I really should learn that I don’t debate well live. I need to stay away from it. But it’s so hard when someone is wrong on the internet!
Yesterday on Twitter, Colleen Lindsay asked “Should a racist/ bigoted author be boycotted even if his/her written work is considered a literary masterpiece?”
Well, of course we immediately had a bunch of people who don’t know the difference between “boycott” and “censorship.” And a lot of people talked about things like Mein Kampf. Also, Orson Scott Card got dragged in pretty quickly.
Orson Scott Card (OSC from now on), if you didn’t know, is an extremely gifted writer with some offensive views on gays. My stand then, as it is now, is I won’t buy his stuff. I was gifted with one of his writing books before I knew his views, and it’s an excellent book. But I won’t put my money in his pockets.
So then I’m asked if I’m not being a bigot myself? Uh, no. Consumers vote with their money. I won’t ‘vote’ for OSC any more than I would vote for GWB. (Though there is only the one comparison. OSC is a brilliant man, a gifted writer, a talented teacher, and in every way I know but one, a decent person. Where GWB…well, I’m not even going there.)
I was also told that my boycotting him is my choice, but should I encourage others to do so, that is “wrong.”
About that time I decided to go take a nap. Today I’m ready to respond.
It is not wrong to speak out against hate. It is not wrong to encourage others to do the same, with their voices and with their dollars. I am not “pushing” my ideas on anyone–it’s pretty easy to escape this blog should you care to do so. If you don’t want to “hear” me on Twitter, blocking someone is also easy.
I will not shut up. I will not let the voice of hate be the only voice heard.