Neckbearddämmerung!

[sabotabby]

Oh you guys, you guys. I am so enjoying the explosion of pure nerd rage that has accompanied Chris Sprouse's decision to quit Adventures of Superman over the Orson Scott Card controversy. (You can read some of the butthurt* in the comments there and also in the BoingBoing post about it.

Now, Sprouse's actions, if you read his statement, are not particularly heroic—he's not quitting because OSC is a terrible human being with terrible views; he's quitting because of the "controversy" surrounding OSC's hiring. Hell, even if he quit over OSC's terrible views, it's hardly praiseworthy to not want to work for an actual bigot who plans to overthrow the government if gays get too many human rights. That's kind of called "baseline human decency." But in the white, male, straight-dominated world of mainstream comics, I'll take what I can get, and Sprouse has done right by deed, if not by word, making him far better of a person than the bigwigs at DC.

But to hear the nerds tell it, Sprouse, and the folks calling for a boycott of OSC's Superman run and/or the new Ender's Game movie are one step away from throwing all of the conservatives in gulags and forcing their political opponents to choose between death and mandatory butt sex. I keep seeing neckbeards screeching about freedom of speech, and how OSC's has somehow been denied.

Nerdy liberals are not helping much by pointing out that the problem is not that OSC has reprehensible beliefs, but that he sits on the board for the National Organization for Marriage and every penny you give him ends up benefiting an organization that has, as its sole raison d'être, the denial of civil liberties to gay people. I think this is because no one's read his recent books. One of my friends, who is approximately as nerdy as I am, didn't even know about his politics. I've read—well, parts of his recent books; to be honest, they're pretty unreadable—and the dude has an agenda that he can't keep out of his writing and that should be kept well away from Superman's spandex-clad buttocks, trust me. (He can't write a riff off Hamlet without working in ass-fucking.) So the issue is not just economic; it also has to do with OSC as a person and an artist. You shouldn't give him your money because he's awful.

The most hilarious bit is when the neckbeards compare the boycott campaign to McCarthyism (because OSC probably would argue that communists and fellow travellers ought to be shot in the face), suggesting that we, the nerd community, have an obligation to buy his media so that he can earn a living in the style to which he has become accustomed. Freedom, apparently, means an compulsory copy of Ender's Game and its sequels in every household. (Hey neckbeards who take this line: I'm a geek too! You are hereby obligated to help me maintain my paid LJ account; otherwise you're censoring me.)

Which—no. In a capitalist system, you are not guaranteed the right to earn a living in the profession of your choosing, even if you wrote a book a gazillion years ago that people liked a a lot. If you think this is unfair, let's talk! But unless you're proposing something revolutionary, OSC has no inherent right to not have his career destroyed over his repellent worldview.

Nor is he being "censored." OSC has every right to peddle his hateful shit on a soapbox, literally or metaphorically, without the government stepping in to jail him on charges of Aggravated Asshaberdashery. He's got a right to put his poisonous ideas down on paper without every copy of said paper getting burned or pulped. He even has the right to try and sell his raving bollocks to any publisher who will have him—but said publishers are just as free to say, "No, we do not believe your raving bollocks will sell," and we, as media consumers, are also free to say, "No, we will not buy your raving bollocks because we don't want our money going to NOM, and also because your writing sucks now." This is not censorship.

Let's briefly touch on the other argument I'm seeing a lot of, which is that an artist is separate from his political beliefs. As previously mentioned, OSC is not—both financially and in his inability to keep attacks on queers and leftists** out of his books. But let's just say he was not on the board of NOM and he was only writing books about little boys being unaware that they were committing genocide. I would still argue that his political beliefs are relevant. Look, I like all kinds of problematic art—my two favourite musical genres being opera and neo-folk—but the distinction between a geek-as-active-participant-in-media and a passive consumer at least ought to be, to some degree, critical engagement with said art. I can love Wagner, or T.S. Eliot, or Frank Miller†, or James Bond movies, or Chronicles of Narnia, despite the anti-Semitism, or Islamophobia, or misogyny, or blatant support for British imperialism inherent in the authors and/or work while still criticizing the politics they represent. If you feel a need to mindlessly defend an artist because you like their work, you are officially too dumb to play in geekdom.

