Erasing History

I may as well have titled this one "Stepping Into Controversy."

As most of you know, I have some problems with the current Woke-Scold movement in both our industry and in the world at large.  We are so afraid of offending any sensibility that we applaud the super-sensitive and walk on eggshells, lest the mob turn against us for some perceived slight we didn't even intend.  Those who scour both modern books and the annals of history looking for those without the proper mindset seem determined that all wrong-think will be expunged.

The most recent example of this, and more of why I hold disdain for the current traditional publishing industry, is the excommunication of John W. Campbell from society.  Now, Campbell has been dead for nearly 50 years, and he was hardly what one would think of as an enlightened thinker.  He stated some rather out there - and by today's standards, noxious - views on race and science.  Although some may wonder just how much was genuine(writer Joe Green said that Campbell would often take a devil's advocate position simply to make things livelier), a good bit of what he said would make most folks cringe.

But that's not good enough for the Woke-Scolds.  Nope, they want to erase him from history, remove his name from the award, and hope all is merry again.  This is Stalin-esque, and it should make the stomach turn of any fan of writing.  Although I'm certain that some of the Woke-Scolds that read this will claim I'm defending Campbell's views(they'll do that because they're perpetually mad and don't want to engage on the substance of an issue), what I'm taking issue with is removing from history one of the most influential writers in science fiction.

Analog just removed Campbell's name from its aware for Best New Writer.  Some great folks have gotten this award, from George RR Martin to Carl Sagan, and Campbell's name is on it because the magazine that gives it out, Analog(originally called Astounding Science Fiction), was founded by him.  While one can take issue with some of what Campbell said, there's no doubt about his influence on the Golden Age of Science Fiction.  Who knows where we'd be without both his science fiction writing and his promotion of it.  By pretending he doesn't exist and trying to remove him from the award his magazine pioneered, they are engaging in the same kind of censorship most writers claim they abhor.  The funniest part is that they even quoted George Satayana in justifying it("Those who do not remember the past are condemned to repeat it") without realizing that the quote was a warning, not the opening sentence of an Orwellian instruction manual.  By doing this, they are not only trying hard to forget the past, but they are almost guaranteeing that folks will repeat it.

The Woke-Scolds have invaded the writing and publishing industry.  One cannot get into the field, or stay there, if one does not hold the right views.  It's a sickness, and I'd venture to say that only a small minority actually believe in this PC crap, while the rest are scared to death of running afoul of it, so they'll mouth the right words to stay employed.  Moreover, those who genuinely believe, don't even understand the language they use to condemn it.  Jeanette Ng called Campbell a fascist in her recent acceptance speech for the award, showing she has no clue what the word even means.  Fascist has become a catch-all for what the Woke-Scolds deem as immoral thinking rather than any form of political view of way to run a government.  Those ways are repugnant, of course, but not everyone who takes a different position is a fascist.  Further, it does a great disservice to the millions of dead who died fighting actual fascism to use the word as some kind of "everyone I don't like" term.

And it's not like Ng had the courage to refuse the award.  No, she still wants the accolades.  She just wants to rail against her perception from modern perspectives about someone long dead.  Using this as a yardstick, no one from any past era will ever pass muster.  For that matter, those of today won't pass muster years from now, for who knows what future slights will be used to erase today's people from history.

(BTW, I found it particularly ironic that she went on a tirade against racism without any self-awareness on her part,  saying, "Through his editorial control of [the magazine] Astounding Science Fiction, [Campbell] is responsible for setting a tone of science fiction that still haunts the genre to this day. Sterile. Male. White. Exalting in the ambitions of imperialists and colonisers, settlers and industrialists."  Quite the broad level of generalizations there in casting such shade...I thought that showing such disdain about a group of people based on race was verboten)

Believe it or not, I actually did debate whether or not to write about this.  It's dangerous in today's world to evoke the ire of the online mob, but it's time folks stood up to these people who would erase everything but their view of the world in an attempt to purify the world for the rest of us.  When we let such Woke-Scolds go unchallenged, we cede them the stage by default, acknowledging that they own the narrative and that the rest of us should shut up and maybe occasionally nod along about how smart they are.  Sorry, but I was born too argumentative to do that.

Like I said earlier, I'm sure many will take this as some kind of perverse endorsement of Campbell's execrable writings of the time.  I can't stop people from being stupid on that.  I'm just pointing out that erasing folks from history who don't meet your standards will leave you very few remaining.  We don't live in a pure world, and our history is especially vomitous at times.  That doesn't justify removing it because it makes you feel icky.