Fantasy author Sam Sykes just wrote what I consider to be a very interesting piece on the entire Jonathan Ross fiasco. For a short summary of the craziness that ensued when it was announced that Ross would host the Hugo Awards, check out this post from bleedingcool.com.
It appears that Sykes nailed it right on the head with his latest blog post. And it seems that he's not alone feeling this way following the Ross debacle. Here are a few extracts:
It started as a disagreement, of that I’m sure. But I’m not sure where it stopped being a disagreement and started being uncomfortable. I hesitate to say it was outright nasty, but there was more vitriol and anger and rage about it than I had ever seen in a typical SFF kerfuffle. There’s a lot of talk about one side being hypersensitive or one side being callous and I don’t agree with that. I think it was more that the Hugos were apparently so important that they were worth being really vicious to other people over.
And I don’t at all understand that.
[...]
Vitriol, in general, does not unnerve me. I’m a child of the internet; I’ve been called names, told to kill myself, received death threats, and so forth. The only thing that really unnerves me is when I don’t understand it. And that’s why this vitriol was difficult for me to see. On some level, I just don’t understand the SFF community, the people whose company I enjoy and whose friendships mean an immense amount.
[...]
I’m not saying that SFF is doomed or inherently flawed. These are discussions that clearly need to be made. But I find that so often it’s becoming a situation of “us” and “them.” I don’t want to be an us or a them, I just want to be me.
You can read Sykes' full piece here.
As I mentioned in the comment section of the author's link on Facebook, I have to admit that there has been a lot less genre commentary on the Hotlist in the last couple of years because I no longer know if and where I fit in the SFF online community these days. There is so much fucktardness going around the inner SFF circles that going to cons has very little appeal for me anymore. Every time there is a new issue brought up, it often takes a turn for what I consider the ridiculous. It's a very sad state of affairs. :/
A shame. . .
3 commentaires:
John Picacio also posted a thoughtful response on his blog:
http://picacio.blogspot.ca/2014/03/for-jonathan-ross-and-family.html
It's why a lot of us lurkers remain lurkers. Knowing that any comment (even this one!?) could ignite a blazing hellfire that even a pissing god could not put out... I'd rather stay silent and read a good book. Or a good Fantasy Hotlist post. Thanks for all the hard work, Pat!
I feel the same way Pat. All of the political correctness has mostly driven me out of blogging and the community. It's sad but I think there is a ray of light with independent publishing. People with talent will continue writing and publishing on their own terms- and hopefully succeed. But I think it'll take a good while longer before we'll see a change elsewhere. I went to a Con this weekend and it was soooooo boring. No joy anymore.
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