Assassin’s Creed is very cathartic right now

[erastes]

I remember after watching The Da Vinci Code thinking that it made a better film than a book – now having seen Angels and Demons, I can’t say the same.  the script was LAUGHABLE. Surely someone as experienced as Howard must have seen that?  But then… why should he care? He’d have known it would make a fortune however crap it was.  Sadly though, there was no Hanks throwing himself out of a helicopter with no parachute. I was actually looking forward to that.

Also – Vampire Diaries. How dull is that?  I’m sure the Twiglet lovers are lapping it up, but sheesh, it’s like watching paint dry.  It’s probably just me, but I find the idea of a vampire who is old-enough looking to go and get a job but hangs around college instead for 50 years or so incredibly unsettling.

I’ve just had another piece of hate mail, from a reader – who says that she’ll not be buying my books any more.  I find it amazing that people can be so nasty.  I don’t think I’ve attacked anyone personally in this whole debate, in fact I’ve let people say what they like without engaging with them – they are as entitled to their own opinion as anyone else, but this Anita Buchan called me a racist, a liar, privileged and entitled.  I completely fail to see how being an (often prejudiced against) minority within a minority can be privileged OR entitled.  These two words have been bandied around a lot in the last few days and I really don’t know what they mean.  In what way am I acting as if I’m entitled?  I AM ENTITLED – if by that word it means “i feel i should be able to enter the Lambdas.”  I CAN enter the Lambdas, and if my publisher puts my book in, I will.  In what way am I privileged?  This – I don’t get.

I’ve often disagreed strongly with the ethics, opinions, religion, and views of many authors – however I consider myself intelligent enough to be able to separate the views of an author from what they write and take the writing only on merit. Shame that others can’t do the same.  i’d certainly not write to them and tell them that their views/religion/opinion disappoints me and I wouldn’t buy their books!! 

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Comments

[lee-rowan.livejournal.com]

Well, obviously, if you're not part of THE GROUP--as defined by whatever member of THE GROUP feels s/he is speaking for THE GROUP, you must be an enemy of THE GROUP.

It's discouraging to see the George Bush mentality embraced by people who ought to know better. Personally, I don't see a whole lot of benefit from dividing people into smaller and smaller sub-groups and fostering enmity between them.

[norton-gale.livejournal.com]

If I boycotted all the books by authors whose "ethics, opinions, religion, and views" I disagreed with, my library would be very small indeed.

This self-righteous attitude of some is most annoying. That's my opinion and I'm sticking with it no matter what they call me. ;)

[alex-beecroft.livejournal.com]

As far as I can see, a lot of the people who are coming here via linkspam are seeing straight cis-gendered privilege because they haven't bothered even going as far back in your journal as what? last week? where you were celebrating bisexuality day as a bisexual person yourself. You get linked in a linkspam about entitled straight people and people assume you are an entitled straight person.

From what I've seen, the anti LLF posts posted by authors in this genre have been largely posted by GBLT people. But unless you have a great big sign on your LJ proclaiming your sexuality, these strangers are coming in, already fired up with righteous fury, and just not taking the time to find out.

[lee-rowan.livejournal.com]

I'm getting tired of seeing posts that start out with a person's sexuality ID before they say a word. Honest to God, the only person whose sexuality is my business is my wife.

[leatherdykeuk.livejournal.com]

The same reader probably adores Disney films despite Walt being anti-semetic

[penguinfaery.livejournal.com]

I like twiglet a lot better then some of the other twilight nick names I have heard.

And as someone who you sorta argued with, although I know where the "Privileged" label is coming from, I also think it's utter BS. Although there are some authors who's views cause me not to want to put money in their pocket (Stephenie Meyer comes to mind, although that's hardly the only reason), I really don't think that this justifies being one of them. I t sounds like the kind of reaction to you saying something like "I hate gay people and only write them because I need the check." or something.

[crawling-angel.livejournal.com]

Cuz they heard about your secret knighthood ;p

'Arise, Sir Erastes!"




*runs away and becomes a piece of the wallpaper*

[erastes.livejournal.com]

Darn!! And the seven mansions?

And the slave boys?
And the salve boys?

[alex-beecroft.livejournal.com]

I'm staying out of it while I can. RP still haven't made a decision, so I don't want to say anything yet, in case it turns out not to be true. And yes, I want to put off the whole "let me write you an essay trying to explain exactly what my sexuality is, and why I think it may be Q but it's not LGBT enough to qualify" post until I absolutely know that it's necessary.

[erastes.livejournal.com]

Still not getting it. I am bisexual, and if i wanted to make money by writing, I wouldn't be writing gay books.

