Comic Artist Burns Copies of Book He Got Kickstarter Funded Rather Than Mail Them, Because Capitalism is Bad

[Honest]

 

For those who think Ayn Rand was just crazily overwrought in the "unrealistic" characters she created to dramatize the anti-capitalist mentality, you might want to see this addendum to the Kickstarter page of comic artist John Campbell, who raised over $50,000 on Kickstarter to publish a book of his comics Sad Pictures for Children.

 

He got tired of having to mail the books he promised, apparently (believe me, I know that's a drag) and so decided to burn a copy for every person who asked about where the book they'd been promised was.

 

The page has a video of him doing the burning.

 

He has elevated the annoyance of mailing 127 packages to an anti-market rant of marvelous proportion. Excerpts, though whole thing is worth reading, after he talks about how rich people he knew as a kid mistreated a pet rat:

 

I got a lot of requests from backers to get books sent before Christmas, which I was able to do for some people. I could not do this for other people before leaving for the holidays, and many of them asked for refunds.

 

I refunded them with money I got from selling the original art I made for my webcomic from 2009-2012. This was money I planned to ship orders with. After this happened, I could have made another update explaining I had issued refunds and then tried to sell more things or asked for more shipping money. Instead I thought for a long time about what has been happening...

 

If you would like a refund, please contact a fan of my work directly for your money. This is where the money would come from anyway. I am cutting out the middle man.

 

I refunded some of the preorders I received through paypal in addition to the kickstarter orders, but I will not be refunding any more....

 

You could try to obtain refunds through kickstarter or paypal, through your bank or credit card company. You could try to harass me or inconvenience me or tell other people negative things about me or this kickstarter in the hope that this will affect me negatively. Be aware that each attempt to contact me about this book will individually result in the burning of a book until the books are gone.....

 

Why? Society is fucked up, man, and someone owes me a living:

 

All right: I want direct funding for my living necessities. I want to establish relationships with a group of people who can pay for my baseline needs like food and rent. I am looking for people who do not feel they need to see any “return” on their “investment.” I am looking for people who understand that money is a bad joke we use to hurt each other. I'm looking for people who like me were born with a lot of privileges but who have had the awareness and emotional stability to keep their bucket under the faucet when the money comes out.

 

I am not looking for the support of anyone who wants a book, or wants to see me put stick figure comics on the internet. I do not need the support of anyone who thinks that I will deserve to eat and sleep only after I have fulfilled some standard they've chosen to hold me to. I am looking for people who believe that if you spend your life in a small room thinking, you deserve to live and breathe the same amount as someone who spends their life doing intense physical or mental labor, or who has money that “makes money."

 

 

When I have established a means for a small group of people to directly meet my needs, and I know that the people involved understand the value of what they are doing and would continue without me, I will transfer these relationships to someone else. This will provide for the basic living necessities of a person who would not usually have the opportunity for their needs to be met by strangers on the internet. They will not be asked to do anything to keep these relationships going. They will simply have their needs met.

 

Mr. Campbell seems distressed about things above and beyond that some people like to trade value for value, to be sure, with intimations of trouble with medication and gender identity (I think), but:

 

I am confident that I can find a handful of people who will help meet my needs, and then someone else's needs. Because the truth is, that is not very much money, for a lot of people. We don't need much. The truth is there's more than enough money and resources for everyone to have their needs met, without worry, every day....

 

....if I can't find people who want to make this happen, why would I continue to interact with the internet? I put stick figure comics on the internet for about a decade, and now I won't. If I make stick figure comics, then I should….live? If I ship your book, then I deserve to eat and sleep? If I don't interact in a particular way with the post office, that makes me immoral?

 

To give Campbell his due, he is not calling for a forced state solution to his problem of wanting other people to take care of him, merely that he hopes to find them somewhere out there. Best of luck.

 

I wrote in 2012 on people who hated Kickstarter for lacking enough central cultural control.

 

Article by Reason magazine. Kickstarter in question.

[Kevin Beal]

Yuck! What hypocritical garbage.

 

This guy contractually agrees to fulfill his end of a deal and then has the gall to blame the other parties of exploiting him.

 

That's narcissism and it's gross.

[Cosmin]

Marx's great-great-grandson?

[cynicist]

They will not be asked to do anything to keep these relationships going. They will simply have their needs met.

