"Over and over again, the same story plays out:
1) Someone posts a story or makes a statement that does not meet lefty approval.
2) While some libs disagree in a civil manner, eventually the screaming hordes descend upon the offender in question, wailing that this individual's "hate speech" has intruded upon their "safe space."
3) When uninvolved fans hear of this incident, they hurry to write their own statements on the controversy in an orgy of naked self-congratulation.
4) Campaigns/boycotts/etc. are then launched to shame the offender for his or her thoughtcrime.
This has to stop, and it has to stop now. Fandom is not a therapy session, and we are not responsible for protecting these ladies' oh so delicate constitutions. Already, others have told me that they self-censor in order to avoid getting bitch-slapped by the enforcers. I don't blame them. In certain contexts, I also keep my mouth shut. But if we science fiction fans continue to allow one tiny and self-righteous group to visit hell upon the rest of us, then our fandom will become very stultifying indeed." -- 2010
"The ticky-box approach to writing science fiction is, ultimately, a shallow affair. Race, gender, and sexual orientation do influence a person in significant ways, but they are hardly the only facets of personality. Focusing on these things to the exclusion of all else is, when you get right down to it, deeply inhuman -- and also leads to division and strife, not genuine tolerance. Think about the lurking assumption that undergirds the entire "representation" crusade: If a character doesn't look like you or have sex like you, you can't possibly sympathize with or be inspired by that character. Really? Because in my life as a science fiction fan, I have had no trouble falling in love with characters who didn't share my race, gender identity, or sexual orientation so long as they were well written. Remember, I was raised in part by Robert A. Heinlein. The juveniles he serialized in Boy's Life featured male protagonists -- but that didn't bother me one iota. As a little girl, I never once caught myself saying, "Gee, I could get into this book more if the main character were a girl like me." Kids just don't think that way -- until adults with axes to grind teach them to." -- 2014
"I think your average American would accept characters that didn't fit the 'white, heterosexual male' template quite easily if they weren't accompanied by radical politics masquerading as a story. Readers don't want to be lectured to, and they don't want to be insulted. They want to be entertained first and foremost; they want to connect to the characters on an emotional level and feel inspired by their actions. But again, the [social justice left] can't acknowledge the goodwill of the average reader because to do so would destroy the foundations of their carefully cultivated elitism.
In sum, what's ruining fandom is not that we've 'gone mainstream.' On the contrary, what's ruining fandom is a resistance to mainstream culture that strokes the egos of many who have built their entire identities around being 'different and therefore better.' It is oikophobia writ small." -- 2014
"A simple contrary opinion does not automatically rise to the level of 'disrespect', but all too many people in the fandom have demonstrated a willingness to throw rational discernment out the window. Malicious intent is always assumed even when there is none. I'm a woman and, as noted above, no fan of sexual harassment, but when I imagine the current powers that be crafting anti-harassment policies for conventions, I shudder. I've been sexually assaulted (not at a con, but on a street in Williamsburg); I've also been the target of awkward flirting. To me, the difference is stark and categorical. But I've seen the misandry certain fans spout when they think they're among like-minded friends. To them, real sexual misconduct and a clumsy pass are one and the same.
In order for me to embrace this whole 'respect' crusade, I must see full, open acknowledgement that the fandom's social justice warriors can be - and often are - unreasonable in their demands. It is unreasonable, for example, to dress in something revealing and then insist that no one notice and appreciate your breasts. It is unreasonable to demand that all debate regarding gender roles, sexuality, racism, or multiculturalism be squelched. You are entitled to be treated civilly; you are not entitled to a life without discomfort or cognitive dissonance.
And by the way, this 'respect' you crave must be a two-way street; the same consideration afforded to certain favored minority groups must also be afforded to fans who happen to be conservative, Christian, and/or male." -- 2014
(Paying attention, #ComicsPledge virtue signalers?)
"...your story may feature the full rainbow of ethnicities and sexualities, but if all your characters reflect the worldview and grievances of American coastal academics, you have not achieved diversity. And really, I cannot stress this enough: There is no such thing as, say, 'the female experience' because we of the distaff sex are not interchangeable widgets -- and the same goes for folks who aren't white. We are all individuals with complex, three-dimensional minds beneath the surface and should be portrayed as such in fiction.
Actually, reflecting on this now, I think this is an area in which straight white males really are privileged. They may be the boogeymen in every hard-left fairy tale, but at least no one in their 'class' - well, no one who is taken seriously - is presuming to speak for them the way feminists are presuming to speak for me. I would give my left arm for that blessed freedom." -- 2014
Yep, all are true and in ways you could not have foreseen. Organized literary sf/f fandom on its last legs. Those of us to the right of Joe Stalin have been told we don't belong, so we left. As a result, even some Hugo winning authors are having trouble making a living. That's what happens when you tell half your potential audience to F-off and die.
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