Why I'm not boycotting Ender's Game

Besides, self-boycotting and informing people of how terrible Card is is not a blacklist, nor is it even an emotional plea.

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Aside from the obvious, it’s hard to enjoy an author’s works when you find out they happen to be despicable as a person. Reading a good book is like having the writer whisper in your ear

The recent controversy also prompted me to think about his written works. Since I read Ender’s game (and Treason, and Wyrms, and Hart’s Hope, etc), I’ve read a lot of BETTER AUTHORS. And especially after reading John Kessel’s essay-- his books aren’t just badly written, the core concepts are a bit creepy too.

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I know it won an award. But now that I’m older and have read more widely, I’m not really impressed. It’s Hogwarts in space (I apologize-- can’t think of another example of “badly treated orphan discovers he can do MAGIC and saves the world”)

Beauty is only skin deep. But ugly goes right to the bone. I can’t even think about card’s stuff without thinking of him. No artist can create something without getting their fingerprints on it.

I’m not boycotting it, I’m just not going to go see it. Being gay and consuming something that was produced by someone who I know to be anti-gay feels weird and sort of self-loathing. And then it’s just ruined and I can’t enjoy it anyway. This is a personal feeling and in no way do I feel let down somehow by others who support gay marriage going to see it.

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Consistently avoiding that privilege requires such thorough and deliberate biographical research, you’re clearly wasting your talents in this moderator gig. Seriously, if you’re construing studio-system films, even before their release, as Orwellian boots forever stomping your face, it’s time either to send your rĂ©sumĂ© to RedLetterMedia or reevaluate your definition of suffering and your devotion to such a joyless outlook.

The only people impacted by a ticket are the investors (and is sounds as if Card is one of them in that he possibly took less up front in exchange for a percentage). The big time actors get what they spell out in their contract, because they are big time actors and can do that. Probably the director and producers have a clause that gets them more if the movie does really well, but they have most certainly already gotten more than you or I make in a year or even 5. But if you are concerned about the impact of a ticket on the huge list of workers that scrolls by at the end of the movie, those people have already been paid. Sure they could get a boost in their future business if it does well and they get exposure for it. But if it’s a really well done movie that makes less because people boycott, they will still get credit for their great special effects, makeup, music, etc.

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Geeze, I can’t understand why Cory would want to put money in the pocket of a bigot.

And justify it as either ‘free speech’ or "wow, that bigot made some good stuff’.

The money you give to this movies to OSC
that money is to support anti-gay organizations.

You wouldn’t do this for anything else for a corporation that does that; or something you don’t like.
Like the Chic-fil-A support you love the bigot chicken and support it because of the tasty goodness
and week morals and vapid position you have for civil rights.
Which is summed up “I’m for civil rights and protests—except when they bother me by boycotting something I like”.
That’s a week ass stand for social change.

The real Ethical question here is this: “Does Cory Doctorow support anti-gay groups with his money” That sums it up.

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Difference between boycott and blacklist (IMHO)

Boycott - The refusal of individuals to purchase a product due to the continuing reprehensible actions of a producer with an aim to stop said actions. The best example I can recall is the boycott of apartheid South Africa, the economic impact of which lead directly to the enfranchisement of millions of people.

Blacklist - The proscription by authorities of individuals for private beliefs they may hold which potentially threaten the interests of those with power. The best example here is the McCarthy blacklist (although Stalin’s purges, also a form of blacklisting, were of course much worse), where artists were prevented from working based on the merest suspicion of Communist sympathies.

One is focused on getting the powerful to change their behavior, the other is used to terrorize the weak for what they think. I leave it up to the audience to determine which is more applicable in the OSC case.

“I disapprove of what you say, but I will defend to the death your right to say it”. I’m a passionate supporter of gay rights, but I don’t want to participate in a society that only respects free speech when that speech fits with my own agenda.

My devotion to such a joyless outlook has stood me in good stead in the 41 years that I’ve been out of the closet and working for equality.

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I really don’t want to participate in a society that says that I have to support hatemongers with my movie-going dollars. No one has suggested that his books or his movies be banned, just that people of conscience have no business putting money in the pocket of someone who’s actively working against human rights.

No, you’re not. Not if the idea of a boycott makes you walk away from it.

