Psst... is it over?

I think it is. A lot of people seem to think it. Oh, there are the odd few who will vote "no," and in some ways I think they're right to do so. Then there's the majority who will probably vote "yes," and in many ways I think they're right to do so. It's not up to me to dissect the deal. There are many more smarterer folks who will. But as a non-Guild member, I don't get a vote; so I'm going to reserve my opinion for the dinner table discussions.

What I would like to talk about, however, is the past three months. The biggest question around the internets right now is:

"Was is worth it?"

As a non-Guild member, no matter what happened, it wasn't going to affect me in the short term. So, I had to ask myself, from the get-go, why I was going out there. There were a lot of reasons, the main ones being: friends who were being fucked (not in the good way) and delusional hopes that one day I'll be in the Guild and that what the WGA was fighting for would one day affect me.

The first is what got me on the line in the first place. The second is close to what kept me there. See, I walk with my own moral compass. If I'm not delusional, and I actually will be in the Guild one day, then I need to know that any benefits I reap are benefits I fought for.

It'd be easy to sit in my home office, bundled and warm. Not having to brave the icy cold Warner Bros mornings (HOW DID THE AMPTP CONTROL THE WEATHER???). It'd be easy to head into work, and be warm and stylish in the office while occasionally checking the various blogs to see how the strike was going. Hell, I could have been in Ireland still, raking in the cashola with the Hubby, watching from even further afar (but learning to play much better poker).

I've never chosen the path of least resistance. I'm not that gal. The things worth getting are the things worth fighting for.

I hear rumors that some folks are talking about a black list, wherein these folks wouldn't hire people that they'd not picketed alongside (or at least heard were picketing). You know, that'd be great news for me, if I'd been striking to get a job -- which would be weird and, well, weird.

SIDEBAR: A lot of people predict I will get a job because of the contacts I've made on the line. A lot of people asked me for resumes to be an assistant when the strike was over. A lot of people didn't get why I was there. It was not to get a job. In fact, there was one person in particular who asked for my resume, who vehemently explained why I needed to send it to her (I would eat small babies to get on this show, I will not use the strike to get on this show) -- and I understand, she's grateful for my time and efforts. But, I won't be sending my resume. To any of them. I won't be asking agent to send my scripts to anyone. And if this totally fucks me out of a job, then so be it. Again, I have to walk with my own moral compass, and if I got a job out of the strike -- well, that's fucked up.

ANYWAY...

I can't say that I don't understand the mentality of hiring only picketers -- don't get me wrong, I don't agree with this, but I understand it. There were bonds formed on the line. I'm really grateful that the studios where I chose to picket had really incredible people. One gate in particular had people who went from being names I'd heard of, people whose careers I'd kill to have, to friends. Like, really good friends. People I'm playing poker with on a regular basis now.

That's where I think the mentality comes from. These bonds you form when a group of people are going through the same (or at least similar) experience. No one else can understand that experience. People can pretend they do, but they can't. People can blog about their three days on the line, or whatever. And they'd be wrong.

There's only one exception to this, in my opinion. And that's the fans. I know that they'd have been on the lines if they could. Hell, many of them were! But, seriously, they were wholly invested in this from the get-go. They organized food to the picket lines. They organized getting money to the Strike Fund. Jesus, they organized the whole fucking Pencils Movement -- how fucking awesome is that? They chatted online at the live chat on UnitedHollywood. They figured out what they could do to help, when they couldn't come out on the line. That's a hell of a lot more than some of the WGA members did.

I wish this whole thing had never happened. Had never needed to happen. I wish that more people walked with a moral compass, rather than locking theirs away inside a safe in some Chalet that they never visit.

But since it did happen, I'm glad to note that a lot of people really stepped up to the plate. And the plate became over-crowded with really incredible folks from high-level writers to high-level fans.

And with as many thanks as I'm getting for my miniscule contribution, I'd like to, in turn, thank YOU for doing everything you did. And if you didn't do anything this time around, I've got hope that the next time the opportunity to do the right thing arises... you'll step up.