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I don't have much useful to say about the continuing onslaught of OMGWTF coming out of professional SF circles (I thought the nastiness and threats had peaked at "nithing" and tnh's vague threats of industry retribution against fans of color. Alas, W!ll Sh!tterly and K@thryn Cr@mer have proven me wrong). Obviously, people have behaved horribly and there is something deeply wrong with the professional SF community, of which this whole ungodly mess is probably only a symptom (and by "people," I mean Elizabeth Bear's friends and professional colleagues. This "both sides behaved badly" rhetoric is obviously false given that only one side is going around outing people and tossing racial slurs about, and that one side clearly has more power and influence in the SF field than the other).
It reminds me a little of comics fandom, where writers like Ed Brubaker and Brian Michael Bendis, who understand the concept of Women In Refrigerators and would be amongst the first to point at the treatment of Stephanie Brown or Sue Dibney and say "Dude, not cool," still produce storylines like "Wanda Maximoff goes crazy and evil because her powers are Just Too Much for her to handle," and "Sharon Carter spends over a year of canon being pregnant and brainwashed." Or TV, where Joss Whedon self-identifies as feminist and really does try to offer female characters with depth and agency, and yet still produces stuff riddled with problematic gender issues, and Battlestar Galactica 2.0 gives us Rosslyn and Girl!Starbuck but also Dead Evil Lesbians and a 'verse where the bad guys are all evil fembots (because woman are a terrifying hive-minded Other, apparently). That's sexism, not racism, but it's still a case of someone grasping the need to Get It Right and thinking of themselves as an ally yet still sometimes failing to Get It Right themselves.
I was about to add that at least comics writers aren't attacking and insulting fans who criticize them on the internet, but then I remembered Peter David's less than stellar participation in this whole affaire, which isn't attacking, but is still not that great (also, regarding scans_daily: Yes, Mr. David, fans use the internet to tell each other plot points from newly published issues of X-Factor. So what? When did writers ever have a special right to never have spoilers for their work published anywhere? I grasp Marvel's copyright-related reasons for getting the comm shut down, even if I think they're shooting themselves in the foot by doing so, but "ZOMG how dare you give away the ending to my comic?" Dude, grow up).
The thing I want to write about is Elizabeth Bear's "cease-fire" post. I'm not even going to address the part where she openly admits that her cake is a lie, because other people have already done that much better (I especially recommend the last link, which places E. Bear's two letters side by side and highlights the hypocrisy for your convenience).
I'm going to talk about the "lets all calm down and not talk about this anymore because it's too inflammatory" part. Okay, just to make sure we're all on the same page about why the ability to walk away and stop dealing with race-related issues is a privilege that only white people have, I suggest that those of you who haven't already read
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boddymarmalade's Sees Fire post go and do so.Okay, now that we've all read that, I'm going to drag my 19th century American history training into this, and bring up something called a Gag Rule. Because I can't contribute much of use on the treatment of PoC in sci-fi fandom that other, more knowledgeable, people couldn't say much better, but I might as well use all those American history classes I'm still paying off student loans for for something.
See, "let's all avoid this subject in order to maintain group harmony" is a tactic that has a very long history as a tool in the continued oppression of PoC in the U.S.
A gag rule is a rule that forbids member of a legislative body to raise or discuss a particular topic, be it Calvin's doctrine of predestination, resolutions to give federal funding to groups that advocate "family planning" (that's birth control and abortion, to those of you who aren't up on US political euphemisms), or, in what's probably the most infamous example of a gag rule, anti-slavery petitions.
In 1836, Congress passed what is known as the Pinckney Resolutions, the third of which automatically tabled every anti-slavery petition or resolution introduced in the House of Representatives (this basically kept them from being read on the House floor or discussed).* The gag rule had to be renewed during every session of Congress, and was gradually tightened, until it was replaced in 1840 by the more stringent Twenty-first Rule, which was a standing House rule that completed banned even the reception of anti-slavery petitions (not only could you not discuss them, you couldn't even mention them). It stayed in place until 1844.
The direct result of the Gag Rule was that angry Northern politicians wrote even more anti-slavery petitions, and the U.S. Government did basically nothing about slavery other than draft "let's make everyone happy" compromises that nobody liked, until ten years after said rule's repeal, people were hacking people to death with broadswords in Kansas and beating one another with sticks on the Senate floor (baseball bats, anyone?).
It was considered by many even at the time to be a stupid rule, including John Quincy Adams, who devoted considerable time and much procedural pwnage to getting around it and, eventually, getting rid of it. In response to one such attempt, in 1837, Congress decided that the petitions had been sent in by sockpuppets and officially declared Adams to be a troll. Also, he was being OMG mean and hurting Southerners' feelings.
No, seriously. And I quote:
"Resolved, That John Q. Adams, a member from the State of Massachusetts, by his attempt to introduce into this House a petition of slaves for the abolition of slavery in the District of Columbia, committed an outrage on the rights and feelings of a large portion of the people of this Union,"
The SF establishment isn’t even being original.
Also: Mr. Sh!tterly, I see your "classism > racism" argument, call it, and raise you John Henry Hammond explaining that slavery is a good thing because it prevents Marxist-style class warfare -- using arguments about class to defend racism isn’t original, either.
And speaking of mudsill? tnh, if you're looking for a new insult for people that disagree with you now that "nithings" is off the menu, I think I've found it for you.
*John C. Calhoun tried to introduce a similar rule in the Senate in 1836. His attempt failed, so the Senate instead agreed that every time an anti-slavery petition was presented, the Senate would vote on whether or not it should be read -- this, thanks to the fact that the US government very deliberately made sure that there was an equal balance between slave and free states and that slave-owning states would always control half the Senate, effectively kept petitions from being read.
