B. Harris (![[info]](http://l-stat.livejournal.com/img/userinfo.gif){kind=small} civic_oracle) wrote,@ 2005-02-18 15:23:00 |
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Open letter to Boskone 42 attendees about Orson Scott Card
While I am sure that there will be strong attendance
at this year’s Boskone, there are not as many people
here as there might be. Why? Because of the Guest of
Honor. Orson Scott Card, while a gifted and popular
SF writer, is also virulently anti-gay – so much so
that he has amassed years of bigoted, public
nonfiction writing that insults and demeans lesbian,
gay, bisexual, and transgender people.
He supports police action against us, unless we keep
quiet:
"Laws against homosexual behavior should remain on the
books, not to be indiscriminately enforced against
anyone who happens to be caught violating them, but to
be used when necessary to send a clear message to
those who flagrantly violate society's regulation of
sexual behavior cannot be permitted to remain as
acceptable, equal citizens within that society." (O.S.
Card, “The Hypocrites of Homosexuality,” 1990).
He wants us to remain in the closet:
"The goal of the polity is not to put homosexuals in
jail. The goal is to discourage people from engaging
in homosexual practices in the first place, and when
they nevertheless proceed in their homosexual
behavior, to encourage them to do so discreetly, so as
not to shake the confidence of the community in the
polity's ability to provide rules for safe, stable,
dependable marriage and family relationships." (O.S.
Card, “The Hypocrites of Homosexuality,” 1990).
What does he really think?:
"The dark secret of homosexual society -- the one that
dares not speak its name -- is how many homosexuals
first entered into that world through a disturbing
seduction or rape or molestation or abuse, and how
many of them yearn to get out of the homosexual
community and live normally." (O.S. Card, “Homosexual
‘Marriage’ & Civilization,” 2004).
I thought it only fair to use his own words to back up
my assertions. The problem was not in finding
anti-gay quotes from him - it was in selecting from
dozens of them so as to accommodate a single page
letter… Does he have the right to state his views
publicly? Absolutely. Is he a raging bigot?
Absolutely.
A number of us have chosen not to attend Boskone this
year to protest his presence. We just wanted you to
know why.
Sincerely,
Buzz Harris
While I am sure that there will be strong attendance
at this year’s Boskone, there are not as many people
here as there might be. Why? Because of the Guest of
Honor. Orson Scott Card, while a gifted and popular
SF writer, is also virulently anti-gay – so much so
that he has amassed years of bigoted, public
nonfiction writing that insults and demeans lesbian,
gay, bisexual, and transgender people.
He supports police action against us, unless we keep
quiet:
"Laws against homosexual behavior should remain on the
books, not to be indiscriminately enforced against
anyone who happens to be caught violating them, but to
be used when necessary to send a clear message to
those who flagrantly violate society's regulation of
sexual behavior cannot be permitted to remain as
acceptable, equal citizens within that society." (O.S.
Card, “The Hypocrites of Homosexuality,” 1990).
He wants us to remain in the closet:
"The goal of the polity is not to put homosexuals in
jail. The goal is to discourage people from engaging
in homosexual practices in the first place, and when
they nevertheless proceed in their homosexual
behavior, to encourage them to do so discreetly, so as
not to shake the confidence of the community in the
polity's ability to provide rules for safe, stable,
dependable marriage and family relationships." (O.S.
Card, “The Hypocrites of Homosexuality,” 1990).
What does he really think?:
"The dark secret of homosexual society -- the one that
dares not speak its name -- is how many homosexuals
first entered into that world through a disturbing
seduction or rape or molestation or abuse, and how
many of them yearn to get out of the homosexual
community and live normally." (O.S. Card, “Homosexual
‘Marriage’ & Civilization,” 2004).
I thought it only fair to use his own words to back up
my assertions. The problem was not in finding
anti-gay quotes from him - it was in selecting from
dozens of them so as to accommodate a single page
letter… Does he have the right to state his views
publicly? Absolutely. Is he a raging bigot?
Absolutely.
A number of us have chosen not to attend Boskone this
year to protest his presence. We just wanted you to
know why.
Sincerely,
Buzz Harris
