Not only are they committed to preventing harassment, but they just gkicked Theodore Beale out of their guild. I think they got tired of having to constantly dodge that flaming sword. And where do you put a flaming sword anyway? It’s not as if you can just stash it in the closet, and it’s constantly igniting the drapes and singeing the sofa cushions.
Asbestos scabbard.
Huh. One of the commenters on his site is complaining about a split infinitive in the official letter.
That’s… really something.
Way. To. Go. SFWA!
When you’re T. Beale? Nowhere, the flaming sword is imaginary.
Speaking as someone who actually does work with flaming swords: WHOO-HOO YEAH BABY!!!! *throws confetti & glitter & rainbows everywhere* Thank you for doing the right thing, SFWA!
The SFWA has had a long and not always pleasant history with sexism and racism. They’ve been slowly de-lousing for the past few decades, and now they have shown they are really serious about it. Their last election was in part a referendum on the subject with Beale as unapologetic harassing sexist douche-canoe and Gould representing, well, decency.
Hm…I actually didn’t know about Lem’s being kicked out, although apparently what actually happened was that they yanked his honorary membership when he became eligible for a full membership because of some criticism he’d directed at the organization.
Glad to see they’ve come a ways since then.
Well, my schaden is definitely freuding.
I checked @scalzi on twitter to see if he commented – his commentary is in the form of amusing youtube links. Literally lol.
I certainly hope that he doesn’t think that his and Lem’s ouster from the Guild should be construed as anything more. I mean, Einstein had a penis and so do I…
I am as happy as he rest of you that Mister Beale was punted from SFWA. I must say, however, that he has started to perform one useful service for the SF/F fan community.
There’s a new category on his blog called the “Lions’ Den” (I’m surprised he didn’t call it the Awesome Alpha Mancave of Awesomeness, but I digress). It’s his version of John Scalzi’s “Big Idea” posts, where invited authors do a post about their latest published work.
I find it useful in that anyone who agrees with Beale enough to be featured on his cesspool of a blog will never get a dime of my money. It’s great that he has provided an easy method for these people to self-identify, thus creating an instant boycott list for my perusal.
I just realized, does he think he is VOLTRON, slaying evidoers with his blazing sword?
Out of perverted curiosity: does anyone know where Vox/his followers came up with their in-word “rabbits” to describe the sane people at SFWA?
I mean, the Slymers have “baboons” but that makes at least some sort of sense: tribal, aggressive, semi-intelligent.
“Rabbits”? That’s just dumb. And I’m not going fishing through Vox’s blog to find out, but if someone knows the backstory …
The Lion’s Den?
Don’t the lioness do most of the hunting?
“KILL ME A SAMMICH!”
You keep it in the oven. That way you can make toast, flame grilled meat, and s’mores whenever you want them.
It’s not fun on your AC bills, though it does make up for it in winter. And you need good ventilation.
Mr Fowler is a ‘speculative fictioneer’.
Never heard of that (though I can guess what it means), but it sounds incredibly cool!
I confess, I am an unpleasant bastard. Things that cause Beale (moderate, ego related, non-harmful, well earned) pain amuse the shit out of me. Schadenfreude is an ugly emotion, but I am experiencing it.
I feel a little bit ashamed about that, but I’m human, a work in progress, and I’ll lose no sleep over this. May his next turd be a hedgehog, may his earholes turn to arseholes and he shits all over his pullover.
Louis
Becca Stareyes:
Unless you’re Ronnie Soak. Then you keep it in a block of ice.
Seconding hotshoe’s question re: rabbits.
Also, wow, reading the comments on VD’s site induce continuous eyerolls.
we’re the ones accused of groupthink??!!
#10 doubter
Oh, man is that useful! Thanks for letting me know. I’m going to have to go browsing through that.
Hotshoe@12 – It must be because the penis-having progressive SWFA members have balls in front of their dicks. Lagomorphs like Scalzi are very weird animals.
Meanwhile, Scalzi reiterates that he is, by policy, not commenting on any SFWA-related issues for a year. But “by coincidence” he noticed today that he hadn’t renewed his SFWA membership, and has just done so.
I was blissfully unaware of Mr. Beale’s existence, so I read some of his blog.
My takeaway is: “Flaming sword? Hell. More like Flaming asshole.”
And where do you put a flaming sword anyway?
If you know Beale, it’s an easy question to answer.
and the plexiglas viewing plate near his navel makes a nice fireplace effect.
What’s that internet? A nice, steaming hot cup of sweet schadenfreude? Oh, you shouldn’t have. I’ll just have this with my cackling-like-a-fiend cookies.