I use my fallen shield icon, because Captain America would very disappointed in us. Also, in a break with my usual journal policy, anonymous comments are being screened. Note: I welcome debate about my interpetation of US history, and am open to correction if I've gotten anything wrong, but I'm standing fast on the Elizabeth Bear screwed up front.
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I dunno I stood there but felt generally disappointed with what I found. I miss being able to find scifi books that draw me in. Then again with all this nonsense I find myself having a great big shrug like I did that evening before drifting over to mystery and picking up a Walter Mosley, Warren Ellis and another book called Imperium that follows Cicero (I think during the catilina trials I'd have to look haven't since I bought it)... what can I say I like fanfiction set in end of the republic birth of the empire Rome.
I like how you use your historical knowledge to show that even the internet follows the trend of fail RL can. Hopefully this can get resolved in a way that doesn't leave nastiness lurking in the back of SF readers minds.
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Doesn't everyone? *grins*
Hopefully this can get resolved in a way that doesn't leave nastiness lurking in the back of SF readers minds
I'm afraid it may already be too late for that, at least as far as certain people in SF go - I know I've crossed one or two author's books off my too read list based on this, and I've seen numerous people saying the same and rethinking their decision to go to Wiscon. My respect for Elizabeth Bear has definately taken a hit after the post where she admittedly to giving a fake apology, as has my respect for
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(acknowledging that the real test will come in future novels which in turn require time to create conceptualize and come to fruition and even then there will be misteps)
Though the Identity aspects to come out of this are what I find very interesting because it becomes more and more of a trend that your internet and RL persona's should have not barriers or are not permitted either by outings or by jobs and schools phishing.
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I started drifting out of the whole SF/F after getting burned by a few authors. Mercedes Lackey was one that really burned a few of us back in like, 1999 or 2000, I hardly remember. I've been drifting for a while and I bought a bunch of SF books....but now I'm really tempted to just shelf them and wait until people stop getting up and arms.
I'll take the cool SF authors who, ya know, publish written books and then also provide a free PDF version of their book. Creative Commons for the win...
And meh. I'm just gonna stick to my trashy romance novels. And fan fic (tho, the wank, she is a fapping). Someone let me know when authors are nice again and hardly so up on their high horses.
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What did she do? (Curious)
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Which, uh, really pissed people off. Then I didn't get it (waaaaay too young to get C&D letters) but it's still a minor sore point.
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So, she basically went Anne Rice on everyone? Yeah, that will endear your fanbase to you. [/sarcasm]
Considering the context of the discussion, though, I was expecting to hear a story about her saying something shockingly racist or otherwise bigotted at a con - so it's almost a releif to hear that it's just a normal case of a writer being a bitchy primadona over fanfic (which I already knew about, in her case - well, I knew that she doesn't want people writing fanfic of her stuff, and the C&D letters are only the more obnoxious extension of that).
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This makes all the fanfic-related wank I've seen recently look fairly insignificant, though. A fandom-wide bitchfight over warning labels or whether leaving SGA fandom for Merlin makes you a bad person would almost be welcome at this point, I suspect. At least ship wars and "A newsletter put pairing labels on my fic when I didn't want them to!" wank doesn't affect people's offline lives the way this has (there are people who are afraid, with good reason, that their writing careers will be harmed if they speak up and point out racism too loudly, and people who don't feel welcome at cons anymore).
It makes me realize how comparatively lucky I am, because sexist as comics fandom is, I have never felt uncomfortable or unwanted in a comics store, felt perfectly safe and welcome at comic con, never had anyone tell me that my opinions weren't worth anything (well, until that troll on the anon meme last week) - though I realize that's in no small part because I read superhero comics, and that lets me be "one of the guys" where it matters. When I stopped buying comics or going to my local comics store, it was because I could no longer handle current Marvel canon and had to take a mental health break from it and from Brubaker/Secret Invasion/Dark Reign, not because the fandom drove me out.
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US politics would be far more entertaining if news coverage or historical coverage of them was all presented in the form of fandom_wank wank reports. Ex: The great Federalist/Anti-Federalist debate as a flame war, Republican responses to the 2009 Stimulus bill as grudge wank, etc.
Honestly, though - I went looking for that transcript because I remembered that it contained John Quincy Adams stating why the gag rule on anti-slavery petitions was wrong (all petitions on all topics and from all people should be received, and "he hoped that no distinction would be made in petitions in a free Government") and was amazed to find, re-reading it after much more experience with internet debate, that other congressmen were using such familiar tactics.
How can we trust that the people you claim wrote this petition are who they say they are/clearly the people who sent in these petitions are not educated enough/clearly the people who sent these petitions are of inferior moral character ("Mr. Patton then arose, and stated that he had taken occasion to examine another petition presented by the gentleman from Massachusetts, described as coming from nine ladies of the town of Fredericksburg, in Virginia. Mr P. stated there, in his place, as a member, and upon his responsibility, that there was the name of no lady of that town appended to that paper, nor a single name to it which was of decent respectability.").
You're hurting people's feelings and upsetting them ("committed an outrage on the rights and feelings of a large portion of the people of this Union").
If you don't have this discussion on our terms/stop talking about this, WE WILL LEAVE ZOMG ("the Representatives of the slaveholding States should demand that the attempt to introduce such a petition should instantly put in requisition the power of the House to punish the member for such an attempt. If this is not done, and that promptly every member from the slave States should immediately, in a body, quit this House, and go home to their constituents. We have no longer any business here.").
You're obviously just a troll ("Resolved, That the Hon. John Quincy Adams, by an effort to present a petition from slaves, has committed a gross contempt of this House.").
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