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It was about 16 years ago, I had just moved across the country and opened up a magic shop. I was getting ready to close one eve when a magician called me to ask if I wanted to go out and get some dinner. There was a restraunt where one of the local magicians had just gotten a job. Great I thought. Where I come from when a magician lands a restaurant gig a group of us get together to go cheer him on and always letting the manager know how much fun we had and hopefully securing the magician his job. Thus promoting magic in the entire area, opening up more venues for magicians to work. I was looking forward to the dinner.

When I got to the restaurant there were about 15 magicians sitting at the table. We were watching the performer go from tables watching his shtick and he was/is really good. Then the guys sitting around the table started criticizing. I sat there in shock, here they were saying things like, "he shouldn't do that, he should be doing it this way" or "that was a bad move" "oh thats not a good restaurant effect" on and on they went all the negativity in the world. What they were not watching were the diners who were clearly loving it. He was having trouble leaving one table to go to the next because they didn't want him to leave. Meanwhile at our table the magicians were just dumping on the guy.

I asked the waitress for my check, the others looked at me and asked why I was leaving so soon. I didn't know what to say I was disgusted by the behaviour. Its supposed to be a brotherhood is it not? We should be supporting each other are we not? This guy was great and they couldn't handle it. So as polite as I could I pointed out the fact that we were paying to be here, he, (the magician) was the only one being paid to be there! How many of them have regular paying gigs? And of those that do is that how they would like to be treated? (for the record there were two other magicians in that crowd who regularly worked the restaurants and they were noticably silent).

I mention this due to recent posts. There are a lot of performers out there that I don't like. And yes they choose {worked dang hard} to be in the lime light and therefore I have every right to criticize as I see fit. They are the ones putting themselves out there but at the same time...they are the ones putting themselves out there. And because of that I choose to support them and this wonderful art rather then tear it apart

So go ahead rip me a new one for trying to be positive and levitate our art instead of having the term "magician" being equated with negative term.

I call this phenomenon 'Magician's Goggles' and it manifests for a variety of reasons. Common jealousy accounts for most of it, coupled with the amateur's desire to show off knowledge by pointing out how they would have done somthing differently. It works the other way too, think of all the tricks that magicians rave over but that leave laypeople cold. At the end of the day you're never going to stop this sort of attitude but you can make your own little reasoned protest by saying aloud what you pointed out above, namely that the magician in question was being judged well by the only audience that really matters, the ordinary spectators. Hopefully some of this comon sense will rub of on the naysayers, maybe not. But at least you tried.

I don't why most people get into magic. I know why I did. Because it is fun. There is something special about amazing someone, about seeing that look of astonishment, or a smile for a spectator. Mentalism does that same thing for me. People love to be amazed, and they love for you to be amazed as well. I have thought before that if I posted my videos of performances and such that I would be more popular on Magic Sites, but I haven't, and I probably never will for just the reasons you named in your post. There are those that I respect and their opinions influence me, that is because they have far more experience than I do, and they guide with encouragement and manners. But, I don't and won't perform for magicians. Why? Magicians don't pay me, hire me, or make my reputation in the eyes of those who's opinion matters most- the people who shelled out some of their hard earned cash for 45 minutes of entertainment.
They deserve the best show I can do, and that's what they get. Yes, we all bomb a few times and I agree that Magicians/Mentalists can be overly critical. But in the end, if it ever stops being fun than at least for me- the magic is gone.