Grumpy Thoughts, 5th Edition

• While at Dragon Con this year, I learned of a conspiracy that has been busily dragging said con for its decision to remain apolitical. Apparently, Dragon Con is the "con of choice for Nazis"  now simply because it won't deplatform popular libertarian authors who've made the mistake of being outspoken about their beliefs. The conspirators claim, of course, that they just want to protect people from "harassers," but aside from a salty comment one of their targets made on a panel twelve years ago, they have zero evidence that said authors are genuine threats to con attendees. No: What this is really about is power. The ringleader of this conspiracy and her followers want the power to shut down anyone who might contradict the SJW worldview. Hopefully, Dragon Con continues to tell them to pound sand.
• In the world of comics, meanwhile, Peter Simeti of Alterna Comics is being relentlessly bullied for being pleasant to all of his paying customers, including those who follow the leading voices of #Comicsgate. How dare he! Clearly, we should punish the guy by buying a crap ton of Alterna titles. They're only $1.50 each, so acquiring the entire catalog wouldn't actually hurt your pocketbook all that much.
• What the two situations above have in common is this: Screaming social justice harpies have decided that anyone who is connected six-degrees-of-Kevin-Bacon style to critics of identity politics should be punished until they bend the knee. Well, screw that fascistic nonsense, I say. If anyone tries to shame you just because you won't unperson people who aren't radical leftists, raise two middle fingers in proud defiance and tell that individual to go straight to hell.
• Speaking of leftists trying to control us, that's the problem I have with militant trans activists and their pronoun obsession. He/him and she/her are used when you're talking about someone, not when you're talking to him or her. So basically, when a special snowflake demands to be referred to as e/eir or whatever, that person is trying to dictate how we all should converse even when he or she is not in the room. That's not okay. You have a right not to be mistreated based on how you choose to express yourself, but you do not have a right to impose your preferred mode of expression on others.
• You also don't have a right to silence researchers who are asking questions that challenge your ideology, nor do you have a right to cover up uncomfortable truths that do the same. Indeed, stopping such conversations before they even get off the ground is incredibly dangerous. People who have been denied the opportunity to discuss what they see right in front of their eyes will latch on to anyone who is willing to tell the truth. Do you want those truth tellers to be dispassionate scientists and thoughtful intellectuals? Then I suggest not pushing certain subjects out of the realm of "respectable" debate. Otherwise, people will gravitate to any crackpot who's willing to give voice to their resentments. 

Okay, so that was a bit disjointed. I may expand the above into lengthier posts at a later date once I get back into the writing groove. In the meantime, I hope you've enjoyed that little hodgepodge of things that have occupied my mind this week.

It's great to be back!