Finally, to address the last defence I'm seeing, which is that anything he wrote is actually good. I'm going to piss a bunch of people off and say that, unless you're a bullied adolescent, Ender's Game is actually a bit crap, and if you're over the age of 16, you ought to see OSC for the naked emperor that he is. He's kind of a crap writer. Even if he was the greatest guy, I still wouldn't buy his books or comics because they're not that good. That's not a boycott or anything—it's just taste. If Ender's Game came out now you'd probably roll your eyes. Admit it.

I actually kind of feel sorry for OSC as a person, because I think his bigotry goes beyond simple bigotry well into the realm of mental illness. But that doesn't mean that anyone ought to indulge his delusions. He's got issues, but unfortunately those issues resonate with many theoretically sane, fascist-minded people hell-bent on oppressing anyone who's not like them, and he's got money and more of a platform to be heard than most spluttering lunatics do. For this reason, you should actually torrent Ender's Game rather than pay money to see it, if you feel the need to torture yourself by watching it, and you should totally boycott his run on Superman if it goes ahead. There are enough bigots in the world without you funding their bigotry.

* Probably a bad choice of words.

** See Empire. Or don't. It's awful; I got about 50 pages in before deciding it was too bad to even parody.

† Well, before he went to actual shit.

Comments

[quietprofanity.livejournal.com]

All this is accurate. I haven't even watched the trailer for Ender's Game. I've given up on the idea of making sure all media I consume is ethically pure, but OSC is so repellant and, I think, so NOT VERY GOOD that he doesn't get any free passes from me.

The most hilarious bit is when the neckbeards compare the boycott campaign to McCarthyism (because OSC probably would argue that communists and fellow travellers ought to be shot in the face), suggesting that we, the nerd community, have an obligation to buy his media so that he can earn a living in the style to which he has become accustomed. Freedom, apparently, means an compulsory copy of Ender's Game and its sequels in every household.

This kind of reminds me of when Chick-Fil-A's top brass were doing the whole "Yes, we do hate gays come at us bro" thing in the media and when people had the gall to not be cool with this, some editorial writers were going on about how "Hey, everyone has the right to their opinion let's not boycott Chick-Fil-A that's just pluralism." To which I would respond, "I DO NOT OWE CHICK-FIL-A A BLESSED FUCKING THING."

[sabotabby]

I typically don't care about the moral purity of the media I consume, and nitpick even things that I think are amazing, but when an author goes to as great lengths as OSC does to shove his abhorrent opinions in my face, well, I will care more as a result. (And, well, I'm more likely to throw money at an artist whose politics I admire, though I draw the line at earnest left-wing folksingers.)

"I DO NOT OWE CHICK-FIL-A A BLESSED FUCKING THING."

This! Also I'm vegetarian. And Canadian.

[marlowe1.livejournal.com]

Someone on FB said that quote about "not agreeing with what you say but defending your right to say it" in regard to OSC. I had to do this entire thing about trying to distinguish between legal retribution and financial revenge. Hell, I even brought up Snyder v. Phelps (aka the Westboro Baptist case) as an example as to where that DOES apply (even if we all hate WBC, they should not be sued for "causing emotional distress" based on the fact that they said horrible shit that got back to the father of a dead soldier - but that's ONLY because they followed the zoning laws and did not interrupt the funeral in any way - because if they can get sued for hurting someone's feelings then no one is safe.) and also Falwell v. Hustler (where this precedence was established - which is ironic since in this case the fundamentalist Christian was the one suing).

I ended up with the "But now Chick Fil-A is reaching out to the gay community" - which is completely besides the point.

[sandoz-iscariot.livejournal.com]

recently someone vomited "YOU ARE THE ONE WHO IS REALLY INTOLERANT FOR NOT TOLERATING OSC'S INTOLERANCE" at me, and it was gross.

OSC's previous comic work was shit and didn't even sell well anyway, so I don't know why DC thought anyone anywhere should want to read an OSC Superman story. They must be desperate to reach that untapped manchild market, I guess. (Between this and the first Tropes Vs. Women video coming out, this has been the week of the Fedora Manchild.)

Meanwhile, Batwoman proposes marriage to her girlfriend. COMICS, EVERYBODY.

