Sasquan deems Lou Antonelli in violation of their Code of Conduct:
The Executive Committee of Sasquan, the 73rd World Science Fiction
Convention, would like to address the matter of actions taken by Mr. Lou
Antonelli with regards to one of our Guests of Honor, Mr. David
Gerrold. On August 1st, Mr. Antonelli participated in a podcast in
which he stated that he had written a letter to the Spokane Police
Department, in which he stated to them that Mr. Gerrold was “insane and a
public danger and needs to be watched when the convention is going on”.Normally, online communications between members is not
something in Sasquan’s purview to referee. However, Mr. Antonelli’s
letter, which requested police action against Mr. Gerrold during the
time of the convention, is within our purview. As such, we found that
there was a strong possibility this act was a violation of our posted harassment policy[1], particularly if the letter had, in fact, been
sent.The Executive Committee then turned the matter over to our
Operations Head, Ms. Robbie Bourget, who initiated formal proceedings in
accordance with that policy. During these proceedings, it came to light
that Mr. Antonelli had issued a formal apology to Mr. Gerrold and
admitted culpability: he actually sent the letter, not merely claimed to
have sent it.We thoroughly reviewed all available data,
including email from both involved parties, social media postings,
discussions with key committee members, and so forth. The inescapable
conclusion was that Mr. Antonelli had violated our Code of Conduct in
this matter. The recommendation was to refund Mr. Antonelli’s membership
and prohibit his entry to any convention location or function. However, after the recommendation was made, Mr. Gerrold, as the
aggrieved party, specifically requested that the Executive Committee set
aside this recommendation on the grounds that Mr. Antonelli did
apologize, is sending a retraction to the Spokane Police Department and
because, as a Hugo Nominee, he deserves to attend the ceremony.The Executive Committee has chosen to accept Mr. Gerrold’s request, and
considers the matter closed as of this time. Ms. Bourget has spoken and
corresponded with the Spokane Police Department, and they also consider
the matter closed. We would like to thank Ms. Bourget for the calm
professionalism she lent to the proceedings, and Mr. Antonelli and Mr.
Gerrold for coming to a settlement that benefits not just them, but the
Worldcon and its members.
So, a single letter is sufficient to comprise code of conduct-violating harassment. This is good to know. Perhaps we should do a little looking into who contacted The Guardian, the New Zealand Herald, and other media outlets concerning Sad Puppies, as that most certainly constitutes harassment according to the Executive Committee.
Sad and Rabid Puppies, if you’re going to Sasquan, make sure you know the Code of Conduct cold, and if anyone so much as puts a toe across the line, shriek bloody murder. The precedent has now been set by the SJWs. Make use of it.
We already know that people have expressed similarly harassing concerns to Kevin Standlee, so keep your eyes open. Black knight them twice as hard. And for the love of all that is good, holy, and true, do NOT apologize to SJWs. Ever. Under any circumstances. How hard is this to understand?
I repeat: you never, ever, apologize to SJWs.
UPDATE: This comment at File 770 will likely amuse the VFM:
One of the things that has been so atrocious about Puppygate is the way
the Puppies seem not to give a damn about the collateral damage of their
actions.
They’re just noticing this now? What part of “we don’t care” was hard to understand?