And yes, I am not a very nice person. I am completely okay with this.
Out of perverted curiosity: does anyone know where Vox/his followers came up with their in-word “rabbits” to describe the sane people at SFWA?
Pervert! ;-)
I don’t know if there is a specific backstory. I suspect it comes from Beale’s other loathesome hobby, wherein men are classified according to a dubious alpha/beta/gamma pack hierarchy, and advised on which cheat codes to use in the Game of Women (or something like that).
Rock-ribbed libertarians like Beale are alpha predators, you see. Actually, he classes himself as a Sigma, which is a superduper special category that looks down on the others from an Olympian height or something, but I digress. People who don’t treat women as a combination video game/object of scorn and condescension/sextoy are classed at or near the bottom of the hierarchy. And if you’re not a predator, you’re prey. Like a rabbit, for instance. Since he’s a libertarian, and despises cooperation and collectivism of any kind, he also riffs off the fact that rabbits are social animals that live together in a warren.
I’m looking at the pdf Beale helpfully provided for perusal of his fanbois. All the actual evidence seems to be absent, replaced with white space.
It looks like everyone’s happy … Beale’s happy as a martyr for his noble cause of reason and decency; while genuinely reasonable and decent people get to exclude him
TSIB.
I’m looking at the pdf Beale helpfully provided for perusal of his fanbois. All the actual evidence seems to be absent, replaced with white space.
Wow. Just wow. That’s a breathtaking act of both chutzpah and sheer cowardice. Between this and all the comment-threads about ZOMG UPPITY WIMMIN DESTROYING IMPORTANT MENZ, it looks like International Piece of Work Day here at FtB.
Aww.
If you use real wildfire, it fucks up your sword is all I know.
Great news. It’s about time.
Congratulations to the SFWA for proving its a way better organization that any of the shit ones we have to deal with.
/increasingly bitter
Wow, his “reply” to the SFWA is one long weaseling whine of “but they were mean to me too!” Dreary and dull stuff, dahling. I expected better from published author. Well done SFWA.
You know, recently at the university where I work, there’s been talk about not allowing admission to people who are known to belong to racist political groups (the AWB, specifically) since our campus has huge issues with racism and discrimination against POC. So of course, cue the “freedom of expression! freedom of speech! freedom of association!” cries of the oh-so-very-downtrodden white south african male.
Like Mr. Beal, what they fail to understand is that no organization has the DUTY to accept you and your bigotry, just like “freeze peaches” doesn’t mean “say whatever you want on any platform, anywhere without repurcussions”. Invoking the state laws and trying to fit SFWA under them to prevent them from suspending him? Pretty desperate move, dood.
which would be an excellent name for a band.
Thank you, SFWA! Vox Day (Beale) is a vicious little shit-stain on the pages of history and I’m glad they decided to cut him loose. I think this calls for a nice glass of wine, some good music and a deeply satisfying chuckle or three.
I’ve always held that people that feel the need to pose with a weapon to show their toughness are actually inversely tough (if you will) to the type of weapon they display. Stand there with a pocket knife? You’re probably okay. Gun? You’re a marshmallow. Flaming sword? You are actually the opposite of tough. You’re the anti-tough. If you ran into actual tough, you’d explode on contact. And as far as rabbits go, my house-rabbit could take him two falls out of three, easily. Odds are good for a sweep.
Hmmmm, the earliest “rule” against split infinitives comes from the early 1800s:
Fowler is probability the most famous person advocating for this rule, but that is also roughly a century ago.
It is, of course, not against the “rules” of English to split infinitives, but the fact that the aforementioned commenters is railing against a rule that exists mostly in his (I assume) mind doesn’t seem to be an out of the ordinary event for those folks.
I think I have spotted a new Meme!
Lemme see if I get it right.
*clears his throat*
Um… *checks his facts*
Hedge hogs gonna hedge hog
Giraffes gonna giraffe
Hey, this is rather fun!
Small furry creatures from Alpha Centauri gonna small furry creatures from Alpha Centauri!
The rabbit thing might come from John Scalzi’s invention of ‘gamma rabbit’, after Beale et al’s demeaning of non-alpha makes as beta, gamma etc.
Search http://whatever.scalzi.com/
for more information.
@b
#36
Or standing there with nothing but a smile.
I had no idea who this guy was before I clicked on this link.
Why did you link to his website? I would have been happy to never know who this guy was.
Just a like background, jakc. PZ used to post more about the religious and sexist bigotry of Vox Day. And Vox Day used to send his flying monkeys over here in order to blather their master’s lines and to challenge PZ to a debate with VD.
