Wednesday, June 13, 2018

What The Con Is Going On?

Okay, folks, I know I've said lots of times not to get into politics as a writer, but I view this more as simply an extension to that and chastising others rather than getting into it myself.  Far too many folks have allowed politics to get in the way of enjoying good writers and good stories.

A recent phenomenon has gotten lots of traction, and I'm referring to some conventions deciding to, for lack of a better word, erase certain authors from their ranks.  Some are so polarized by the personal political views of Larry Correia, David Weber, and John Ringo that they've besieged the conventions they were slated to be guests at and gotten the organizers to rescind their invitations.  These activists have organized boycotts, written letters, and basically thrown all manner of temper tantrum to prevent authors like these from being spotlighted.  Are these men secretly vampires who've infiltrated our society and are preparing to turn the populace into an unaware food source?  Have they raped and pillaged their way across the steppes of Russia?  Perhaps they enslaved thousands of children and are now operating a trafficking ring.

Nope...they're white men who are conservative/libertarian in their views, and they aren't shy about sharing that.

Say what you will about the wisdom of an author being so vocal about politics(I personally think it's not the best idea to alienate potentially half the audience before they even read your story), and disagree with their views all you like(there are lots of things I don't care for that I disagree with), but to treat them like they're the Spawn of Satan is ludicrous.

Let's put this into perspective - none of these writers have advocated to reopen gas chambers and poison six million Jews.  Nor have they ever taken girls captive to use as "wives"(read - sex slaves) for local warlords.  They aren't stabbing children, or running experiments on people regarding bubonic plague, or starving millions of people, or killing whole groups just because those folks wear glasses.

If your political views are so warped that you view anyone who disagrees with you, whether on the Left or Right, as some version of (Hitler, Stalin, Mao, Pol Pot, Joseph Kony, Unit 731...insert favorite villain here), then you need some serious retooling of the way you view the world.  If you view anyone in these camps without rock solid evidence of actual vile things, then you are a moron.  Conventions like Origins and WorldCon have bowed to pressure to disinvite good authors because the whining of a few who can't stand that maybe someone might hold a different political opinion.  I thought we were here to find good stories, not get the lowdown on the latest machinations of the tax cut or how the North Korea Denuclearization Summit was going.  We aren't here to debate same sex marriage, the removal of statues, gun rights, or abortion - we're here to read a good book and share that experience with others.  Get off your goddamn high horse, step back from trying to go full-blown totalitarian on everyone, and figure out why the hate in your heart is so fierce that you can't enjoy a book without thinking everyone must belong to your circle of politics.

Fortunately, a few conventions are starting to fight back.  DragonCon recently parted ways with Charlotte Stormborn, who used to run the Literary Track at DragonCon.  She tried to muscle her way into getting authors she disliked off of the guest list because they weren't sufficiently woke for her.  And to show how truly inclusive she was, she wrote, "If you think there are some good arguments to be made for the inclusion of voices like Correia’s and Ringo’s ya all can also talk* to me.  *don’t talk to me, ever."  Not the most open-minded person when it comes to discussion.  Again, she's not running a progressive political forum in Seattle - DragonCon is one of the largest conventions for geeks like us in the country.  Like I said, though, fortunately, DragonCon parted ways with her when she tried this kind of bullshit, and the convention is better for it since they will continue to feature writers fans actually want to see.

ConCarolinas is another one fighting back.  They bowed to pressure this year and got slammed for being stupid.  Realizing their folly, ConCarolinas said they would no longer bow to this kind of madness(they disinvited John Ringo as the special guest), and they are inviting David Weber to next year's convention.  Of course this pissed off all kinds of temperamental children who just can't take it when folks they view as Nazis(they need a serious dose of history and a binkie to soothe them) get invited to their precious safe space, so I expect the fits will grow more intense.  However, ConCarolinas is now saying that enough is enough, and that award winning and talented writers deserve a space at conventions fans want to see them in.

People, get off your soapboxes and stop with the crying about folks who hold differing views.  This is about good stories, not who you think would best run the country/world.  I can't believe I even had to write this, but it just shows how childish folks can be when things don't go their way.

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