In response to these rank pieces of bullshit (and this one, too), I have just emailed the following individuals at Tor Books and Macmillan in solidarity with Irene Gallo:
tom.doherty@tor.com
andrew.weber@macmillan.com
rhonda.brown@macmillan.com
This is an escalation as described in part by Martin Wisse last week. First you gin up a controversy, then you demand concessions. The initial concession was the public rebuke of words posted to a personal Facebook page; as quickly became clear in the cesspitcomments, that wasn’t going to be nearly enough to satisfy Beale and company. The initial concession is never enough. These puppies are out for blood.
One thing that I have found very helpful and which has kept Twitter usable for me are a couple of different blocking services: Block Together and The Block Bot.
Here are some additional voices on this subject.
Paul Weimer – I am a real person, too, and I do not support Theodore Beale:
You know what? I’m a real person too. I’m a real person who thinks that the shit that Theodore Beale has pulled in the community has helped inflame tensions and increase divides in the SFF community. I’m a real person who reads what Beale writes on his blog and sees that if Irene is wrong in calling Rabid Puppies Neonazis, its a pretty thin wedge. Anyone who dreams of the day that mass murderer Breivik will be as revered as George Washington is someone whose beliefs are toxic to the SF community. Anyone who believes discredited ideas on genetics and race and intelligence is toxic to the SF community. Anyone who believes that shooting at migrant ships in the Mediterranean would solve the issue of migrants is someone whose beliefs are toxic to the SF community.
Maureen Eichner – A letter to Tor and MacMillan:
…once again, it has made me feel that being a female SFF fan, writer, or editor means fighting for your place forever. It means your boss choosing to give words of support to a noxious racist rather than to you.
Kari Sperring – Red Writer: I stand with Irene Gallo:
Mr Beale believes in freedom only for himself and those who agree with him. He believes he has the right to police the words and lives of everyone else and punish or destroy them if they offend. He is the perfect robber capitalist, dreaming of a world in which the rich — and he is very very rich — control everything, from resources and awards to bodies and thoughts of those who he considers his inferiors.
Ugh… Beale sickens me. I really wish that Tor could wise up and see that anything spewing from that maw is tainted and rotten. Really, if they want to boycott Tor, does Tor really want customers like Beale?
Heavens, TB really is a noxious little wannabe supervillain, isn’t he?
Fitting that he received his initials when tuberculosis was commonly abbreviated TB. His chosen name being abbreviated VD is similarly fitting. There is never a place where either does anyone any good.
I love how his rant starts, pure entitlement crap, “I bought X amount of Tor books, therefore I get to tell them what to do.” Congrats you spent money, good on you. Explain to me how you where cheated in anyway shape or form?
One of your links is broken, by the way.
Fixed, thanks.
See, this is why I really didn’t understand what Tor thought was going to happen then they apologized. All the people who are sickened by the puppies would say “well they do have a point”? The puppies would call it a win and drop it? It just didn’t make any sense.
@Liz Bourke: My god, you’re right. He’s Buddy from The Incredibles! From now on I shall imagine anything he writes as being read in Buddy’s voice.
You inspired me to write an e-mail in support of Irene Gallo as well. Thank you Natalie.
(Loving the Eternal Warriors™: The War in Heaven™ posts!)