Showdown um die Hugos? - Der Worldcon in Sasquan 19. - 24. August
Showdown um die Hugos?
Der Worldcon in Spokane/Washington 19. - 24. August
Dabei war man nicht zimperlich und akzeptierte auch Bündnispartner, die das ganze als Teil eines Kulturkampfes gegen "linke" Cliquen und SJWs (Social Justice Warriors) verstand (Vox Day). Die Reaktion des übrigen Fandoms war entsetzt. Man sah die Idee des Worldcons und die bisher gepflegte Vorstellung des über alle Meinungsverschiedenheiten verbundenen Fandoms in Gefahr. Einige der von den Puppies Nomierten zogen ihre Kandidatur zurück, andere prominente Schriftsteller und Fans kündigten an, der Veranstaltung fern zu bleiben.
Inzwischen haben zwei weitere Nominierte praktisch ihren Verzicht erklärt. Praktisch, weil die Wahlzettel nicht mehr geändert werden konnten, sie also weiter darauf stehen blieben. Aber Edmund Schubert, kündigte öffentlich an, eine etwaige Wahl nicht anzunehmen und rief dazu auf, nicht für ihn zu stimmen:
"My name is Edmund R. Schubert, and I am announcing my withdrawal from the Hugo category of Best Editor (Short Form). My withdrawal comes with complications, but if you’ll bear with me, I’ll do my best to explain.
I am withdrawing because:
I believe that while the Sad Puppies’ stated goal of bringing attention to under-recognized work may have been well-intentioned, their tactics were seriously flawed. While I personally find it challenging that some people won’t read IGMS because they disagree with the publisher’s perceived politics (which have nothing whatsoever to do with what goes into the magazine), I can’t in good conscience complain about the deck being stacked against me, and then feel good about being nominated for an award when the deck gets stacked in my favor. That would make me a hypocrite. I can’t be part of that and still maintain my integrity.
Vox Day/Theodore Beale/Rabid Puppies. Good grief. While I firmly believe that free speech is only truly free if everyone is allowed to speak their mind, I believe equally strongly that defending people’s right to free speech comes with responsibilities: in this case, the responsibility to call out unproductive, mean-spirited, inflammatory, and downright hateful speech. I believe that far too many of Vox’s words fall into those categories—and a stand has to be made against it.
Ping pong. (Yes, really.) A ping pong ball only ever gets used by people who need something to hit as a way to score points, and I am through being treated like a political ping pong ball—by all sorts of people across the entire spectrum. Done."
(Homepage John Scalzi 27.04.2015)
Schubert machte aber auch klar, dass er zwar das Vorgehen der Puppies nicht akzeptieren könne, ihre grundsätzliche Kritik jedoch durchaus verstehen könne:
"And let me be clear about this: While I strongly disagree with the way Sad Puppies went about it… when the Puppies say they feel shut out because of their politics, it’s hard for me to not empathize because I’ve seen IGMS’s authors chastised for selling their story to us, simply because of people’s perceptions about the publisher’s personal views. I’ve also seen people refuse to read any of the stories published in IGMS for the same reason."
(Homepage John Scalzi 27.04.2015)
Auch Kary Englisch, eine Autorin die auf den Listen der Puppies zu finden ist, sagte sich öffentlich von den politischen Absichten der Puppies los und rief dazu auf, nur dann für ihr Werk zu stimmen, wenn man es gelesen hat und man es gut findet:
"If you read Totaled and loved it enough to nominate it, thank you. That’s exactly how the Hugos are supposed to work, and it shouldn’t matter to me or anyone whether you identify as a Puppy or not. So if you’re one of those readers, then rock on. I am humbled and grateful for your support.
But as we know, Bob, there was a push this year to nominate things sometimes without having read them, and for reasons that had little to do with fannish enthusiasm. I never asked to be part of that, and had I been given the choice, I would not have wanted my work used that way.
I’m also not comfortable with the ballot sweep. My sense from the Sad Puppies is that locking up the ballot was never one of the goals of the movement, and that it was accidental, unintentional and unforeseen. If I’m wrong, and nominating five works in some of the categories was a deliberate attempt to sweep the ballot, then I wouldn’t have wanted to be part of that, either.
The Hugos should represent all voices, so if Sad Puppies is about drawing attention to works that might otherwise be overlooked, I can support that and I’m happy to stand for it. But if it’s about shutting out other voices and other work, if it’s about politics or pissing off certain segments of fandom, that’s not something I can get behind.
The whole point of fandom is that our love for the genre unites us. It’s about having a place where genre is paramount, where literature comes first. So if that’s who you are, and that’s what you want, then I’m with you. That’s why I invited everyone to talk about books here on my blog.
But if you’re in this with some other agenda, take it elsewhere. I don’t want to be part of it."
