Not that it will likely make a
difference, but I don’t see how “Moahr Titz” is going to
improve the Bulletin. As for more diversity, that’s a fantastic idea
if you want to render the Bulletin of absolutely no interest to
anyone except women who derive vicarious pleasure from listening to
other people moan about the travails of life. If this was the
Organization for Respecting Women and not the SFWA, hey, these
various suggestions are fine. But they have absolutely nothing to do
with science fiction. Consider: it will be a pretty hollow victory to
claim that everyone in professional science fiction is finally
respecting women, minorities, dwarves, and fairies in the desired
manner if in the process you manage to drive away three-quarters of
the science fiction readership.The Bulletin absolutely should have
scantily clad women being rescued by manly men from bug-eyed aliens
on the cover from time to time. It should have robots and spaceships
too. Whether you find that offensive or not, that’s part of what
science fiction was, and is. Science fiction is supposed to be the
literature of dangerous ideas, not safe and inoffensive and
respectful and politically correct ones.And if you can’t handle that
concept, then you should get the hell out of the field and the
organization. You don’t belong in either of them.I therefore encourage every member
of the SFWA who is offended by the Dialogues or the Bulletin covers
to follow e. Catherine Tobler’s excellent example and resign from the
organization. Because regardless of your literary talents and
interests, you are clearly not fit to be a science fiction writer.
Science fiction isn’t about respect, equality, or inoffensiveness, it
is about science and the future.
I also addressed the idea that the Dialogues column between Mike Resnick and Barry Salzberg should be forcibly retired with alacrity.
How about a regular column by women
writers complaining about sexism in [science
fiction/fantasy/horror/publishing/games] and how there are not enough
female [fill-in-the-blank]. That would be totally new and different
and impossible to find anywhere else!Maybe every four issues we could
change it up with a column by a black writer complaining about racism
in [science fiction/fantasy/horror/publishing/games] and how there
are not enough black [fill-in-the-blank].Who wants to read about the history
of yucky old science fiction by some old white guys of whom nobody
has ever heard anyway?
So, praising the decision of a member to quit, expressing the opinion that others of similarly delicate minds would do well to follow her example, and noting that women are inordinately inclined to be easily offended, speech-controlling fascists resulted immediately in fascistic, speech-repressing activity by an offended woman. In the eyes of the present SFWA, criticism equals abuse.
And you thought the Sports Guy was joking. Women really do ruin everything. Even for themselves. Perhaps especially for themselves.
No wonder a number of SFWA members refuse to post on the Forum and stubbornly stick with the old ones on SFF.net. The SFWA Forum doesn’t just stifle discourse, it actively eliminates it altogether.
Harlan Ellison wept.