Post #144987 by purple jade on Sun, Mar 6, 2005 2:39 PM

OK so the uber-collectors want their own place to share "confidential" info about, let's face it folks, cheap and tacky old ceramics without having to deal with poor people who would rather spend their last dollar on things like rent and food. Great. Let 'em.

Like Alnshely said, TC is about more than the material goods. It's about sharing, learning, the social aspects, the good feelings, the aloha (yeah there's that word again...)
It's sad that this is what it comes to for some people, when they want to put up barbed wire to protect something as intrinsically worthless as a tiki mug like it were the last Tic Tac on Earth after the Apocalypse. We all like this stuff, sure, but not because it's going to cure cancer or feed the hungry. Our "tikis" don't even have the true spiritual significance of their progenitors. It's for the fun of it! They're just tchochkes! No one's going to be getting an upgrade in the Afterlife for having the most bitchin' mug collection! This shouldn't pit people against each other. To me the Tiki Subculture, if I must call it that, is worth more than the sum of its material goods. But if the "high-rollers" don't want the friendship, the banter, the barbs, or any of the other elements of the full TC experience and only want to roll around in their collections like Scrooge McDuck, can't say I'll miss that kind of company much.

P.S. If this sounds hypocritical as a purveyor of "tacky tiki" merchandise, I wish I didn't have to deal with things like a mortgage and medical bills, I'd truly rather give everything I make away to people who would appreciate it. Filthy lucre, blecch.

[ Edited by: purple jade on 2005-03-06 14:57 ]