Moon v. Wiscon Follow-up

[jimhines]

I’m still sorting through my feelings on Wiscon rescinding Elizabeth Moon’s Guest of Honor invitation.

It’s not the first time something like this has happened.  William Sanders’ GoH invitation to ICFA in 2008 was rescinded after his “sheet head” rejection letter, for example.  (Thanks to Nick Mamatas for that historical pointer.)

Basically, I

Comments

[gerbilicous]

This is a really hard thing for me, because I love Elizabeth Moon with the fervor that only someone who grew up reading her books can achieve. That said, this is why I hate learning about authors, because sometimes they say things that color my opinion of their books. I have a lot of authors I love for their books, but not their politics. And though I don't personally agree with Ms. Moon, I respect her right to say whatever she wants to on her own blog, and I intend to keep loving her books. I also respect Wiscon's right to uninvite her. It's their con. I personally would not have uninvited her because it's a scifi/fantasy con, not a political one.

Authors don't have to be completely lovable and fair people to write amazing books. A lot of authors are famous for being jerks, actually. But jerks contribute to the medium as well as the open minded, and I think Ms. Moon, like many people, falls somewhere in the middle of the spectrum. That said, I will continue to love her books unabated. There's simply not enough good books to only read those written by people whose politics I agree with.

[trinker]

WisCon's a feminist SF/F con that's been doing a lot of work in recent years on racism and other issues of disprivilege, though. The Carl Brandon Society has a significant presence at Wiscon.

It's not just a small regional SF/F convention.

[gerbilicous]

Ah, that does make a difference. Forgot about WisCon's particular focus. But as I said, they have every right to uninvite her if they feel uncomfortable. Still, the whole situations makes me :( on both sides.

[trinker]

Yeah. No one's happy in all this.

[paulwoodlin]

I know how you feel. I used to buy everything Orson Scott Card wrote.