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My last word on the Puppies
Aug. 31st, 2015 09:31 amThis will, quite definitely, be the last time I post on the Puppies.
On their terms, they won, this year.
They were going to claim victory, whatever happened. If their slates had swept the boards, they would have claimed it proved "we" (the lefty conspiracy Elders of Fandom clique) were wrong. If "No Award" had done so, they would have claimed it proved "we" had a stranglehold on the Hugo voting. Anything in between, such as what actually happened, would have just gone to prove one or both of these claims. Larry Correia has in fact posted to say "I told you so," which he would have done whatever happened.
It was really a very skilfully orchestrated plan. But it couldn't have succeeded without us. By responding, by pushing back, we achieved the real objective, which was to make a bunch of relatively unknown, relatively minor writers, some of whom are in some degree obnoxious, known worldwide, not only in the sf field but outside it as well. Thanks to us, millions of people who barely notice sf now know we have a Theodore Beale, and also a Benjanun Sriduangkaew. Yay us.
Let's do better next year. The Puppies will go on, under their new leader Sarah Hoyt; they've said so. Let's not play. Let them say and do what they want. Let their threats be lost in silence, and their fighting words blow away on the wind. Don't quote them, don't link to their posts, don't argue back, don't even pick a side. They'll claim victory whatever we do, as they did this year. Next year, let them be that last kid in the empty playground, screaming at the blank walls "Quitters! Quitters! You're all a bunch of quitters! I won!! I WON!!!"
Anything else is just helping them.
I'm not saying "ignore them and they'll go away," because that never works. I'm saying "ignore them and they'll find it harder to do what they want." Which is to make a big fat noise and get people to pay attention to them. If we don't contribute to the noise, they'll have to do it all themselves. I think that's about the best we can hope for.
This year, we played into their hands, and they got what they wanted. Let's not do it again.
On their terms, they won, this year.
They were going to claim victory, whatever happened. If their slates had swept the boards, they would have claimed it proved "we" (the lefty conspiracy Elders of Fandom clique) were wrong. If "No Award" had done so, they would have claimed it proved "we" had a stranglehold on the Hugo voting. Anything in between, such as what actually happened, would have just gone to prove one or both of these claims. Larry Correia has in fact posted to say "I told you so," which he would have done whatever happened.
It was really a very skilfully orchestrated plan. But it couldn't have succeeded without us. By responding, by pushing back, we achieved the real objective, which was to make a bunch of relatively unknown, relatively minor writers, some of whom are in some degree obnoxious, known worldwide, not only in the sf field but outside it as well. Thanks to us, millions of people who barely notice sf now know we have a Theodore Beale, and also a Benjanun Sriduangkaew. Yay us.
Let's do better next year. The Puppies will go on, under their new leader Sarah Hoyt; they've said so. Let's not play. Let them say and do what they want. Let their threats be lost in silence, and their fighting words blow away on the wind. Don't quote them, don't link to their posts, don't argue back, don't even pick a side. They'll claim victory whatever we do, as they did this year. Next year, let them be that last kid in the empty playground, screaming at the blank walls "Quitters! Quitters! You're all a bunch of quitters! I won!! I WON!!!"
Anything else is just helping them.
I'm not saying "ignore them and they'll go away," because that never works. I'm saying "ignore them and they'll find it harder to do what they want." Which is to make a big fat noise and get people to pay attention to them. If we don't contribute to the noise, they'll have to do it all themselves. I think that's about the best we can hope for.
This year, we played into their hands, and they got what they wanted. Let's not do it again.