Male Drama Makers

Although women are traditionally blamed for drama, Monday night proved that men can be just as big, or bigger drama queens.

Monday was the BBQ for the executive members of the photography club. Our club is in serious trouble with a decline in membership and attendance, and executive members that have been through too many years of changes and are simply worn out and feel unappreciated. Some of the positions are extremely labour intensive.

One of those intensive positions is the webmaster, who has to ensure that the web is working properly so that photos for exhibition night can be uploaded. He also posts the calendar and has to be at every exhibition night to ensure the photos are displayed on the screen properly. When we got a new computer, there were major issues with how the photos were being displayed, and unfortunately, the webmaster received a lot of flak because of it.

As a result, he's done and will be leaving. At one point, he spent 40 hours trying to solve one of the web issues. As I've done my own websites, I know spending that kind of time is easy to do, and why I think his position should have been and should be a paid position.

With many of the key positions of the executive leaving, we have some serious issues to discuss in regards to where the club is going and what members want to get out of it. One exec member brought up that the room we have rented (and paid for the next year), is too large for our current member attendance and perhaps we should look for another venue. It was mentioned that that wasn't a priority right now.

I advised the member that this was brought up two years ago and after searching for another venue, it was decided that our current location was the most financially feasible and allowed us to store our library, projector, etc in it, had a kitchen so we could supply our own coffee at break time, and was the best bang for our buck.

It was like he didn't even hear me, and didn't want to let it go. He kept going on about it until another exec member (male) said it wasn't a priority and we had other more serious things to focus on. Well, Mr. I want to talk about what I want to talk about, got angry because no one was supporting his stance, and said "F**k you, G, everyone has a right to be heard." G immediately apologized and that should have been the end of it, although I think Mr. Drama Queen should have been the one to apologize.

Having had a cup of coffee at the meeting (oh yah, what a dummy), I was wired for sound and wide awake. I stayed up all night, and went out to photograph the full moon.

I had about 2 hours sleep when I got home, and arose to an email from Mr. Drama Queen. He's not going to attend any more executive meetings and he's giving up one of his positions immediately. In other words, I'm in a snit and I'm going to punish all of you for it. G, being the bigger man, sent yet another apology to Mr. Drama Queen (and all the executive). Now, Mr. Drama Queen on numerous occasions has shut me down and contradicted me during meetings and even had the nerve to say I shouldn't have my attendance at a seminar paid for because I didn't do anything to deserve it, after I had spent all night ensuring the registration was working properly.

Respect is earned, and he lost any respect I had for him by reacting in such a childish and manipulative manner. He went on and on about the venue and wouldn't shut up about it, even after several people had told him it wasn't a priority. He wanted agreement and kept insisting that we could keep it in mind. Whatever! You look for another venue then! Good grief, we may not even have a club, so the venue will become moot.

This morning, yet another email from G that the two men had spoken and everything was cleared between them so other members don't need to feel uncomfortable. Well, I didn't, but when people try to force others to take sides, I'm going to side with the one that shows the most maturity.