Good times were had by all. *snark*
Just let Bun-Bun at’im! Run Away!
I would like to second the notion that Mr Beale is tough. Really really tough. With his flaming sword.
{Snicker} {Giggle}
Oh yeah. That’s a macho man for sure. Lemme think, small….penis? Nah, that’s just toxic masculinity bullshit. Small….man syndrome? Nah, that’s just fictional bullshit. Small….just….small. And frightened.
Oh fuck now I feel sorry for him. EW EW!!!! Get it off!!!! Get this sympathy off me! I FEEL DIRTY!!!!! I CANNOT UNFEEL THE SYMPATHY I HAVE FELT!!!! CLEASE ME OH VOLCANIC FIRES!!!! I MUST SELF IMMOLATE TO FREE MYSELF FROM THIS TAINT!!!!!!
Speaking of taints….oh, I was.
Louis
couldn’t have happened to a more deserving person.
May all his books be remaindered. oh wait…
Regarding “rabbits”: I decided to pursue the matter with a little Googling, and it would appear that it’s an incredibly strained bit of pseudo-evolutionary wankery from this web site: http://www.anonymousconservative.com/, having to do with r vs. K selection. Don’t read too much, your brain will attempt to escape through your ear canal.
Why is Teddy co-opting evolutionary biology, you may wonder? Because it’s a pompous way to insult liberals, of course. “A useful metaphor doesn’t depend on its literal truth, much less the current scientific popularity of the theory from which it derives.”
Cruising through that site as well as checking up on the Sigma Male thing mentioned earlier reveals that these are people desperately obsessed with categorizations and hierarchy. I can’t imagine living like that.
Since Vox Day has decided to “correct” the “errors” in George R. R. Martin’s fiction, perhaps someone should head over to Amazon and “correct” the 4.3-out-of-5-star rating on 109 reviews. Pharyngulate this sucker!
YOU FUCKING WHAT!!!!!!?!?!?!?!!?!?!?!?
This is hubris at a pathological level.
Louis
@47 TVRBoK,
I’ve given it a more appropriate review
Wait, that fuck’s VD? …oh HO HO HO HO HO HO HO HO HO
I’m confused, I thought it was us liberals who were trying to get the state in on everything, and conservatives were tough individualists.
The SFWA didn’t have much of a choice. If he had only posted that pile of racist bilge he wrote about N.K. Jemisin without using the SFWA twitter feed, it would’ve just been catalogued as yet another pissy RSHD rant. But he couldn’t.
Seriously, just what the hell is wrong with him?
Whargarbl
There you go. Maybe not optimal for human survival in general, but… :D I am reminded of a numpty that used to post back in the Usenet days. He was fond of pictures of himself sans shirt, in various “manly” poses whilst flourishing some large, cheaply made, fantasy sword. He liked to bluster about his manliness and the “obvious” superiority of men a lot, too. The usual response he got was something along the lines of, “Put the shirt back on!” and accusations of causing vision loss.
… they just gkicked Theodore Beale out …
Apparently a kick at a force of 1 g sufficed, but I consider it inadequate.
#49 anuran
Careful. With this comment he’ll be able to know which is your review. I don’t expect good things. But that’s your decision, with my situation the first thought was the risk involved.
And can someone point where he says he decided to correct Song of Fire and Ice? Because I’m not seeing it, unless it’s just the title. Maybe he’s just jumping on the bandwagon of what’s popular now like other authors did after Twilight.
I loathe defending the fucker on anything but I’m just not getting it. Of course, I’m never going to read any of his work either. There’s plenty of other amazing authors out there that I can support who aren’t giant assholes. Like C.J. Redwine and Jim Hines.
I should probably withdraw that since I can’t verify it. I got it from a commenter I trust on another blog—apparently the “correcting” commentary is from VD’s site, but I’m not about to sift through there to verify it, so consider it withdrawn.
Man, having issues today. My “I don’t expect good things. But that’s your decision, with my situation the first thought was the risk involved. ” should read “I don’t expect good things but that’s your decision. With my situation the first thought was the risk involved so I won’t be joining in. ”
Major brain fart.
(And I just spelt that Majore Brian fart at first. Good lord, I need to get some sleep.)
#55 The Very Reverend Battleaxe of Knowledge
Ah, ok. Now, I’m torn between curiosity and self-interest.
Yeah, you don’t have to take it back. My inability to sleep for the last 24+ (fucking flashbacks and triggers *grrr*) overrode my senses and I went looking. When someone reviewed and brought up Martin, he blog posted this:
And he does follow his reviews and post about them on his blog. It’s as awful as you would expect.
