Sad Perros tell us we're not worthy

Cops caught on camera murdering blacks and Latinos. Chicano Studies programs shut down. Books by Sherman Alexie, Toni Morrison and Rudy Anaya banned. Latin American immigrants scapegoated. Republicans slashing benefits of the poor and unemployed. This is your country on drugs. Drugs of hate, ignorance, racism and militaristic aggression--let's call that HIRMA. Some think of themselves as "sad puppies" but in a different sense, they're sadder than that.

People may say I shouldn't have posted what's below. That I'm sensationalizing, maybe even stooping to the level of a HIRMA type. It's also possible my career may suffer from this. Well, it wasn't rocketing to stardom, anyway. Besides, there's no future in being a silent German when the socialists, radicals and non-pure Germans are being marched into cattle cars.

The following statements may sound familiar. What you may not know is where they originate. Take a guess.

"In the last decade we’ve seen voting skew more and more toward having barely any content. We’ve seen the voting skew ideological, as people have tended to use them as an affirmative action award: winning because he is an underrepresented minority or victim group or because she features an underrepresented minority or victim group."

"We seem almost permanently stuck on the subversive switcheroo: transgender socialists fight the evil corporations. Troops fight for evil, not good. Us as invaders and the natives as the righteous victims. Yadda yadda yadda."

"This story is merely about racial prejudice and exploitation. Or could it be an actual bona fide story? No, wait. It’s about sexism and the oppression of women."

"We strike back against the left-wing control freaks who have subjected our work to ideological control for two decades and are now attempting to do the same thing in other industries.”

"He slammed the black woman as being a half-savage, questioned the need for women’s suffrage. And said our national ills can be partially attributed to “the infestation of even the smallest American heartland towns by African, Asian, and Aztec cultures.”

"They call the pro-diversity crowd, the Hyper-Progressive Pissypants Club.”

"Many of these people are sending death threats to women and people of color, sending SWAT teams to the addresses of critics, and hijacking accounts and identities to try and silence those creating more-inclusive stories."

"I don’t write for leftist pussies so they’ve never read me.”

Martin, one author who spoke against HIRMA.

If you guessed Rush Limpbaugh, Ted Cruize or the Kuacha brothers, you deserve half-credit.

What might surprise you is that these HIRMA statements and positions all relate to or were written by famous, successful, American authors. Of science fiction. Award winners, public speakers, some college-educated, mostly males. Adults, if you will. Or their fans. [I deleted words about sci-fi that would've made it obvious what the quotes were about. But the gist of information, I left untouched.]

If you're interested in science fiction or fantasy, here are the names of some of the HIRMA leaders responsible for the above statements. Should you not read their works because of their political views? That's your decision; I myself would not. Their ideology and prejudice are outrageous for a supposedly civilized country. So, among others, you might want to know the names:

Brad Torgensen   Larry Correia   Theodore Beale

There is an uproar in the sci-fi/fantasy world because these HIRMAs hijacked one of the most prestigious awards for speculative literature, the Hugos. You can read about it, but the hijacking was meant to prevent feminist, gay, People of Color, or other progressive writers from winning the awards.

Surridge, someone you should read

     From what I've read, the most comprehensive analysis about the reasons behind the hijacking is an exhaustive essay by Matthew David Surridge. Here's some highlights:

     "In science fiction, the thesis was that Earthmen (all of whom, in the ideal Campbell story, resembled people of northwestern European extraction) were superior to all other intelligent races — even when the others seemed more intelligent on the surface.

     "SF, and really any literature, has always, explicitly or implicitly, knowingly or unknowingly, had some sort of ideology behind it.

     "It seems so to me, as a white male; broadly speaking, my impression is that issues of identity politics and social justice are increasingly prominent in North American society. Any society will have internal tensions over gender roles and the position of minorities, and, given that, it’s healthy for people in that society to address those tensions and be mindful of them.

     "And art--specifically including ‘pop culture entertainment’--is a particularly worthwhile way in which to do that. I don’t mean that I think all art must be or should be explicitly concerned with these issues. But I think it’s clear that art that does so is speaking to the time and culture out of which it was produced.

