Maledicte

You know, I've been following the SF/F blow up pretty actively. I'm... well, not surprised, but frankly amazed and gladdened to see not just the readers but the writers of SF/F get into these debates, and become a community.

For those wondering, the part that I've been following, started with the now deleted diatribe against "homosex" by John C. Wright. johncwright has since deleted the post, but it was rather... opinionated. It was harsh. The quote I remember best went something like, "I [John C. Wright] am equating homosexuality with bestiality, necrophilia, pederasty, and other sexual neuroses." There were other things in that list, but I can't remember them all.

ETA: For those really interested, the deleted post was cached. It is not necessary to read this in order to get my post, but if you want to see, feel free. Also, apparently, the quote I remembered is from somewhere in the comments, and not included in the cache.

Hal Duncan wrote an open letter to John C. Wright which is long, but every word of it is a piece of brilliance. Elizabeth Bear weighed in, too, insofar as she says that she agrees with Mr. Duncan. So far, though, yuki_onna (author Cat Valente) has had the best response.

From yuki_onna:

"It's a pretty simple equation, really. Limited lifespan divided by number of books it's possible to consume due to vagaries of money and mortality equals I am not buying your books if you behave like a fuckmuppet in public."

(As an aside, "fuckmuppet" is my new favorite curse word.)

"Guys, learn this rule. Love it. Embrace it.

Every time you bloviate offensively on the internet, a reader swears off your work for life.

It is so easy to lose readers. A cranky day at a con will do it. A single bad book will do it. Insulting an entire swath of readers, calling them evil and immoral, or shouting their concerns down and swearing at them? Especially when SFF readership has rather a lot of the sort of readers you're likely to insult with this kind of nonsense? Will do it so incredibly efficiently it'll make Bookscan spin. Especially if you happen to be a midlist or indie writer, and can't weather decreased sales with a shrug and a grin."

(I have added her to my friends.)

P.S. He seems to be sorry. Though, uh, apparently he had to talk to angels in order to achieve that.

P.P.S. If anyone has any questions about what happened/is happen, feel free to ask. I shall try to answer as best I can.

P.P.P.S. John C. Wright and his wife are both Johnnies (alums of my soon-to-be school). I was slightly sickened upon learning of this.