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No, you’re not. You’re an uncle Tom. A passionate supporter of gay rights has passion about his decisions. I’m not telling OSC to shut up. I’m not demanding the government shut him up. I’m not calling for his death (while he is calling for the death and violent overthrow of this government AND many of my friends.) I am simply stating, resolutely, that NO ONE who is a passionate supporter of gay rights should put a SINGLE DOLLAR into this man’s pocket without considering the ramifications of doing so. In this case, as he sits on the board of a hate organization, and has the ability to cause damage politically that will ripple through and affect me and my friends personally, I can’t give him the money.

He’s FREE to say what he wants to say. He’s NOT free to call for my death, as fighting words is EXPLICITLY excluded from the first amendment. And he damn well isn’t going to get my support automatically because he’s got an opinion.

Now I’m sorry, but what some lady (writing as a man because she was barred from publishing as a woman) said Voltaire thinks the way described in that quote has no relevance on the matter at hand here. That’s an appeal to authority, and if it weren’t apples and oranges, it’d still be wrong.

It is not intolerance to point out that people are behaving horribly towards others. He is free to think what he wants. He is not free to act on those impulses and endanger people’s lives.

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Cory the correct thing to do in such a situation is pirate the shit out of his works so the “popularity” isn’t tracked in any meaningful way and you can still watch it. Then: Don’t talk about it. Don’t write it up. Don’t give the douchebag free publicity.

** taps on @Antinous’ enclosure to see if he’s still alive **

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Damn skippy. x1000000000

It’s not intolerance: it’s payback. I’ll treat homophobes like the idiotic pieces of shit that they are. Their ideas and arguments are entirely dismissible by anyone with basic reasoning skills. Their opposition to homosexuality usually stems from religion which is completely made up shit with less scientific proof than the science backing up homosexual attraction.

Fuck their expectation that we care whatsoever about their opinion. I think you’re a stupid asshole if you’re a religious zealot who expects the world to believe your made up stories about a cloud cowboy who hates teh gay. I think religion should be banned and gay marriage legalised. No, I take that back
 if religion were banned I wouldn’t be able to easily ask for a person’s religious beliefs to instantly judge their mental fortitude.

First, I appreciate the comparisons to Limbaugh and Dean because they do provide some context. I also can accept how their images as personalities are more directly linked to their profits, where Ender’s Game is more of a vehicle (and yes, one not without literary merit). However, I think your Miles Davis analogy is where your argument begins to fall apart. This is where we start to talk in more much abstract hypotheticals where no one can be really sure. But my interpretation? Miles Davis lived in a different era, and that is not to excuse him or the response of lack thereof to his personality and actions, but if we took him out of that context, and put him in ours – I think that he would experience the same kind of scandal. His work would become famous and influential; following, the details of his life would be out in the press and, following that, people would choose to patronize or boycott him, accordingly. That is simply the state of our modern response to these sorts of things. As for the movement being weak, you’re entitled to your opinion. Morally, I believe it to be very strong, and tangibly, we have already seen ripples of its effect in notable places. Finally, I’d contend that this issue is not about “expressing pro-gay views”. More to the point, it’s about fighting bigotry and the fighting suppression of civil rights! Scott Card has used his time, his platform, and INDEED HIS MONEY in order to further his causes, and so I see this as a rather direct way to defund his bigotry.

Doesn’t sound tricky to me, this looks like a horrible movie made by detestable people.

I’m having a hard time not seeing serious hypocrisy here. Lots of posts on BB about how awesome Lovecraft is yet Lovecraft was racist. Card is homophobic. fine. So act consistently and disdain Lovecraft as well.

Most movies now-a-days are made by > 1000 people. If any one of them has views you disagree with aren’t you being hypocritical to support the movie? How about all the business you go to? Did you check that every employee you tipped wasn’t gay bashing? Did you check the owner of every restaurant you ate at wasn’t doing something you disagree with?

I’ll see the movie if I hear it doesn’t suck. I don’t care what Card’s views are. Some of the best literature ever written is by people who’s views I disagree with. If we avoided everything created by people we disagree with we’d be much worse off

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Lovecraft died 76 years ago. Card is right this minute acting as a director of a prominent hate group. He has advocated the overthrow of the government to stop gay marriage. His group has supported the Kill The Gays bill in Uganda.

You have no point.

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