     "I think that art that tries to better represent the experience of women and minority groups is good to have. I think it’s good for society in general that it exists, and generally good that more and different points of view are represented in art. I think it’s good for me as a reader that I can find books that teach me new things. And I think that art that tries to present varied experiences and varied sensibilities is likely to be better art, in that it will have a deeper sense of the complexity of the world, and I think complexity is usually valuable in art."

The HIRMAs "call their progressive enemies the SJWs, “social justice warriors,” coinage describing a shadowy conspiracy of liberals and identity politickers out to trample white male freedom."

Some Anglo authors have not sided with the HIRMAs. "Matthew Surridge declined his nomination for Best Fan Writer, citing “strong” aesthetic and ideological disagreements with Torgerson. Kameron Hurley seemed inclined to wash her hands of the Hugos altogether." Also, George R.R. Martin.

If you're wondering whether I exaggerated how these ideas are manifestations of hate, ignorance, racism and militaristic aggression, here's a random selection of tweets written by them or their supporters. Warning: don't let your kids read these.

"If you think for one nano-second that we won’t burn this mother fucker to the ground and roast marshmallows over the corpses…. you’re dead wrong… And if you think we give a damn about your appeal for civility…. you’re also dead wrong."

"We will burn it to the ground, plow the ground, and salt it. You fuckwads don’t understand war. We do."

One of the nicer HIRMA types

"In my opinion, her parents were both: a.) circus people; and b.) first cousins."

"Scuttle back underneath the kitchen sink, and rejoin the rest of your chitinous cohorts."

"The endgame, besides using your guts to grease our tanks."

"You’re a pussy, boy. You don’t even have the guts to be an asshole."

"Pussy, you’re not worth a discussion. You’re a cockroach. Roaches are only to be stepped on."

"You can come here, to Virginia. Why, I’ll even loan you a decent gun. Pussy."

"I’ll keep you posted on my progress in identifying you, pussy."

"I can only agree that you’re a pussy. A coward. A liar. A piece of crawling shit."

If you want factual, logical, intelligent articles with details about the heisting of the Hugo Awards, go here, here, or here, or here for George R.R. Martin's thoughts.

My final thoughts on this idiocy? Science fiction, fantasy and all speculative fiction obviously need new, young blood, more Chicanos, blacks, Indians and radical thinkers to invigorate the literature. We've seen the dismal pit the HIRMA types would plunge it into.

Caravana 43 in Denver today & tomorrow

Family of the 43 missing students from Ayotzinapa, Guerrero, Mexico, who were tortured and disappeared by the Mexican state, will be in Colorado April 11th through the 13th, as part of a national speaking tour known as Caravana 43. While in Colorado, the group will visit Denver, Greeley and Longmont.

The purpose of the visit is to provide a platform for the group to share their continuing struggle for justice and to bring national attention to the systematic violence and impunity that continues to plague Mexico. The arrival of Caravana 43 in Colorado will mark over six months from the night of the attack that occurred in the city of Iguala on the evening of September 26, 2014, which left six people dead and 43 students forcibly disappeared.

The organizations Al Frente de Lucha and Colorado Sin Fronteras Unidos por Mexico consider it an honor and privilege to host the group of parents and classmates of the 43 disappeared students in Colorado. Below is the list of activities planned for this historic visit: 

Saturday April 11/Sabado 11 de Abril

La Bienvenida: Official Welcome and Rally

Colorado State Capitol, 200 E Colfax Ave, Denver, 4pm-6pm

Sunday April 12/Domingo 12 de Abril

Breakfast & Presentation/Desayuno y Presentación

Casa de la Esperanza, 1520 South Emery Street, Longmont, 9am-11am

Community Forum/Foro Comunitario

Lincoln High School | 2285 South Federal Blvd, Denver, 3pm-6pm

Monday April 13/Lunes 13 de Abril

Press Conference/Rueda de Prensa

Auraria Campus, Tivoli Student Union Room 444, 9am

University Forum/Foro Universitario 

University of Northern Colorado, UC Aspen A | 2045 10th Street, Greeley, Colorado, 12pm-2pm

Presentation/Presentación: Ayotzinapa: Resistencia Popular

Rodarte Center, 920 A Street, Greeley, Colo., 6pm-8pm

Es todo, hoy,

from a Social Justice Warrior who needs to take a stand much more often