Wow, I was really stunned at the Hugo nominations Saturday afternoon. There were the usual suspects of well-connected types, such as Rachel Swirsky and Mary Robinette Kowal, but a surprising number of fresh faces, and some pleasantly refreshing surprises. Larry Correia was nominated in the novel category, and Brad Torgersen - a fellow SASS member - garnered two nominations in the novelette and novella categories. Neither Brad nor Larry are the typical run of the mill self-hating leftists who dominate the genre.
But the nomination of Vox Day (Theodore Beale) in the novella category sent the usual suspects running around like a chase scene in Benny Hill. Wow! I can't pass judgement on Beale's work because I don't read it, and I really don't agree with the way he conducts himself in public.He's very rude and confrontational. But he pushes the buttons that drive the pagans and atheists bananas, and they're frothing at the mouth.
Last year, when he ran for president of the SFWA and got ten percent of the vote, I predicted in advance he would be expelled from the organization because it is run according to traditional revolutionary socialist doctrine, which rejects dissent. I was right. He was the first person ever expelled from the SFWA.
I'm not even sure Beale voted for himself as SFWA president. Most of the votes he got, I'm sure, were protest votes. In the U.S., a protest vote might mark you as a crackpot. In places where the politics derive that dominate the opinion leaders in the s-f community, a protest vote will get you in front of a firing squad.
I have no idea whether that "gig the assholes" sentiment motivated some people to nominate his story. From comments I have seen, his nominated story is actually very good. Like I said, I don't read his stuff. But if anyone cast their nomination for him to piss off the sneering left, it seems to have worked.
Cynical British aristocrats have a saying, "If the gentleman can't win the game, the gentlemen change the rules." That pretty much covers it.
I'll say right now he will be the first person ever to have a Hugo nomination cancelled. I'll add that he will be banned from the World Science Fiction convention.
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I was pretty amazed as well. I've come to the conclusion that the Hugos are one big circle jerk, but I may have to revise that, especially if Correia, Torgersen, Wells, or Beale end up winning. As a member of last year's Worldcon, I think I'm eligible to vote on this year's slate. If not, I may shell out the $ for a supporting membership.
ReplyDeleteThe upshot of all this is that the politically correct movement within SFF is beginning to be shown for the bigot factory it is. Turns out the "man" behind the curtain are rather insane faux feminists with their share of mental health issues by way of paranoia about non-existent oppressions, male phobias, and being traumatized into publicly weeping on Twitter just at the thought of a comedian hosting the Hugos. When women publicly state they think living in America is like being punched in the face or that Americans want to drag them behind a truck that's just plain nuts.
ReplyDeleteThe curtain drawn aside that has heretofore hid all this are the frontmen like Scalzi, Hines, ect., parroting intersectional feminist rhetoric whispered in their ear. Instead of people like Scalzi getting Nebula and Hugo nods in the future, the more open fight will be between feminist novelists and those perceived as conservatives, which is exactly the division in this year's Hugos.