(Kary Englisch auf ihrer Homepage 28.06.15)
Zuletzt gab es noch eine fast schon bizarre Zuspitzung der Gegensätze. Lou Antonelli, einer der Autoren, die die Puppies unterstützen, kündigte öffentlich an, dass er David Gerrold, den Zeremonienmeister der Preisverleihung, bei der örtlichen Polizei als "gefährlichen Agitator" angeschwärzt habe:
"During this podcast discussion of the Hugos by Rabid-Puppy authors and sympathizers Sarah Hoyt, Lou Antonelli, and John C. Wright -- which I have not listened to myself as I do not have the stomach for it, but which George R. R. Martin and others have -- David Gerrold comes in for some pretty substantial criticism, and abuse, which is more or less expected and though likely hard or infuriating to listen to, not really worth mentioning.
Then Lou Antonelli claims to have written a letter to the Police Department of Spokane, Washington, telling them that David Gerrold is a violent agitator heading for their City."
(Adam-Troy Castro auf Facebook am 8. August)
Mit Humor gehts auch wie Adam-Troy Castro beweist:
No, Mr. Antonelli, you heard wrong. David Gerrold is a TRIBBLEMAKER.
(Adam-Troy Castro auf Facebook am 8. August)
Antonelli entschuldigte sich später zwar dafür, aber die Aufregung war naturgemäß erst einmal riesengroß. David Gerrold hat die Entschuldigung akzeptiert.
George R.R. Martin, der sich lange um eine Verständigung mit den Puppies bemüht hat, blickt denn auch ein wenig besorgt in die Zukunft:
"From talking and emailing with various friends and colleagues, however, I know that some of them will NOT be going to Spokane, mainly because the Hugo Wars have left a bad taste in their mouths. Others will attend, but not without trepidation. They wonder how much of the acrimony of Puppygate will spill over into the con itself... to the panels, the parties, the hallways. Will this worldcon be a celebration or a battleground? A family reunion or a family feud?"
(Homepage George R.R. Martin 26.07.15)
Die führenden Vertreter der Puppies werden nach Martins Kenntnisstand nicht am Worldcon teilnehmen. Aber wie sieht es mit ihren Unterstützern aus?
"Number one, how many Puppies are actually going to be coming to Spokane? Hundreds of people have bought Sasquan memberships in the last couple of months, presumably to vote on the awards and site selection, but the majority of those have been supporting memberships. Are any of the Puppies buying attending memberships?
I have no idea. We do know that none of the Puppy leaders will be in Spokane. Brad Torgersen is in the military, and on deployment. Larry Correia attended the Reno worldcon (and blogged about what a great time he had, though he changed his mind a few months ago and revised his trip report retroactively), but he has clearly stated a number of times that he finds Dragoncon and Gencon more congenial and does not plan to return to worldcon. And VD, we are told, cannot attend any worldcon held on US soil. (I do not know the truth of that, though it does appear true that Beale lives somewhere abroad).
Torgersen, Correia, and Beale are by no means the only Puppies, of course. What about the others? Wright, Kratman, Hoyt, Williamson, May, Paulk, the Tor Boycott guys? Any of them? If any of the slate nominees should win a Hugo, will they be there to accept? Sure, many of those on the slates will be there, folks like Mike Resnick and Toni Weisskopf and Jim Minz, but just as we must distinguish between the Sad Puppies and the Rabids, we need to distinguish between the actual Puppies and those they chose to nominate.
Will the Sad Puppies be sitting on panels, signing autographs in the dealer's room, attending the parties? Hell, will they be throwing parties? (The Furries sometimes have room parties at worldcon, what about the Puppies?) Will any of the Rabids turn up, without their rabid leader?"
(Homepage George R.R. Martin 26.07.15)
Weiter fragt sich Martin, wie es die anderen Fans mit bekennenden Puppies halten werden? Verträgt man sich, diskutiert man oder gibt es gar handfesten Krach?
Das sind Fragen, die in wenigen Tagen beantwortet werden, wenn der Con vom 19.-24. August stattfindet und dort die Hugos verliehen werden.
Redaktionelle Anmerkung: Im Zauberspiegel werden wir uns noch intensiver mit dieser Auseinandersetzung befassen. Ein Leitartikel zum Thema ist in Vorbereitung. Verfasst wird er von Wayne Borean. Dazu kommt ein Dreifach-Artikel zum Thema. Brad Torgersen (einer Initatoren der »Sad Puppies«) Jim C. Hines (einer, der sich immer wieder gern mit den ›Puppies‹ auseinander setzt) und Lou J Berger (der das ganze von einer neutralen Warte betrachtet) werden den Lesern unseres Magazins das Thema näher bringen. Unklar ist noch, ob vor oder nach dem Weltcon in Spokane. Dazu haben wir die Erlaubnis ein oder zwei Posts von Adam-Troy Castro aus dessen Blog zu verwenden. (hva)