Is there some way to introduce Beale to that other self-proclaimed genius, Scott Adams, and let them argue over who’s the geniusist?
Louis –
quoted the entire comment for goddamn awesome
– but especially that last line!
Thanks, JAL: You’re a gentleman and a scholar for putting yourself through that. For a variety of reasons I’m so overdosed on crap the last week or so I just couldn’t bring myself to do it.
probably NSFW:
(youtube) Taint
Rutee:
No no no no no.
“The State” exists to protect those who truly need protecting– well known, white, straight, cis-men– and everyone else is a liar and a thief. See, if you expect The State to help you out (welfare, marriage equality, laws guaranteeing reproductive choice, equal access laws, whathaveyou), then you’re a parasite. Using the courts to
bully your criticstake on the Evil Man Hating Feminazis Of The Radical Leftist Agenda is the American Way™.*eagle tears*
So…he’s writing Game of Thrones fan fic?
For those who would like to see Scalzi’s Gamma Rabbit: http://littlegreenfootballs.com/page/293546_Say_Hello_to_Gamma_Rabbit!
Rev. Battleaxe:
That would be gentlewoman and a scholar in this case. :)
NK Jemisin has an excellent post up now: http://nkjemisin.com/2013/08/time-to-pick-a-side/
While specifically about the SFWA it applies to a far, far wider group of organizations. I wonder if I can think of any relevant ones?
But there is one bit in there that will certainly detract from the glow of awesomeness that some are feeling about the SFWA. One SFWA officer sat one her letter to the board for five days before passing it on because they were “concerned” that it was sent in anger and argued with her how she should change the wording.
My sincere apologies to JAL. AssUMe strikes again.
Space Monster @66,
Thank you so much for that link to the N.K. Jemisin post. It really does resonate with what’s been happening in our little corner of the universe.
I especially noticed these lines:
and
Cool, thanks for linking that, Caine.
Space Monster:
Thanks for that link.
I followed one of Ms Jemisin’s links and found an account of a convention that handled a harassment claim properly. Additionally, there were some guidelines by the author on how to make an official complaint. It was insightful and hopeful.
Much more at the link.
http://seanan-mcguire.livejournal.com/517984.html
TVRBOK @ 47:
Hmmm…and what will be your opinion should his followers decide to retaliate against PZ’s book?
Nora Jemisin has a new fan: me.
After reading her Guest of Honor speech at Continuum in Australia I was blown away.
(Excerpt):
http://nkjemisin.com/2013/06/continuum-goh-speech/
The whole thing is worth reading.
*twitch*
Whatever has the German language done to you to deserve this?
Tony: here’s the rest of the story surrounding Elyse Matthesen’s essay on how to report.
http://www.jimchines.com/2013/06/how-to-report-sexual-harassment-by-elise-matthesen/
http://www.maryrobinettekowal.com/journal/why-am-i-afraid-to-name-the-editor/
This Gamma Rabbit stuff is more technical than I thought
http://products.invitrogen.com/ivgn/product/ARC4833
I assume Scalzi will be making his own recipe for Schadenfreude Pie…
N. K. Jemisin’s recent post describes this as the bare minimum that would have been acceptable from SFWA. An unnamed SFWA officer sat on her letter to the board for five days because they thought she seemed “too angry” and hadn’t considered the consequences. “by which they meant alienating the Board and not, y’know, the death threats that concerned me. So since I plainly had no concept of the impact of my actions, this person had sat on my letter for five days without forwarding it to the rest of the Board per my request.”
They have done the right thing, after a delay, and that is good, but I think our bar for “awesome” needs to be higher.
Pteryxx:
I’m confused. I thought my link @70 was to the rest of the story.
*awkward whistling*
I’d never actually heard of him before (I just don’t have the energy to follow the ins and outs of the ‘thoughts’ of weird American religionists), but when I went to Rational Wiki and read about him, he didn’t half sound like Sheldon in the Big Bang Theory. Are you sure it isn’t the same person, PZ?
What amazes me is that VD probably thinks that the following SFWA document actually makes him look good, somehow. If that’s the case, he must be raising miniature troglodytes in his basement in order to start a cult.
(NOTE: The following was probably considered a confidential file by the SFWA, but – big surprise – that didn’t stop VD from reposting it. As a result, PZ can delete or alter thispost if he so chooses. I think it’s a fairly moot point by now, though.)
http://www.voxday.net/mart/SFWA_report.pdf