Comments on: Down the Rabbit Hole

By: Oldsters get frisky at WorldCon « fandumb

Oldsters get frisky at WorldCon « fandumb — Sun, 03 Jun 2007 01:14:42 +0000

[...] ‘, 65, breast while onstage during a presentation. The aftermath has been an orgy of shared outrage among writers and fans. People have posted pictures and video of th [...]

By: Not a journal. (Except, now it is.) » Reasons to be mostly cheerful!

Not a journal. (Except, now it is.) » Reasons to be mostly cheerful! — Wed, 06 Sep 2006 00:58:54 +0000

[...] and a rain of live frogs lifted from our pond and delivered to you, dear reader. – A reason not to be cheerful about convention going. Alan’s coming from another di [...]

By: Alexandra

Alexandra — Mon, 04 Sep 2006 04:07:10 +0000

This is why I backed out of my plans to actually go to the convention–I’m 18, and I would have been going alone. I’m not very good at defending myself, so if he had touched me (not groped me) I would simply have run away (if he had groped me on the breast, I would have given him a right hook to never forget).

By: Nikki

Nikki — Sun, 03 Sep 2006 21:40:21 +0000

I don’t know HE, the owner of this blog, or Kim Owen Smith, but I’d like to respond to the latter.

I believe you’ve misunderstood the author’s use of “dead-enders.” It seemed to me that it referred to people in the SF/F community who are out of touch with modern conventions of polite behavior, not “older writers.”

“Dead-enders” as used here could (and probably does) include people of all demographic characteristics.

By: A.R.Yngve

A.R.Yngve — Sun, 03 Sep 2006 20:23:47 +0000

First: No, I wasn’t there. I got to hear about the incident from all the accounts that popped up in scores of weblogs — and eventually, I saw the video clip on the Web.

1. My initial impulse when I read about it was to condemn Ellison, without any ifs and buts: This is unacceptable. Show some respect for a great writer like Connie Willis. I didn’t know any context, except that Ellison grabbed Willis’ breast on stage.

2. Then I read the more detailed accounts and started thinking: Was Ellison merely being pathetic in his old age? Were the writers acting out some personal feud?

3. Then I saw the video.
Boy, does Connie Willis look tall next to Harlan Ellison!
How feeble the Hugo Awards ceremony suddenly seemed, in the stark imagery of a digital video camera… how cringeworthy the “comedy” on stage. I quickly shut off the video out of sheer embarrassment. I really, really didn’t want to see Ellison grab Willis… it was quite enough when he stuck the microphone in his mouth and acted like a big baby.

4. Then I started to wonder what role the Internet and mass media played in the incident — perhaps this “closed” SF community had suddenly found itself exposed on video, and was just not used to the attention of countless bloggers and Websurfers. (McLuhan was right, again. It really is a global village.)

5. Then I read Mary Anne Mohanraj’s comment here, about other “incidents”, and all the pieces fell into place.

This isn’t about Harlan anymore. It’s about the frickin’ “boys’ club” attitude. It’s “the grab that broke the camel’s back.”

While I don’t expect the “boys” (whoever they are) to suddenly become saints, they should be made aware that this IS the 21st century. Try to treat women like your personal playthings, and you WILL be confronted for it.

Face the facts: The “Science Fiction Boys’ Club” is closing. And it’s about time.

By: Conversations « Torque Control

Conversations « Torque Control — Sat, 02 Sep 2006 08:24:53 +0000

[...] the essential roundup of who said what. The best posts you might not have seen yet are by Alan DeNiro and Ben Rosenbaum. The most impressive train-wreck of a conversation (aside, presumabl [...]

By: Ellen Datlow

Ellen Datlow — Sat, 02 Sep 2006 05:47:27 +0000

Jackie M,
Yes, I did see Ben’s account–no further comment on it.

By: Ellen Datlow

Ellen Datlow — Sat, 02 Sep 2006 05:46:24 +0000

Mary Anne,
I’m appalled to hear this–Yes, please contact me directly. You’ve got my email address.
thanks
Ellen

By: Pareux

Pareux — Fri, 01 Sep 2006 20:39:58 +0000

My appologies Alan. The two posting I placed are from Ellison’s site(http://harlanellison.com)
I am just stunned by his reaction and some of the comment from others on that site.

By: Kim Owen Smith

Kim Owen Smith — Fri, 01 Sep 2006 18:34:09 +0000

A Modest Proposal:

We Shall Institute At All And Several various Gatherings Known as SF Conventions A Body Of Officers To Be Known As The Comedy And InterSexual Relations Police To Be Under The Command Of The World SF Committee For The Enforcement Of Anti-Comedy In Awards Ceremonies And Anti-Boorish Behavior On The Grounds Of Any SF Convention For All Time Anywhere In The Universe. Said Body Of Officers Shall Compile Records Of All Alleged Incidents Of Comic Behavior At Any Gathering Of Three Or More SF Writers And Furthermore Shall Also Compile Reports Of Boorish Behavior By Any SF Author Or Fan. All Comrades In SF Will Support The Committee And Their Officers In The Pursuit Of Cleansing The SF Community Of The Bacillus Of Comedy And Boorish Behavior. I Hereby Propose Comrade Bowes As The First Chairman Of The Committee. All Hail The Committee, All Hail The Cleansing Of Deadenders And Their Bacilli Of Deadender Behavior. Long Live The Committee And The Body Of Officers Who Shall Cleanse SF With An Iron Broom!

That oughta show them, eh?

Kim Owen Smith