Is Kilroy Worth It?

I just recently got back from a vacation in the Philippines so I just now caught the tail end of the craziness surrounding the Kilroy Event.  I'm feeling a weird mixed bag of emotions about it and I'm not entirely sure what to say.  But, being someone who paid the $250 for the 'ultimate package' and making not just one but two blog posts promoting it, I guess I'm somewhat obliged to say something.

I'm not going to 'brutally attack' anyone for their opinions of the event. Everyone has their own reasons for feeling that way.  Tim Pool's experience is quite an eye-opener though.

Yeah, those contracts Tim talks about seem rather puzzling to me.
 They kind of have that 'insecure girlfriend/boyfriend' vibe to them in a way.  Just like the gf that insists "I SAW YOU CHECKING OUT HER BUTT!!!" or the bf that shouts "OOOOOOOH!!! SO YOU AND JIMMY ARE JUUUUUUUUST FRIENDS!!! REALLY???!!!", these contracts seem to be insisting, "YOU'D BETTER DAMN FUCKING WELL TAKE THIS CONFERENCE SERIOUSLY WITH NO BACKING OUT OVER SOME 'SCHEDULE CONFLICT' BULLSHIT!!!"  That's my interpretation anyway.

I'm also not too thrilled with the stifling of guests' speeches that lean more to the 'alt-right' or whatever term they prefer.  Maybe the organizers want to cut down on the inevitable Antifa violence, but that's not a good way to go about it.  Free speech means free speech for all and it should definitely remain that way for a Free Speech convention.  Like it's been said elsewhere, sunlight is the best disinfectant.  All views need to be put out into the world so that they can be challenged with debate and such.  Stifling any ideas is unconstitutional, undemocratic, and highly dangerous.  Those bad ideas will just fester underground which could manifest themselves in very destructive ways.
I know good ol' Dickie Spencer has expressed interest in speaking at this event.  I know he's, shall we say, the opposite of popular with many people.  But I think I thought of a solution that could please everyone, even the most adamant Antifa thugs.  Two words: dunk tank!  Let Dickie spout his views from the security of a dunk tank where nobody can physically hurt him, yet at the same time everyone has a great opportunity to release their outrage with him.  I see the price going as follows:

Ask Dickie a question: $2
Get 3 Balls to Throw at the Target: $3 (so $1 per ball)
1 question and 3 balls: $5

See, that could be fun for everyone.

But, in fairness, I'll let one of the event's organizers, whose youtube name is "Based Mama", tell it in her own words in her video embedded below.



So there we go. I went all "Trump on Charlottesville" there and presented both sides.  I'll let everyone reading this decide for themselves who's "Ghandii" and who's "Hitler" in this scenario.  My biggest concern about this event mostly involves me and the decisions I make for this day forward.

This blog post I'm making is meant to answer the question in the title: is the Kilroy Event still worth attending?

Like I said at the top, I paid the big $250 to help get this event going. However, I still have yet to book a flight and a hotel room in Phoenix, so my commitment isn't entirely 100% yet.  I figured I would deal with this event after my Philippines vacation first.  But now that that's happened, I can wrestle with this Kilroy situation more.

So, the question remains, do I think it's worth it to attend Kilroy and will I be going?  The answer to both questions is: YES!

I know lots of big speakers who were scheduled to be there have pulled out which looks very bad. However, I still think it will be a rather sizeable event with many people in attendance.  That's still an ideal environment for the self-promotion intentions I have going into this conference in the first place.  I can still schmooze with people and promote my book whenever and wherever possible.

Also, Andy Warski announced on his channel that even though he very angrily pulled out of Kilroy, he still intends to be in Phoenix to organize a pub crawl of sorts.  He'll do that to benefit anyone who paid good money to see him speak there.  I would gladly attend both Kilroy and that pub crawl.  That's just as good a place to promote my book as any. In fact it might even be a better venue for that.  So that's another good reason to be in Phoenix on April 21 & 22.

Another good reason for me to stay optimistic is that there is still time to turn this around. It's still just a few months away. There's plenty of time and opportunity for others to get involved and help make it a success.  Remember, this was inspired by the censorious nature of other conventions like the one experienced at VicCon last June.  Kilroy is supposed to be a huge piece of artillery against this climate of censorship.  Don't let our stealth bomber deteriorate into a slingshot.  Don't just sit back and watch it burn, dig your heels in and do something.  Just because they've "lost Faith", it doesn't mean we have to.

You saw what I did there I'm sure.  Should I have done that?  Well, it's too late now.

So anyway, that's my assessment of the whole Kilroy situation.  Whether you plan on attending, or just want to heckle and meme from the sidelines, it's all cool.  Whatever happens, it will be an exciting weekend destined for the history books.

See you Keks there or whatever.