{"id":8441,"date":"2014-04-29T11:23:46","date_gmt":"2014-04-29T17:23:46","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.ncobrief.com\/?p=8441"},"modified":"2014-04-29T11:26:27","modified_gmt":"2014-04-29T17:26:27","slug":"letting-it-burn","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ncobrief.com\/index.php\/archives\/letting-it-burn\/","title":{"rendered":"Letting It Burn"},"content":{"rendered":"

As a matter of interest as an independent author, with some affection for science fiction \u00e2\u20ac\u00a6 (principally Lois McMaster Bujold\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s Vorkosigan series, and once upon a time for Marion Zimmer Bradley\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s Darkover series, both of which explored in an interesting and readable way, a whole range of civilizational conceits and technologies with a bearing on what they produced vis-a-viz political organizations, man-woman relations, and alternate societies of the possible future \u00e2\u20ac\u00a6 oh, where was I? Complicated parenthetical sentence again; science fiction. Right-ho, Jeeves \u00e2\u20ac\u201c back on track.) <\/em>\u00e2\u20ac\u00a6 I have been following the current SFWA-bruhaha <\/a>with the fascinated interest of someone squeezing past a spectacular multi-car pile-upon the Interstate. Not so much \u00e2\u20ac\u201c how did this happen, and whose stupid move at high speed impelled the disaster \u00e2\u20ac\u201c but how will it impact ordinary commuters in their daily journey, and will everyone walk away from it OK? So far, the answers to that are pretty much that it will only matter to those directly involved (although it will be productive of much temporary pain)<\/em> and yes \u00e2\u20ac\u201c pretty near everyone will walk away. Scared, scarred, P-O\u00e2\u20ac\u2122d and harboring enduring grudges, but yes, they will walk away, personally and professionally. Some of these are walking away at speed and being pretty vocal about why.<\/p>\n

The crux of the matter in this particular instance, is that the SFWA (Science Fiction & Fantasy Writers of America \u00e2\u20ac\u201c hey, what happened to the ampersand and the second F \u00e2\u20ac\u00a6 guess the domain name was already taken or something)<\/em> \u00e2\u20ac\u201c got overtaken by the minions of the politically correct. The SWFA is, or was \u00e2\u20ac\u201c a professional association of writers of science fiction and fantasy materiel (traditionally-published writers only, BTW), intended as a kind of support group, to lobby with publishers on behalf of wronged writers, and provide professional services, like health insurance. Sort of like the AARP \u00e2\u20ac\u00a6 only for science fiction and fantasy writers. Alas, it seems that the minions of the politically-correct now appear to insist that to be members in good standing and to be considered for various book awards (and this is the short version)<\/em> one must write glum and politically-correct bricks of sensitivity, emphasizing obedience to all kinds of shibboleths regarding race, gender, et al. Never mind about writing a cracking good story \u00e2\u20ac\u00a6 the glum gruel of a liberal arts curricula at an expensive university is what the Social Justice Warriors at the SFWA have said we should have, and that readers deserve to get it, good and hard. Through a tube down the nasal passage, apparently, if all else fails. Naturally, being a somewhat cantankerous and creative provider of popular amusement, many of the existing membership has sad \u00e2\u20ac\u02dcno\u00e2\u20ac\u2122 and not just no, but \u00e2\u20ac\u02dcno, with bells on.\u00e2\u20ac\u2122 It seems from various discussion threads that many of the long-standing, better-selling and more popular creators<\/a> are bailing out of SFWA, or at least, warning caution.<\/p>\n

The organization may survive \u00e2\u20ac\u201c or not. From the viewpoint of someone passing by the tangled wreckage on the Interstate, it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s of only academic interest. But I began to meditate on it all \u00e2\u20ac\u201c another once-thriving and valued establishment, overtaken by the grand Gramscian march through our social and political establishments. Sure \u00e2\u20ac\u201c they have taken them over, but at what cost? Yes, the politically correct, the Social Justice Warriors in every theater and establishment \u00e2\u20ac\u00a6 they HAVE taken them over \u00e2\u20ac\u201c and many others besides the SFWA, but at what cost if what they have is just a wrecked and hollow establishment?
\nSo, this leaves me to wonder, whither SFWA? If the popular writers, with an existing or a soon-burgeoning readership leave, what then as far as the future of the organization is concerned? Indeed, what then, o wolves?<\/p>\n

What then, of the many institutions, taken over and hollowed out by the Social Justice Warriors, or their Gramscian ilk? Most of them are bigger and more influential, then a little pool of writers perpetrating science fiction and fantasy \u00e2\u20ac\u00a6 and yet they also appear to be ridden by factionalism, if not teetering on the edge then cratering economically. Just a few and from off the top of my head \u00e2\u20ac\u201c the Episcopal Church, old-line print publications like Newsweek<\/em> and Ladies\u00e2\u20ac\u2122 Home Journal<\/em> (and possibly very soon Time Magazine, too), <\/em>and broadcast networks like CNN and MSNBC. Instapundit often points out how colleges and universities are staggering, and how more and more people who can are choosing to home-school their children. I can just barely remember the last Oscar-nominated movie that I went to see in a theater, (The King\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s Speech<\/em>, BTW) and the TV audience for the Oscars is plummeting also. Mainstream publishing is fragmenting, as independent writers go out on their own, cable television is also fragmenting. Just as the long march through the institutions is nearly complete \u00e2\u20ac\u00a6 the institutions themselves crumble. They are run into the ground, as the audience, consumers, and genuinely creative flee in all directions. <\/p>\n

There is talk of a non-ideological organization to replace the SFWA; likely the disaffected refugees from the establishments and organizations listed above (as well as many, many others<\/em>) will form new associations. Creative destruction at work? I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122d like to think so. Discuss.
\n (cross-posted at www.chicagoboyz.net)<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

As a matter of interest as an independent author, with some affection for science fiction \u00e2\u20ac\u00a6 (principally Lois McMaster Bujold\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s Vorkosigan series, and once upon a time for Marion Zimmer Bradley\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s Darkover series, both of which explored in an interesting and readable way, a whole range of civilizational conceits and technologies with a bearing on […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":14,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3,85,75,21,27,40],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-8441","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-aint-that-america","category-geekery","category-literary-good-stuff","category-sarcasm","category-thats-entertainment","category-working-in-a-salt-mine"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/ncobrief.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8441","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/ncobrief.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/ncobrief.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ncobrief.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/14"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ncobrief.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=8441"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/ncobrief.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8441\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/ncobrief.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=8441"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ncobrief.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=8441"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ncobrief.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=8441"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}