[sabotabby]

recently someone vomited "YOU ARE THE ONE WHO IS REALLY INTOLERANT FOR NOT TOLERATING OSC'S INTOLERANCE" at me, and it was gross.

And you don't even subsidize it and help him earn cheddar for his gay-bashing! For shame!

Is Tropes vs. Women good? I want to support it just to piss off the neckbeards, but I didn't care much for her actual videos.

GO BATWOMAN YEAH!

[elsewhereangel.livejournal.com]

Hamlet really ought to have more buttsex. Just sayin'

Never managed to get through Ender's Game.

[quietprofanity.livejournal.com]

Alas, nobody wants OSC's type of self-loathing buttsex he served up in Hamlet's Father.

[sabotabby]

I am okay with Hamlet buttfucking Horatio or maybe having passionate hatesex with Laertes, but the problem with OSC's Hamlet is that it's the ghost fucking everyone, and it's not consensual. No one wants to read that shit except for fans of noncon underage necrophilia.

I am only slightly exaggerating, and when I say "slightly," I mean that he was doing the buttfucking before becoming a ghost.

[lienne.livejournal.com]

man, you know, i even LIKE Ender's Game

its value to me is 80% nostalgia to 20% continuing enjoyment, but the nostalgia is strong and the continuing enjoyment exists

i just have a deep moral opposition to ever putting money in Card's pockets ever again

also, EG would be way better if you replaced Ender with the Joker

not that I've done that, or anything

[marlowe1.livejournal.com]

I liked the short story. I never read the novel.

I was kind of hoping that the Superman story would go through since you just know that there would be some unintentional and hilarious homoerotica.

[sabotabby]

I feel like hilariously subversive fanfic based on EG is a thing that needs to happen, just because it would probably piss him off.

I liked Ender's Game as a kid. I don't think it holds up now, but I totally recognize the nostalgia factor. (See my passionate defence of the Narnia books.)

[marlowe1.livejournal.com]

For the most part Orson Scott Card is an easy writer to avoid. I liked his short stories and I remember being entertained by the Seventh Son book (although I only read the first book and I think there were magical Indians in later installments). I do remember really liking "Fat Farm" which makes a lot of his points about personal responsibility and salvation without being too hit you over the head (it's still hit you over the head but it's like the best U2 songs from the 80s which were preachy but not unwelcome).

Apparently there's also a naked shower scene in the novel for Ender's Game (I only read the short story) which is very interesting from a "hm, he sure writes some homoerotic scenes for a homophobe."

But for the most part, his books are just not good enough to justify reading them. And like Harlan Ellison, his horrible personality ruins his fiction for me.

There are other artists that I have more problems with. I LOVE Roman Polanski movies but I so hate Roman Polanski. I snuck into the last one (which was awesome) but I'm still not good with supporting a rapist. I really liked reading Dan Simmons before he went all Islamophobic. I haven't read his books since then but I suspect that the knowledge might ruin them.

Thankfully, many of the troubling artists are dead. Wagner ain't gonna get a dime from me (an aside - I recently met a woman who was educated in the Orthodox Jewish schools and she said that her Holocaust Studies teacher in high school was so obnoxious with her "Don't trust the goyim, they ALL hate Jews" sermons that she started to listen to Wagner as a rebellion. I just think that's a little awesome - probably because it's also pretty horrible too) and H.P. Lovecraft's stories are fun (despite the racism).

Oh and Scott Lynch's OSC parody is here - http://scott-lynch.livejournal.com/265746.html - sorry I got that one wrong (and he's really cool. Hopefully he'll be at CONvergence)

[sabotabby]

Yeah, I have a much harder time, say, with neo-folk or black metal bands with sketchy politics. I figure I'm safe with my love for Wagner and Lovecraft. I hear you on Polanski for sure, but I avoid that by watching his movies without giving him money.

[seaya.livejournal.com]

Butthurt is from spanking. I guess some folks retconned it otherwise, but its origins are from spanking. http://knowyourmeme.com/memes/butthurt

I guess it comes from how spanking hurts but not actually all that much & fades quickly, but kids usually cry and scream disproportionately about it. But on this part I could just be conjecturing. I got spanked as a child until I faked being more upset than I really was about it then my parents stopped the practice.

