Over the past few months, we here at the Lexicon have been traumatized and disheartened. What has been the hardest are the personal attacks, blatant disinformation, and rushing to judgement that have been hurled our way. The staff of the Lexicon consists of some of the most selfless, dedicated, passionate people on the face of the planet and they have quite frankly been on the verge of throwing in the towel. They don’t deserve that kind of abuse.
The Lexicon used to be a one man show. It’s not anymore because first of all, I can’t do it all, and second, the staff people here have so many skills and talents that I don’t have. They are quite an amazing team. The Lexicon staff members are truly wonderful people. I don’t think I’m overstating things when I say that fandom owes them a huge debt of gratitude.
Last summer I spoke at several conventions. I talked about how exciting it was, now that the book series was finished, to be moving into a new world of our own creative work. Jo herself endorsed the creativity of fans and encouraged us all to take up the story, if you will. My overriding hope in those talks was that people would feel empowered to continue being Harry Potter fans and not let the end of the series mean the end of fandom. I never expected that a few months later I would be watching fans turning on each other and breaking down the community we all worked so hard and with such love to build up.
I am as dedicated as I ever was to the fun and excitement of being a Harry Potter fan. I am eager to keep adding to the Lexicon and making it the amazing resource that it’s been for the past seven years. I sincerely hope that all of us can find our way forward to a place where we all find pleasure and pride in being Harry Potter fans.