Some People's Children

Good morning, Readers.

Sort of.

Puppies... not always bright. Image courtesy of dingdang.com. Click for link.

So this morning I was in a relatively good mood after the sads of Monday and Tuesday.  Then I read this on the Facebook page of author Laura Resnick:

So here's how surreal this Puppy mess has gotten. The Puppies have set a deadline of this Friday at noon for Tor Books to meet their demands, or they will launch a boycott of Tor.

One of their explicit demands is that Tor must publicly apologize for "the attitudes, lies and libels expressed by Patrick Nielsen Hayden, Teresa Nielsen Hayden, Moshe Feder and Irene Gallo, all current or former employees of Tor, and by the Tor-published author John Scalzi, concerning supporters of the 'Puppies' slates for the Hugo Awards." A second demand is that Tor must publicly reprimand those individuals. With so many different Puppies involved, I can't tell at this time whether they're also still demanding that Irene Gallo's employment be terminated.

I'm guessing that, for a raft of reasons, Tor and Macmillan will not meet any of these demands, and so it seems likely the Puppies will boycott the biggest publisher in our genre starting on Friday. I'm skeptical that a few hundred people will have an effect on a program the size of Tor, and also skeptical that their numbers will grow. So I'm more concerned about what persons, organizations, or businesses will be the Puppies' next target. I didn't think they would stop with the Hugos, and I'm skeptical they'll stop with Tor, either.

Are you kidding me?

This is a serious thing?  This is something that actually is happening?

And here I was thinking that the Puppies could not get more obnoxious.  A boycott, really?  Because people have been calling you out on your shit?  If you don't want to be called bigots, don't act like a bunch of bigots!  Simples!  And what?  Now to prove you're not a bunch of arseholes, you're going to try and bully other people get your way... to try and ruin the lives of others because they stood up to you...  like a bunch of arseholes.

I just... I can't even with these people any more.

Seriously, just, what the fuck?

If Tor capitulates, I will be launching a boycott of Tor.  All by my onsie.  It will not be a very effective boycott.

Ugh!  Why?  Why?

I'm disappointed in you, humanity.  You can do better than this.

But seriously, though.  It's all about ethics in Hugo voting, guys.

Some people's children.

I'm out.

/RageQuit