[sabotabby]

Fair enough. I'm sure the Social Justice Police still don't want me using the term but I'm going to use it anyway because anything with the word "butt" in it is automatically funny.

[the-siobhan.livejournal.com]

I've never read Ender's Game. I've toyed with the idea of getting it out of the library, but it's not exactly a high priority.

[sabotabby]

It's seriously great if you're 12. Otherwise, there's no point unless you want to make posts about how OSC sucks.

[radiumhead.livejournal.com]

All i know is this is gonna lead to Superman having sex with Krypto.

[eyelid.livejournal.com]

BECAUSE OF GAY MARRIAGE

[radiumhead.livejournal.com]

And if Superman can have sex with Krypto, then Supergirl can marry her cat, & society crumbles in a huge orgy of bestiality & gayness.

[sabotabby]

The question is whether it's a male cat or a female cat.

[agatharuncible.livejournal.com]

I hate it when guys start complaining that others are being censored and their freedom of speech infringed upon if they say horrible stuff and people dislike it. I don't get this logic. I think that freedom of speech is great and I'm strongly against censorship, but really, everything has its limits and people shouldn't even be trying to use their freedom to take away the freedom of others. If they do, they shouldn't be upset that the people they're in favour of oppressing will step in and voice their complaints. I wonder if half of these neckbeards and OSC himself would be as supportive of the freedom of speech of gay people. They're probably the same people who complain about Pride parades because in their opinion there are no Straight Pride parades.

My dislike of OSC comes in part (a very large part) from his views. I'm sure that several things are like are problematic, and as you say, it's important that people actively engage with whatever they're reading or watching rather than accepting it passively. But IDK, I have my limits and I don't want to feel massive amounts of rage every time I'm trying to do something from my own enjoyment.

I agree with your assessment of OSC's writing skills, or lack thereof. I recently went back and re-read Ender's Game and yeah, nowadays it's just not as enjoyable anymore. His writing style is not particularly brilliant, and the plot could have been fantastic but at some point it just took a turn for the worse and became a huge mess. Plus wtf at that shower scene, and also why is everyone naked and are Ender and Bean having gay sex in the battle room????? THIS IS ALL I WANT TO KNOW.

[sabotabby]

There was a good analysis posted years ago about why Ender's Game is actually kind of shit, but I am too lazy to go look it up.

Anyway, there are very few media things that I enjoy that aren't problematic. I mean, there will be the odd China Miéville or Saul Williams (or nihilistic_kid) where I'll be like,"here, take a bunch of my money and you'll probably even do things I support with it beyond supporting yourself so you can make more politically astute art." But mostly I am into fan culture for the segments that pick apart where work is fucked up and where either the author's or the culture's politics seep in.

But there's a limit. I can easily avoid watching Tarantino speak about anything (while still loving his movies); it's harder for me to watch a Polanski film without flying into a fit of rage.

[eyelid.livejournal.com]

I like Ender's Game. I can't advocate hating all lit whose author had awful beliefs - after all, pretty much every non-Jewish author prior to 1950 was anti-semetic.

OTOH, everything else Card has written has been pretty (and, over time, increasingly) awful. No idea why DC wanted to team up with this loser.

Every time some petulant person goes off about how someone is being Denied Free Speech because others dare to disagree (or, in the case of Card himself, because anti-choice protestors can't kneel and pray directly in an abortion clinic entrance, but must rather go across the street), my head explodes a little bit.

[sabotabby]

Yeah, it bothers me to the extent of how in my face it is. Card's beliefs are really in my face.

[rohmie.livejournal.com]

As Orwell said of Kipling, you can appreciate someone's work and still know what's wrong with it. He also argued that Dali was both a great artist and a great asshole and that the two are not mutually exclusive. Alas, Orson Scott Card seems to be only a great asshole.

[sabotabby]

Totally agreed.

[(Anonymous)]

Did you see the bit on Brust's blog where he and another neckbearded Fake Socialist on the Internet agree that yes, everyone has the right to have jobs, so therefore boycotting OSC is bad? dreamcafe.com/2013/02/13/the-first-amendment-censorship-orson-scott-card/

[sabotabby]

I did not. But now I did, and wish I hadn't. The fact that he starts off agreeing with Sh*tt*rly sends up more red flags than a Cuban May Day march.