Purging The Heretics: Now A Writer's Politics Are The Most Important Thing About Him
This is something I've experienced personally -- people going after my writing because they don't like my political beliefs.
Most recently, this has been happening to Larry Correia. Glenn Reynolds writes at USA Today:
Authors with the wrong politics are no longer acceptable, at least to a loud crowd that has apparently colonized much of the world of science fiction fandom.The Hugo Awards are presented at the World Science Fiction Society's convention ("Worldcon") and nominees and awardees are chosen by attendees and supporters. The Hugo is one of the oldest and most prestigious awards in science fiction, but in recent years critics have accused the award process -- and much of science fiction fandom itself -- of becoming politicized.
That's certainly been the experience of Larry Correia, who was nominated for a Hugo this year. Correia, the author of numerous highly successful science fiction books like Monster Hunter Internationaland Hard Magic, is getting a lot of flak because he's a right-leaning libertarian. Makes you wonder if Robert Heinlein could get a Hugo Award today. (Answer: Probably not.)
Here's how Correia, writing on his blog, characterizes what's happened since he was nominated:
The libel and slander over the last few days have been so ridiculous that my wife was contacted by people she hasn't talked to for years, concerned that she was married to such a horrible, awful, hateful, bad person, and that they were worried for her safety. I wish I was exaggerating. Don't take my word for it. My readers have been collecting a lot of them in the comments of the previous Hugo post and on my Facebook page. Plug my name into Google for the last few days. Make sure to read the comments to the various articles, too. They're fantastic. ... I've said for a long time that the awards are biased against authors because of their personal beliefs. Authors can either cheerlead for left-wing causes, or they can keep their mouth shut. Open disagreement is not tolerated and will result in being sabotaged and slandered. Message or identity politics has become far more important than entertainment or quality. I was attacked for saying this. I knew that when an admitted right winger got in they would be maligned and politicked against, not for the quality of their art but rather for their unacceptable beliefs.
SF author John C Wright has resigned from the SFWA today. Here's his open letter. Worth reading:
http://www.scifiwright.com/2014/04/an-open-letter-to-the-science-fiction-writers-of-america/
TJIC at April 28, 2014 6:07 AM
Heinlein was the first one I though of when I started reading this. But I'm not so sure is he was really a conservative in the language we use today. His work were cautionary tales written when social conservatives were in power. Starship troopers was published (not written) in 59 Stranger in Strange land was 61. Both I'm assuming were in the works much earlier. Also most of the current mouth frothing bunny humpers grew up on Star Trek which was (now that I watch it on netflix)really really far left with the exception of discipline and expectations.
That's basically what everyone with strong political view and a weak spine do now. Lots of anonymous hater posts, tweets, etc. If you are a writer and you get lots of hate posts means you did something right and will probably make a shitload of money.
Vlad at April 28, 2014 8:11 AM
This is becoming so common among the oh-so-tolerant Left. This is the Left that says, "Our beliefs are superior to all other beliefs. And if you disagree with us, you are a bigot. And we will do everything we can to boycott you, get you fired, or in other ways marginalize you."
A recent example: Mozilla CEO Eich.
This has got to stop or we truly will become a more balkanized, divided country.
Nick at April 28, 2014 8:45 AM
George McGovern is dead and Nat Hentoff is real old.
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I think what you see with this is the replication of high school social dynamics in a wider world where it has generally been absent. Thus, for example, our elected conciliar bodies are now like student councils and have as much discretion as the school administration (manifested in various elements of the legal profession) concede to them. And, as we see here, common activities come to be distorted and disfigured by processes of social exclusion, contrived harassment, and herd behavior.
--
This used to be a society run by adults.
Art Deco at April 28, 2014 9:00 AM
I wonder how many people who think 'Starship Troopers' is a cautionary tale never read the book and only watched the movie
lujlp at April 28, 2014 9:31 AM
I never read it because my high school used it as a Honor's English reading assignment. That prejudiced me into thinking it isn't that great.
But I've read a lot of the rest of Heinlein's work. Some of it is pretty good. Another one that would probably be drummed out of the SFWA would be David Weber if he were American. John Ringo is another one that doesn't really seem to be a lefty either.
Jim P. at April 28, 2014 9:46 AM
Larry's books are great, I love them! I really don't understand why he's not considered a "real" author. Because his books are actually popular??? Crazy! My husband is currently working his way through some of the other more acceptable "real authors'" stories currently nominated (out of curiosity). He's mostly through the 2nd and reports so far it's a bunch politically correct craptrap and not even good stories, and he can't find anything speculative about what is supposed to be a speculative fiction award. Where's the science fiction in a story about a boy figuring out he's gay? I haven't been able to stomach any of it since I prefer to spend my very limited reading time budget on stuff I need for work, or stuff I will actually enjoy. That's just his opinion of course.
chickia at April 28, 2014 9:49 AM
@Jim P.:
David Weber IS an American: he lives in the Carolinas. As is John Ringo, he calls Chattanooga home.