 

I'm sure that has nothing to do with his parents, at all.

[Berlin]

Sad and insane that this sort of thinking is actually all around us.

[Quadrewple]

"I am not looking for the support of anyone who wants a book, or wants to see me put stick figure comics on the internet. I do not need the support of anyone who thinks that I will deserve to eat and sleep only after I have fulfilled some standard they’ve chosen to hold me to. I am looking for people who believe that if you spend your life in a small room thinking, you deserve to live and breathe the same amount as someone who spends their life doing intense physical or mental labor, or who has money that “makes money."

 

Because his parents didn't meet his needs, he now feels entitled to having his needs met by others. 

[Josh F]

I read this a little while back.  It is a little extra frustrating having launched a kickstarter which didn't get support, knowing I would have fulfilled all my obligations.  Some o the backers were almost equally as ridiculous, though many were angry.  Frankly, the homeless future this guy is preparing himself for will be punishment enough.

 

 

Some idiot backers:

 

"I consider this to be a very large and elaborate art installation about the evils of the capitalist architecture of the the internet."

"Dude-- That was a lengthy, thought-provoking email! Art is messy and in the best of circumstances, dreamy and even magical. Waiting for a book is dreamlike too, so it's all cool."

"Thanks for making me think John. Having followed your work for quite some time I often find myself asking ethical questions. I hope you find some form of peace or happiness."

 

Gives me douche chills.

[Pepin]

Oh wow, this is a destroyed mind. So much going on in this. What is completely wretched is that after stealing, he claims to be a victim and morally condemns the real victim. The very fact that he can't see this demonstrate that he has regressed to a childlike mind state in which you do not think about your caregiver.

[nathanm]

Pro tip: Don't give money to insane people.

[J. D. Stembal]

No KS campaign is contractually obligated to do anything for its supporters. You can't take liars, weasels, and cheats to court. Projects are backed purely upon the reputation of the campaign author. What this person is saying is that he is not responsible to his backers. He will likely never be funded again unless he uses a pseudonym.

 

Many backers feel as though supporting a KS entitles them to a return on investment, which it does not. You are paying a stranger to pursue an interest or hobby. If they are successful at it, great, but if not, say bye-bye to your money.

[Josh F]

I'm realizing this kid has a great point.  I have decided to just let all of you guys pay for my life.  Thanks, I guess.... even though you're all dirty evil capitalist.  If you don't send me money, I'll burn my computer!

[Malovane]

No KS campaign is contractually obligated to do anything for its supporters. You can't take liars, weasels, and cheats to court. Projects are backed purely upon the reputation of the campaign author. What this person is saying is that he is not responsible to his backers. He will likely never be funded again unless he uses a pseudonym.

 

Many backers feel as though supporting a KS entitles them to a return on investment, which it does not. You are paying a stranger to pursue an interest or hobby. If they are successful at it, great, but if not, say bye-bye to your money.

 

This is not true. From the Kickstarter website FAQ :

 

Is a creator legally obligated to fulfill the promises of their project?

Yes. Kickstarter's Terms of Use require creators to fulfill all rewards of their project or refund any backer whose reward they do not or cannot fulfill. (This is what creators see before they launch.) This information can serve as a basis for legal recourse if a creator doesn't fulfill their promises. We hope that backers will consider using this provision only in cases where they feel that a creator has not made a good faith effort to complete the project and fulfill.

 

 

[Livemike]

Reading the comments on the KS page, it seems like he may have made 2,000 copies of the book.  So then even after burning these books, he could send everyone what they're owed.  He is really just putting the squeeze on for "express" delivery charges for something that was due over a year ago.  Total sociopath.

[pipeline_mike]

caveat emptor

[Livemike]

caveat emptor

Except that it shouldn't be.  When someone is legally contracted to do something you ought to be able to expect they will do it.

[pipeline_mike]

Why bother with the fiction of legality or the violence that enforces it? Let the risks of any action accrue to the actor and let reputation be the incentive that enforces agreements between actors. Let the free society begin in our minds and how we think about things. What is the use of hanging up on the minutia of a corrupt society? 

 

You might say, "well, we are talking about an injustice that is, not what ought to be." To which I would ask, "How can we reasonably expect to achieve any real justice without first adopting the new paradigm in our own minds?"