Part of why I’m participating in this whole “blogging for a good cause” is because there is definitely enough terrible stuff happening in this depraved world these days.

Over the last few weeks, two terrible stories have really disturbed me and, to some extent, shaken my faith in the world at large.

The first story I’d like to discuss a bit involves a mother and son who were a victim of a home invasion and rape in West Palm Beach.

Not only did ten attackers (mostly teens) bumrush the mother and force their way into her meager apartment, but they forced the son to actively participate in the gang rape. When they were done, they poured all kinds of household cleaning products (including bleach) into the boy’s eyes.

Didn’t hear about it? That might be due to it happening in a low income housing area in West Palm Beach. People don’t like to talk about what happens in “the projects” of this country. People don’t like to talk about the slippery slope to a life of crime that can occur on the lowest scale of the low income class in this country. Single parents struggling to provide for their families because the other parent ran out at the daunting idea of trying to raise a family on the ridiculously low wages they make when they can find work. Kids getting lost in the shuffle, as they are left to their own devices more and more, as those raising them need to work several jobs. An absentee parent can’t offer much guidance to a kid…and an attentive parent can’t very well provide food and resources for their children if their ain’t enough income coming in.

This sort of stuff will become more and more common as the gulf widens between the haves and the have nots in this country. The situation doesn’t excuse the behavior, for certain…but, then again, is their really an excuse for this situation to begin with?

Hellooooo Shotgun Readers!

Blogathon is less than two days away now - I’ve purchased massive amounts of (fair-trade, in the interest of staying true to the principle of the thing) coffee, and we’ve basically got our schedule settled.

There is STILL time to get your pledges in. Having finally settled on what it is our highest pledge will get, I have decided to share it with you, the readers - it’s a pretty fabulous prize.

Yep. $25 amazon gift certificate. If there’s a tie for highest pledge, I will draw a name from a hat.

So get those pledges in! We promise it’ll be fun. To sponsor us directly from here, click this link. Remember, we never see a penny of it, it’s completely tax-deductible, AND you’re helping to do a good thing.

And don’t forget to join us, Saturday morning beginning at 9 AM EST (6 AM PST) for the festivities, at http://shotgunreviews.com/blogathon

Below, in this post, is a little more information about me, specifically (that’s Barb), and the Shotgun team’s plans for our Blogathon blog. Of course, all of this is tentative right now and probably won’t be finalized until sometime on Friday, but I want to personally implore each and EVERY one of you - please, pledge something. Even if it’s only a dollar, you can really do some good here. This is all about communities coming together to do good, and the CBLDF could use your help. No amount is too low, and remember, we here at Shotgun NEVER see a penny of the money. We’re doing this to help out, not to profit (which is why, you’ll notice, there isn’t a single ad anywhere on the Blogathon section of the site).

Please, please. Even if you’re thinking you can’t really spare the cash right away, you don’t have to worry about making a payment to the CBLDF until AFTER the event is over - that’s this Saturday, July 28th, by the way. So won’t you help us do a good thing, by clicking this link and agreeing to make a donation if we succeed?

Our information is below:

Name: Shotgun Reviews

Blogathon blog: For Great Justice!

Blogging for: Comic Book Legal Defense Fund

About me: I (Barb) am a fourth-year thon veteran and a third-year event volunteer. So, naturally, when I got the chance to do something as a project with one of the websites I do work on, Shotgun Reviews, I was all about it. Shotgun’s Editor in Chief is one of my professors at a small midwestern college, and I suggested the idea to him. He thought it would be a great idea. We’re going to have a team of the Shotgun contributors writing stuff throughout the event. The rest of the team - as of now, that’s Vince Scalabrino, Kevin Huxford, and Lucas Siegel - are all first-year thonners, and I want to make this as wonderful an experience for them as I can. I hope I’ll do them credit as a team leader.

Why I chose my charity: Because Shotgun is so entwined in the comics culture - Troy, and a number of the other Shotgun writers as well, also write for Newsarama.com, and Shotgun Reviews recently announced the start of its very own geek culture podcast - we felt that the CBLDF would be a cause close to the heart of Shotgun’s readers. And, given that the CBLDF fights to protect first amendment rights (something most of us feel needs a little protecting these days), we felt it was a worthwhile cause.

My plans for blogathon: There will be all sorts of ridiculous good times. For my post, I’m going to be drawing little short, three-pane silly comic strips featuring terrible art and nonsensical captions. Lucas may create some short podcasts to post on his times, and I hear tell that one of our bloggers has some vacation stories in mind for filler. All in all, it ought to be a crazy day. Plus, we’re going to give some sort of awesome schwag to our highest-amount sponsor.

Sponsor us: by clicking here!

…That’s right. YOU folks can help us do something….

Something good. Something that will help protect the rights of those people who bring you all the comics you enjoy so much. It’s simple, it’s easy, it’s quick, and it isn’t even expensive.

We’re asking you to pledge your sponsorship for our Blogathon team. You can pledge in one of two ways: a flat amount for the entire event, or a per-post pledge. Pledging $.50 per post results in roughly $24.

All it takes is clicking this link, registering, and putting down the amount you’d like to sponsor us for.

As an added bonus, the sponsor who donates the most will get some kind of cool prize. We’re not sure what it will be yet, but you’ll like it. We promise.

Your donations, in the US, are one hundred per cent tax deductable, and you’ll be helping us here at Shotgun Reviews give a little bit back to the people who have provided us with so much entertainment for so many years. Please, won’t you do it for the comics?