And it's fairly obvious that you haven't yet discovered the Baen Free Library. It's smaller than it used to be, but has quite a few free books, generally the first book of a series.
https://www.baenebooks.com/c-1-free-library.aspx
Be there, aloha !!
Keith Glass at April 28, 2014 10:20 AM
I guess it is the Honor Harrington series that gave me the impression that he was English.
But I do know about the Baen library very well. I haven't paid for many sci-fi books in the past few years.
Jim P. at April 28, 2014 11:39 AM
Knew this was coming after the leftist reaction to Orson Scott Card when Enders Game was coming out.
Heinlein, was a libertarian, though he wrote about many different political ideas. Stranger in a Strange Land was often considered a hippy bible but he would be forced out today.
Joe j at April 28, 2014 2:09 PM
Starship troopers the book is a good fun read. But to be fair it is power armor propaganda. If the power armor industry had a power armor of america trade group that is the type of advertising material they would put out.
Which kinda made the movies a little odd. Since the whole point of the book was power armor and they only got some in the third movie.
Ben at April 28, 2014 2:12 PM
Re: Keith Glass
THANK YOU for the Baen free library site.
Bob in Texas at April 28, 2014 2:59 PM
Umm...this isn't new at all. Awards -especially ones like this-are just critics jacking each other off. Since I'm Hispanic I've read several Hispanic American themed books that have won numerous literay awards and ......came to the conclusion they were garbage.
So I suspect it comes down to jerking each other ya know? Because every Hispanic American book I read was written by 2nd generation Hispanic women, and had the exact same themes, and prose. They had prestigious awards too.
And I think about my favorite American book of all time- Huck Finn and realize people still get full of rage because they think the book is racist.
So I don't really take much stock in literary awards anymore.
Ppen at April 28, 2014 3:14 PM
Which kinda made the movies a little odd. Since the whole point of the book was power armor and they only got some in the third movie.
NO GOD FUCKING DAMNINT IT ISNT
The point of the book was to explore the ideas and IDEALS of public service, civic duty, self determination, the role of government, morality in absence of religion, the value of responsibility, ethics, and what constitutes a valid use of military force.
lujlp at April 28, 2014 3:41 PM
Amy Alkon
http://www.advicegoddess.com/archives/2014/04/28/purging_the_her.html#comment-4553472">comment from PpenPPen, Gregg and I got one of those at a book festival. Well, we actually got two, but I wisely left mine behind. Gregg was not about to turn down something free. We ended up having an ongoing practical joke where we'd slip the book into each other's places/presence. I suspect he's hiding it for a few years and then will bring it out when we're on vacation somewhere and hide it under my pillow. I love that!
Amy Alkon at April 28, 2014 3:47 PM
Keith Glass,
Thanks from me as well for the free book link!
whistleDick at April 28, 2014 4:20 PM
C.S. Lewis would be out; who cares if he wrote The Chronicles of Narnia.
mpetrie98 at April 28, 2014 7:15 PM
For more on the SFWA situation, see http://voxday.blogspot.com/2014/04/larry-wins.html and other posts on the linked blog. Vox Day is (among other things) a fantasy author who was expelled from SFWA not long ago for his political/social views.
Rex Little at April 28, 2014 8:06 PM
L. Neil Smith or Harry Turtledove would never make it,
Radwaste at April 29, 2014 1:59 AM
L. Neil Smith or Harry Turtledove would never make it.
Radwaste at April 29, 2014 1:59 AM
Smith deserves not to make it on merit; I'm a libertarian and I find him unreadable. But what has Turtledove said or done to piss off the lefties? I missed it.
Rex Little at April 29, 2014 1:26 PM
Most definitely. Most people don't realize that Narnia is a thinly veiled set of biblical parables.
You can't have Christianity represented in modern times as anything other than evil. But of course Islam is good.
Jim P. at April 29, 2014 2:23 PM
Rex,
Harry wrote, "Guns of the South", in which a time traveler supplies the Confederate Army with AK-47s and ammunition. It is politically incorrect because it acknowledges that there were other factors than slavery behind the conflict, and it portrays the Confederate Army as winning the war, but mostly because it acknowledges Robert E Lee's reputation as a great man.
Radwaste at April 29, 2014 5:23 PM
I dunno, Rad--I can't see the left having trouble with the idea that the Confederates could win if a bunch of white supremacist slimeball (that's how they were portrayed in the book) time travelers brought back modern guns. Can't see them having trouble with how Lee is portrayed either; in school (public school in the Northeast), we were taught that Lee was a great man, who fought for the South out of loyalty to a place rather than any desire to preserve slavery.
I've seen leftist gripes about Heinlein, Pournelle, Card, Correia, Day and various others, but not a peep against Turtledove.
Rex Little at April 29, 2014 8:45 PM
"And I think about my favorite American book of all time- Huck Finn and realize people still get full of rage because they think the book is racist. "
Yeah, they key on the use of certain words, without having ever read the book. Turns out that what words mean is influenced by context. Who'd a thunk it? But with them, it's all raw emotions, hot buttons, triggers. Anger at everything, all the time. Borderline personality disorder rendered as politics.
Cousin Dave at April 30, 2014 11:21 AM
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