Allum Bokhari reports on the cultural war burning up the Kindle Store for Breitbart.
The online culture wars have moved out of comment sections and into Amazon’s Kindle Store.Following the publication of a book by the controversial sci-fi
author Vox Day, two parody e-books surged to the top
of the store’s top-100 rankings. The first book was a parody of Day’s
work, while the other (which has now been removed from Amazon) mocked
John Scalzi, one of Day’s critics.Day’s book is entitled “SJWs Always Lie: Taking Down the Thought Police”,
and is intended to be a serious polemic. The book’s summary describes
SJWs (Social Justice Warriors — a term for authoritarian progressive
activists) as having “plagued mankind for 150 years” and describes how
they “invaded one institution of the cultural high ground after
another.” It presents itself as a guide to “understanding, anticipating,
and surviving SJW attacks.”The book includes a foreword from Breitbart associate editor Milo Yiannopoulos and was reviewed positively in the conservative online magazine American Thinker.
Online progressives were not so supportive. Alexandra Erin, a sci-fi
writer who described Day’s book as “rehashing old slights”, wrote a
short parody of the book for Kindle. Entitled “John
Scalzi Is Not A Very Popular Author And I Myself Am Quite Popular: How
SJWs Always Lie About Our Comparative Popularity Levels,” the book makes fun of Day’s alleged fixation with the progressive sci-fi author John Scalzi.Scalzi himself appeared to be delighted with the parody, saying he “loved it already.” He used the book in a fundraising drive
for a charity promoting diversity at sci-fi conventions, promising to
release an audio recording of him reading the book if $2,5000 was raised
within three days. The target was successfully met, and
Scalzi subsequently uploaded an audio recording.Supporters of Vox Day responded by releasing their own parody book, entitled “John
Scalzi Is A Rapist: Why SJWs Always Lie In Bed Waiting For His Gentle
Touch; A Pretty, Pretty Girl Dreams of Her Beloved One While Pondering
Gender Identity, Social Justice, and Body Dysmorphia.”The counter-parody was removed by Amazon today following complaints from Scalzi. Prior to its removal, it was the top seller in the “parodies” section of the Kindle store, two places ahead of Erin’s book.
Does Scalzi ever think through the obvious consequences of his actions? I mean, I know I literally wrote the book on it and all, but it was supposed to be RHETORIC. But wow just wow, SJWs really do always double down.
