Thread by @tylorstarr, With the news that #UnknownHinson was fired from @Squidbillies, I wanted to [...]

With the news that #UnknownHinson was fired from @Squidbillies, I wanted to share why I am so excited.

This thread is about how much this show has meant to me, my experience with Unknown Hinson, why I left the fandom, & why I am excited to jump back into it!

1/20

@jimfortier and @DaveWillis2, I know you are so busy right now, but I hope you can read through this and know that the people who love this show support what you did.

2/20

My Journey with Squidbillies:

#Squidbillies was a show that helped me most when I was a teenager. As someone who grew up in a small, conservative, farming city in Colorado, watching Squidbillies helped me to cope with the people around me through parody and humor.

3/20

I would wake up two hours early everyday in high school to pop in a VHS & record that morning’s episode. (We couldn’t afford the DVDs, & we didn’t have internet at the time.) Even watching the Christmas episode (S2, ep 14) on Christmas was a tradition I held for many years.

4/20

As I went off to college and had a small disposable income, I began buying all of the Squidbillies merch I had been dying to have. There is not one piece of Squidbillies merch that has been available that I have not owned at one point, except for those damn nesting dolls.

5/20

I even had my own “Death to America” buttons printed because Lerm was, & still is, my favorite character.

Funny story, when I ordered these, the first printer emailed me saying they couldn’t print them because they violated their terms.

6/20

I even had my own “Death to America” buttons printed because Lerm was, & still is, my favorite character. Funny story, when I ordered these, the first printer emailed me saying they couldn’t print them because they violated their terms. 6/20

Also, I got to meet @DanaSnyder and lost my mind! Granny was the first character I fell in love with on the show. When I met Dana, I was the first one to visit his booth so we got to have a nice chat and he did Granny’s voice in person, and I almost cried.

7/20

I’ve also been able to have really meaningful conversations with so many other people who make the show including Shawn Coleman who does the music, and Ben Prisk who makes the beautiful backgrounds on the show.

8/20

I have almost every piece of artwork that Ben has released to the public, including the official Squidbillies font! I even made myself into a character of the show using Ben’s work.

9/20

I say all of this to be like “I’m the biggest Squidbillies fan,” but to show that it isn’t just random people calling out Unknown Hinson for his bull shit. It’s people like me, who have been huge fans of the show, and who found comfort in laughing at it.

10/20

My Experience with #UnknownHinson

Like many fans, the man behind the voice of @earlycuyler was an important part of the show. He and I exchanged a few messages, and I became close to his wife/manager, Margo, before she passed away.

11/20

At one point, Unknown became a vegetarian for the animals, and I lost my mind. As someone who was working in animal protection, this was huge for me both as an activist, and as a diehard Squidbillies fan.

12/20

But the longer I was friends with Unknown Hinson on his personal Facebook, the more uncomfortable I felt. He shared many, many uncomfortable views about people of color, trans people, women, and other marginalized groups.

13/20

It’s one thing to do parody of people who hold these views. It’s another to BE one of those people who hold these views. And that’s where, in 2017, I reached my breaking point.

14/20

Why I Left the #Squidbillies Fandom

In 2017, #UnknownHinson went on a huge rant about trans people & gender neutral bathrooms. I was devastated. It showed me that he truly does believe in these horrible things, & I couldn’t support the main actor of my favorite show.

15/20

Heartbroken by this, I naively tried to start a #BoycottSquidbillies campaign and show people what #UnknownHinson was saying. I realize that wasn’t effective, but on the day I started to call for this, Unknown deleted me as a friend on Facebook.

16/20

I was upset, but not surprised, & it was then I knew I had to leave. There is something empowering about parody. It helped me to deal with the racists around me. But parody only comforts when it truly is parody, & not something held by folks who truly believed those views.

17/20

Leaving & Coming Back to the Cuylers

Having left the fandom for 3 years now was hard. I know it may sound stupid, but it felt like I was leaving something that helped me so much as a teen. Media comforts us as an escape, but #Squidbillies comforted me by welcoming me in.

18/20

I am excited to be bringing out my #Squidbillies merch after three years, and to be jumping back into a fandom that means so much to me. I love this show so much. Maybe I will get that Squidbillies tat I had drawn up after all.

19/20

@jimfortier and @DaveWillis2, I’m sorry for the rambling, but I hope you know how much this show means to me, and others, and that we support the incredibly difficult decision you had to make. Thank YOU, thanks @Adultswim, and remember:

DO NOT TOUCH THE TRIM!

20/20

And now to celebrate by listening to one of the best songs from #Squidbillies

Latest Threads Unrolled: