• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer
  • Home
  • About
  • Comment Policy
  • Nav Widget Area

    • Instagram
    • RSS
    • Twitter

Pretty Terrible

Pop Culture Criticism by Natalie Luhrs

June 20, 2015

Documenting a Wannabe Supervillain

hugo-poop I’ve been thinking a lot about giving abhorrent views attention–I mentioned this in my post the other day, and I’ve continued to think on it.

On one hand, you are giving them attention so they can crow about making people upset (and then there are the comments, ugh the comments).

On the other, by not calling attention to it, you’re allowing it to go unchallenged and by not calling it out, you’re tacitly approving. Silence is complicity.

I don’t care if you think they’re jokes. And I know full well what kind of context they’re coming from, when your Twitter feed is full of you taunting people who are grieving and angry over an act of terrorism perpetrated against their community and you have pictures of yourself with guns and your Facebook profile pic is pro-waterboarding. I know exactly what kind of asshole you are and you can’t slither out of responsibility for your words because you think they’re jokes. You are a hateful, vile, and pathetic human being, Michael Z. Williamson.

And Williamson’s Hugo-nominated work, “Wisdom from My Internet” is execrable. It should never have made it to the ballot–and it wouldn’t have, if the Puppies hadn’t gamed the system with coordinated slates.

So I’m putting screencaps of some of the nastiness I found on your Facebook page below the jump–because I believe in shining light into dark corners.

MZW Privilege

(original post)

MZW Rosa Parks

(original post)

MZW Immigration Jokes

(original post)

MZW Evolution

(original post)

MZW Charleston
(original post)

Share this:

  • Click to share on Twitter (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Tumblr (Opens in new window)
  • More
  • Click to share on LinkedIn (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Reddit (Opens in new window)
  • Click to email this to a friend (Opens in new window)
  • Click to print (Opens in new window)

Related

Filed Under: Opinion Natalie Luhrs

About Natalie Luhrs

I'm a lifelong geek with a passion for books and social justice.

Reader Interactions

Links: 06/19/15
Bad Life Decisions: Chapters 9 & 10

Comments

  1. Rafael says

    June 20, 2015 at 11:20 am

    You know, I thought that episode of South Park where the characters started defecating through the mouths was pure fantasy, then I read those tweets and….

  2. I_Sell_Books says

    June 20, 2015 at 11:38 am

    Yeah, that’s uh…

    *shakes head*

  3. Reveen says

    June 20, 2015 at 12:15 pm

    If you’re a bad person, well that’s just sort of meh. But if you can be the worst person, then you’re getting somewhere!

    Way to raise the bar for shitheads everywhere!

  4. DMS says

    June 20, 2015 at 12:41 pm

    None of those has fewer than 40 likes. Pardon me while I throw up.

  5. delagar says

    June 20, 2015 at 12:55 pm

    I remember the outrage over Gallo calling the puppies racist, and I look at these tweets.

    But I’m sure Williamson is just joking.

    So, you know, that makes it all right.

  6. Kari Sperring says

    June 20, 2015 at 1:32 pm

    I believe in pushing back and not being silenced. Because what these people usually want is to silence all dissent. That’s the way of all abusers, oppressors and wannabe dictators.
    I have never heard of this individual before the Puppy thing. I find his existence regrettable.

  7. Laughingrat says

    June 20, 2015 at 2:12 pm

    Naming and shaming people like this is important, and speaking out about crap like this is important. I’m glad you’re doing it.

  8. Chad Saxelid says

    June 20, 2015 at 3:46 pm

    The horror. The horror…

  9. Wolf Baginski says

    June 20, 2015 at 4:03 pm

    I have to admit a momentary amusement about the Rosa Parks one. It could depend a lot on the precise wording and context.

    In this context the amusement was very momentary.

  10. Ray Radlein says

    June 20, 2015 at 5:54 pm

    @DMS: To be fair, some people use Faves as bookmarks, so they can come back to find a tweet later. I do that a lot myself, although I wouldn’t have done it in this case, just to avoid the impression of support.

    • Natalie Luhrs says

      June 20, 2015 at 5:59 pm

      I don’t know if there’s a way in FB to see everything you’ve liked, though. I know if posts contain links you can save them for later, but I don’t know about likes. In this case, the fact that most comments are approving really makes me stop and pause.

  11. Tim Lieder says

    June 21, 2015 at 12:27 am

    “Immigration jokes cross the line”? I know I should hate the rest of the tweets more, and I do hate the rest of the tweets more but that joke is just so fucking stupid. And it’s got that wink wink ain’t I the greatest tone to it.

  12. JC says

    June 21, 2015 at 2:34 pm

    Here is part of the blurb about Wisdom from My Internet: “Join SF writer and satirist Michael Z. Williamson for a collection of snark, comments, random typings and alcohol-fueled puns that is worth at least half the cover price.” Considering it’s free on Kindle Unlimited, one can only presume that Amazon has recognized how shitty it is and is snarkily letting the reader know.

  13. Laura Resnick says

    June 22, 2015 at 7:01 am

    I find it unsurprising that rather than apologizing, this person chooses to antagonize and ridicule people he’s offended by making a racist joke about 9 murder victims. I think it would be unusual if someone who thinks up up and deliberately Tweets such a “joke” in these circumstances would apologize for his behavior, and not unusual that he reacts by attempting to inflict still more offense. If nothing else, he at least seems to be consistent.

  14. Craig Laurance Gidney says

    June 22, 2015 at 10:25 am

    Apparently he and his friends were banned from Facebook temporarily. The charge? They were using words like ‘chigger’ and ‘niggardly’ in that oh-so-clever way.

Trackbacks

  1. 50 Ways To Leave Your Rover 6/20 | File 770 says:
    June 21, 2015 at 12:32 am

    […] “Documenting a Wannabe Supervillain” – June 20 […]

Primary Sidebar

Welcome

Hello! I’m Natalie Luhrs. I write about books and culture and whatever else strikes my fancy. I have so many opinions.

I was a nominee for the Best Fan Writer Hugo in 2017.

Search

Upcoming Conventions

None, because pandemic. Woe!

Support Pretty Terrible

Updates by Email

Blog posts, cat pictures, and other random things in email? Sign up here.
 

 

2020 Reading Challenge

2020 Reading Challenge

2020 Reading Challenge
Natalie has completed their goal of reading 40 books in 2020!
hide
75 of 40 (100%)
view books

Recently Read

The Care and Feeding of Waspish Widows
The Relentless Moon
A Wizard's Guide To Defensive Baking
Mischief
Architects of Memory
The Order of the Pure Moon Reflected in Water
Unconquerable Sun
Bury Your Dead
The Brutal Telling
A Rule Against Murder
The Cruelest Month
A Fatal Grace
The Angel of the Crows
One Summer in Paris
Still Life
The Crossroads of Should and Must: Find and Follow Your Passion
Family for Beginners
The City We Became
Seven Sisters
The Harbors of the Sun


Natalie's favorite books »

Footer

Helpful Links

  • Home
  • About
  • Comment Policy
  • RSS - Posts

Archives

Looking for Something?

Recent Posts

  • Could I possibly catch a break now?
  • Some Positive News, For Once
  • Still Too Broken to Fix
  • Three Things Make A Post: August 17, 2020
  • Windows

Copyright © 2021 Natalie Luhrs · Pretty Happy On Genesis Framework · WordPress · Log in

loading Cancel
Post was not sent - check your email addresses!
Email check failed, please try again
Sorry, your blog cannot share posts by email.