[erastes.livejournal.com]

Good plan. I've just had to take Tracey's post down from SIN as she was instantly attacked.

[crawling-angel.livejournal.com]

The saliva boys...one for every bedroom.

[erastes.livejournal.com]

The net seems to be rife with "rent a mob" - what startled me what that nearly every post on my view on the process was someone I'd never heard of - and no-one said where they were from. I'm unused to being invaded by angry strangers. Ms Buchan said that she was sorry about that, but "Netiquette was different all over the net." er. No, it isn't - that's why it's called Netiquette. Not forum-a-quette.

I think I know where the transphobic accusation came from, and that was a pure mistke on my part, a matter of semantics which I think should be forgiveable. but sod it - I'm finished with the entire business.

[erastes.livejournal.com]

I would certainly not own any Heinlein or GRRM. (I hate american football)

Or Christie, or ... just about anyone actually!!!

[chris-smith-atr.livejournal.com]

Thank you. Lots. Just thank you.

[chris-smith-atr.livejournal.com]

and if i call you a member of "the lost tribe of beautiful sane people?" /book reference!

[erastes.livejournal.com]

That's very much what I am getting - I don't understand what is privileged or entitled about me. Nor would anyone else who took the trouble to learn a little about me before accusing me of god knows what.

It amuses me that gay men like Victor J Banis and Teddypig are saying a LOT worse, calling Lambda sherry guzzling queens and the like - and no-one's hating on them, when I'm posting a perfectly sane commentary and get such vitriol.

[anderyn.livejournal.com]

Hmmm.

I saw some posts excoriating your attitude, alas, and just ... well, okay, I'm sorry, but I can't stand all this grandstanding by people who say "X is privileged AND has stepped on my feet by saying ....". It was annoying during RaceFail, even more annoying during MammothFail, and continues annoying with LambdaFail. I refuse to choose my reading material by what the writer thinks, believes, or advocates in his or her non-writing life (though of course I do choose my friends that way :-) because I read for other things than the author's personal beliefs (well, okay, Gor novels are RIGHT OUT, but they are also badly written and not all that interesting anyway, so I wouldn't have read any except in the interests of reading Bad Fic anyway...) -- things like story, character, lovely prose, you know, things that make a book worth reading.

I realize that other people have other ideas, and other priorities, but I am so tired of people yelling at others over the internet when they really do not know thing one about the person they are yelling at.

[alex-beecroft.livejournal.com]

I get the feeling that they are assuming any woman who is speaking out against the award decision is automatically doing so out of straight privilege. Because obviously only straight women write m/m. You'd think they knew better than that, if they're coming from fandom, but perhaps they aren't and don't.

I'm sorry to hear about Tracey's post. I hate to see another LGBT woman shouted down, and I wish I knew what to do to help, other than to not say anything and hope for it to burn itself out. As a straight person, I feel like the member of the team you really don't want to have on your side at the moment!

[lee-rowan.livejournal.com]

I wish that little self-appointed nebbish who links to posts had the courtesy to ask if a poster wanted to be linked.

As for the Lambdas... I don't much care what they do, and I never really did. "Lambda-nominated" only sounds impressive if you don't know it costs $20 and 4 copies of a book... like being in 'who's who.'

[norton-gale.livejournal.com]

You may call me that- unfortunately I'm not quite literate enough to get the reference! :)

[chris-smith-atr.livejournal.com]

*nods*

[lee-rowan.livejournal.com]

Well, I'm not going to buy or even read the books of certain people that I hold in contempt... Cheney, Palin, and their ilk. But waste the time to tell them so? Not likely.

[beckyblack]

The privilege thing is actually bugging the hell out of me in this debate, when it's mostly women writers who have been the ones affected by the new rules. Women. As in the biggest opressed group on the planet. Okay, maybe most of the women in this case aren't like to be sold into marriage, or be the victim of an honour killing, or be forced to throw themselves on their husband's funeral pyre, but I'll bet they've still got plenty of experience of being repressed and ignored and a still sadly large number of them will have been the victims of violence that they find it hard to get anyone to protect them from.

Maybe that's why they're getting so ticked at what's at least the implication behind this - that they shouldn't be writing about these subjects. Not that they can't, not that anyone is saying they should be banned from doing so, only that they shouldn't, which is a slightly different thing to me.

[lee-rowan.livejournal.com]

I think we're seeing what is called "white male privilege." But it's always easier to attack women for just about any reason. On the other hand, Victor has said he's received hate mail, too.

I'm sorry you took down that post. It should be possible to delete inappropriate comments without deleting the post, and what she had to say was worth saying.