I am amused, insulted, or depressed by how mindlessly gullible many people are.  First, I find it a bit hard to credit that Gaiman would buy into Scientology.  Second, I would have to see some pretty compelling evidence before I bought it.  (as opposed to the no doubt purely factual information these folks have culled from our friend the internet)  And third, as others have pointed out, it's his money.  Regardless of what else he is doing, he is making money and spending it.  Therefore, he is helping the economy.  Even if it's because some Scientology goofballs are spending his money for him.  Hell, at least he has a real job, as opposed to, say, politicians or religious leaders.

Even if this is true, so what. it's his money to do what he wants. If he made these contributions to the Catholic Church would you be this outraged.

Last time I checked it's a free market. No one forced the library to pay Gaiman's fee. it's money he earned and he can do with it whatever he wants.

blackholenebula, you appear to have lifted that comment almost in its entirety. I found a word-for-word rendition of it here: http://akirathedon.com/blobblo...

I was there too. Great talk. And he talked about writing next weeks Dr Who!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v...

I also went to the event and it was great! It was definitely worth what the state paid him. It was a small audience but he hung around afterwards. I was even able to use it for a class at the U. One of my Writing courses required us to go to events just like this one. There are always plenty of writers speaking in the area but this was a rarity. And with my completely broke college self, this was a Godsend!

For this particular event and author, it was also wonderful because of all the children who attended. Children! Even some who asked questions! I just can't wrap my mind around how this has been twisted into something so noxious.

OK, my boyfriend just corrected me, it was a "narrow head" not a "long face". Ha!

Having been to Alice Springs pubs, I can totally see this unfold in my mind's eye.

Ha, you are a fucking idiot.  Everything you said here has made it ABUNDANTLY clear that you did NOT read this article WHATSOEVER.  Neil Gaiman is a class act and, even though I disagree with the Legacy Act legislation, Gaiman's behavior and reason for his doings make total sense.  In fact, it really embodies the CAPITALIST ideology of business.

See here:  Gaiman is NOT a public speaker, he doesn't LIKE doing this kind of work (he would much rather be doing what he loves, which is writing); in order for him to keep down the amount of time he spends public speaking, he charges a very high price (which, as a concept, is fucking SYNONYMOUS with market prices adjusting to supply and demand); now, since he charges a high price, he is asked to speak FAR less often.  Don't blame him, blame the people who passed the legisilation.  Blame the legislation itself.  Blame the fucked up policies that drastically drop budgets because the given organization was responsible with their allocated budget and, thus, had some of it leftover (which is so fucking stupid - yeah, let's punish departments for being "thrifty"... yeah, that's gonna help keep budget costs down).

It's people like you, "Kirk the Conservative Jerk", who epitomize the blind sheep following a corrupt and unworthy politician thanks to propaganda from the worst of the conservative agenda.  And don't get me wrong, I couldn't care less about your politics.  In fact, in case it wasn't made clear in my previous paragraphs, I'm a registered republican and my politics fall WAY closer to the right side of the political spectrum.  It's just that the people like you (and Matt Dean) are completely ruining any respect and positive aspects associated with the republican party.  You make me ashamed to call myself a conservative republican.  Eat a dick and die.

The only charity Gaiman is donating to is Scientology, what a lying scumbag.

Gaiman states that it was requested that he take the money so that the library would be able to keep their budget. That budget was not allowed to be used on anything other than library events, if I understand the account in the article. Had he not agreed to take the money, they would have lost their budget. As such, doing it for free would not have been the kinder thing to do.

The only "charity" Neil Gaiman gives money to is Scientology. And Scientologists often use their members like Gaiman to drain funds and get their members awards and movie deals. Gaiman is on the Sceintology payroll and feeds millions to the cult. His latest "charity" was the Scientology Superpower Center in Minnesota, where the crazy cult members sit in giant gyroscopes and try to move objects with their minds. Gaiman is a cult zombie.

3/10 for effort

Kirk is more than a jerk, you are an butthole. You did not read the why yet you think you should have a position on it so you reiterate the crap that Dean said rather than getting a fact or two behind you. Butthole. There are plenty of people to blame for you concern, but Neil Gaiman just isn't one of them.

Oh sweetie, clearly you don't read. Gaiman does, in fact, do many events for free. Not all of them though, for the simple fact that if he did, then his mail would be chock-full of people clamouring for him to attend some random event. Keeping in mind that Gaiman is a writer and has said himself that he does not want a second career as a public speaker, it's reasonable that he prices himself high, so that such requests are limited. He freely admits that it's pricey. His agents make sure to let people know of that fact before they hire him. Gaiman is free to charge whatever the hell he wants for his services. So if people still choose after learning of his fees to hire him anyway... well that's hardly Gaiman's fault. Your abuse is unwarranted.

Second, that money was alloted specifically for that library to be able to bring in authors to speak at market rates (and by the by, Gaiman's speaking fees are definitely on the higher end for authors, but still within market fee range), that they otherwise wouldn't be able to. It was designated for that purpose; they weren't allowed to use it for anything else like hiring staff, and the funds were about to expire and weren't allowed to roll over to the next year. Which created a situation where they may as well have hired Gaiman. So they did. You want to complain, complain about those restrictions instead.

Third, yes, as a matter of fact, many sources can be wrong about numbers, for the simple reason that many of them do their research on the internet and fail to read properly. So: $45,000 is the figure that Gaiman mentions as his standard speaking fee. This figure is mentioned in one of his FAQ answers. $40,000 is the figure that he says in his blog post and the above interview that the library offered him. $33,600 is the amount that HE PERSONALLY received, after his speaking agents had taken their cut.

Seeing Kirk's raving buffoon response, I can understand how a raving buffoon like Matt Dean got elected.

I am pretty certain you are in love with Matt Dean, and you are a "stupid, stupid face."Also: stop book hating, you...what were your words? Oh yes, you slef righteous jack-ass

What an appropriate name you have, Kirk! It says everything I need to know about you -- just like the few lines of the article you actually read told you everything you needed to know.

You missed "stupid-stupid face" which will make what you're saying a little clearer I think.

Did you even read the article? I know, I know, this is a rhetorical question. But honestly...