Disillusion

From Fancyclopedia 2, ca. 1959

Disillusioned or DISENCHANTED The state of a person who has learned not by gradual experience but by sudden severe shock that fandom has its less pleasant aspects.

Disillusion, a character in The Enchanted Duplicator, represents the touchy, obnoxious fan, usually but not always a neofan, who wants fandom to conform to his ideas rather than to learn his way around and try to fit in.

Disillusioned fans typically react to any resistance by hurling insults at fandom or the segment of fandom they think is in their way. Sometimes they get over themselves, or go off and start their own fandom but most often they gafiate in high dudgeon.

In Chapter 4, Jophan just escapes a deadly landslide of rocks and loose stones knocked down by the highest horse he had ever seen, ridden by an angry little man pulling at the reins and swearing continually.

"Pardon me," said Jophan, "but you really should be more careful. You might injure some of the other pilgrims on the path."

"Serve them right," snarled the little man, without dismounting from his high horse. "My name is Disillusion -- the Disillusion, y'know. Who are you?"

"My name is Jophan," said Jophan, "and I am on my way to Fandom to produce the Perfect Fanzine, for that is what I want to do more than anything else in the world."

"More fool you," sneered the other. "Only a fool would want to enter that place."

"Why, what's wrong with it?"

"What's wrong with it?" repeated Disillusion incredulously. "Why, everything's wrong with it! They're either stupid or mad, every one of them. Why, they didn't even come out to greet me when I arrived -- me, mind you! At first they even pretended not to see me until I got down off my horse, and when they did speak to me I couldn't understand a word they were saying. And their customs! I've never seen anything like them."

"Well, after all," said Jophan, "it is a different country. Maybe if you had tried to learn their language ..."

"Nonsense!" snapped Disillusion. "They were just trying to keep things from me and laughing behind my back. Well, they can have their secrets. I don't want to have anything to do with them. They were all against me, I tell you. Imagine, not even thanking me for entering Fandom after all I tried to teach them ..."

For a real example, we present this letter from one LeRoy Tackett of Fountain, Colorado, which appeared in Bob Tucker’s LeZombie 44 (November–December 1941, p. 9):

I have, according to my figures, been reading stf for one year and a half. I’ve read letter sections, fanzines, etc. and now I open this big mouth of mine and yell in protest. You big name fans talk about stuff like "Yngvi is a louse.” So I say ... who in hell is Yngvi? And why is he a louse? Will somebody please tell me who or what is Yngvi, and why is he, or it, a louse? 

Another thing: while calmly sitting in my favorite chair I happened to notice smokes and sounds of battle coming from the stf mag on the table. I cautiously creep over to see what's cooking, but some creature leaps up from the letter section yelling "SFTPACOBEMOTCOSFM!" At the same time another being arises with "SABEMOTCOSFM!" Seeing that I am a stranger,  they explain that they are representitives of the societies for and against Bug-eyed Monsters. This brings up more questions: who started this alphabetical drivel and why wasn't he shot? 

While I’m at it, I might as well join in a cry I’ve heard often repeated. Why don’t you super-active fans stop your damned feuding and get united in one organization?  The accounts of the Denvention are swell and so was the September cover. Keep up the good work but for the sake of the new fans start explaining things.

RoyTac got over himself, but not everyone does.

See Fannish Ailments, Barbarian Invasion.

---

Fanspeak

This is a fanspeak page. Please extend it by adding information about when and by whom it was coined, whether it’s still in use, etc.