Dear Larry Corriea,
I am writing this open letter to you as a longtime SF fan and BAEN customer.
I have been poking around SF author blogs lately, mostly due to the influence of Writing Excuses, a Podcast I believe you guest starred on before. I greatly enjoyed hearing your thoughts and value your contribution to my own development as a writer. As a fan, I was shocked at the sudden vitriol that seemed to have splashed across the SF writer's community. I do seem to have this habit of getting into communities at a bad time. But enough about me, let's talk about you.
I was reading up on this whole "puppygate" thing that's dominating the google search page and making it hard for me to find the blog posts i was actually looking for, and I eventually arrived at your blog-off with GRRM, and discovered this paragraph you wrote:
"So I went out on the internet and started searching my name, trying to find out what the buzz was for the Campbell nominees. I started calling friends who belonged to various writer forums and organizations that I didn’t belong to, asking about what people thought of my books in there. You know what I found? WorldCon voters angry that a right-wing Republican (actually I’m a libertarian) who owned a gun store (gasp) was nominated for the prestigious Campbell. This is terrible. Did you know he did lobbying for gun rights! It’s right there on his hateful blog of hatey hate hate! He’s awful. He’s a bad person. He’s a Mormon! What! Another damned Mormon! Oh no, there are two Mormons up for the Campbell? I bet Larry Correia hates women and gays. He’s probably a racist too. Did you know he’s part of the evil military industrial complex? What a jerk."
You later also clarified:
"Side note, I’m not racist, sexist, or homophobic, but if that crowd (I’ll talk about the derogatory label my side uses that you don’t like in a minute[1]) decides you are the enemy, they will smear you with those labels, regardless of the evidence."
[1] SJW, for any people reading this Open Letter who are not familiar with this already.
While I am only quoting a small excerpt for brevity's sake, the full blog post is here:
http://monsterhunternation.com/2015/04/09/a-response-to-george-r-r-martin-from-the-author-who-started-sad-puppies/
Larry Correia, I have something really important to say to you:
WELCOME TO THE CLUB! SO GLAD TO HAVE YOU WITH US! *HUGS*
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It's always great to welcome new members, especially when they are also famous people! You add luster to our ranks!
What club am I referring to? Why, the "People are stereotyping me and it totally sucks" club. I'm so happy that I get to formally welcome someone!
Now I know that maybe my happiness is a bit grating, when you've just had an unpleasant experience. But I urge you to accept my welcome in the positive spirit in which it is given, and embrace the communion or your new brothers and sister is suffering. A burden of pain shared is a burden lessoned.
I've been a member for quite a while now. See, I was a Straight Asian Male, living in Hawaii, which is almost like being a Straight White Male living on the US mainland. We see ourselves as being basically normal, even 'default.' It's a pretty cozy existence, up until some jerk ruins it for you. For me, the moment came when I was forced to spend some months at a public school in the frozen wasteland known as Falmouth, Massachusetts. There, for the first time in my life consistently surrounded by White People rather than fellow Chinese folks., I discovered to my horror that people were Stereotyping me! They would just come right up to me, and noting my asian features, ask if my parents worked at the local Chinese Restaurant. I must admit, I am now rather ashamed of my reaction. It was apoplectic. How dare these smirking, upper middle class white folks just assume my parents must be working class stiffs just because of my Asian Heritage! Both of my parents had Ph.D's for crying out loud! We were only in the frozen wastes because my father has accepted an invitation to collaborate with a colleague at the prestigious Woods Hole Oceanographic Institute.
In retrospect, that was classist of me. But it cannot be denied that people made unfounded assumptions about me based on my ethnicity. They stereotyped me, and it hurt. Oh, it hurt. In truth, it still hurts, even today, so many years later. So Larry, I want you to know that I feel your pain. And I want you to know that you are not alone. Every asian immigrant moving to these shores shares that pain. Every woman who has tried to pursue a career in a field traditionally seen as a men's preserve has suffered as you have suffered. Every Native American who has opened a high school history textbook knows the sorrow that now weighs on you. And we all stand in solidarity with you. We support you. You are our brother now.
I make this an Open Letter, because I want to call on everyone to show Larry how much we support him in this difficult time of transition for him. I want us all to write Larry some kind words under the hashtag #WelcomeLarryCorreia . He has joined us in our fellowship of being looked upon as a stereotype rather than a human being and we must support our new brother.
I am shocked and appalled that people are attacking Larry when he needs emotional support rather than more emotional distress. I call on everyone to stop throwing around biting sarcasm and harsh political language and angry fandom rants. Theose benefit no one. Right now, we need to focus on doing what is right, what is good. Helping someone with the unpleasant, and for him, unexpected experience of being "lumped in" with people he does not consider his own is surely a more noble cause. And I have everyone confidence that the good people who enjoy SF will do the right thing.
Let us all welcome Larry Correia.
#WelcomeLarryCorreia#LarryCorreiaSolidarity
I am writing this open letter to you as a longtime SF fan and BAEN customer.
I have been poking around SF author blogs lately, mostly due to the influence of Writing Excuses, a Podcast I believe you guest starred on before. I greatly enjoyed hearing your thoughts and value your contribution to my own development as a writer. As a fan, I was shocked at the sudden vitriol that seemed to have splashed across the SF writer's community. I do seem to have this habit of getting into communities at a bad time. But enough about me, let's talk about you.
I was reading up on this whole "puppygate" thing that's dominating the google search page and making it hard for me to find the blog posts i was actually looking for, and I eventually arrived at your blog-off with GRRM, and discovered this paragraph you wrote:
"So I went out on the internet and started searching my name, trying to find out what the buzz was for the Campbell nominees. I started calling friends who belonged to various writer forums and organizations that I didn’t belong to, asking about what people thought of my books in there. You know what I found? WorldCon voters angry that a right-wing Republican (actually I’m a libertarian) who owned a gun store (gasp) was nominated for the prestigious Campbell. This is terrible. Did you know he did lobbying for gun rights! It’s right there on his hateful blog of hatey hate hate! He’s awful. He’s a bad person. He’s a Mormon! What! Another damned Mormon! Oh no, there are two Mormons up for the Campbell? I bet Larry Correia hates women and gays. He’s probably a racist too. Did you know he’s part of the evil military industrial complex? What a jerk."
You later also clarified:
"Side note, I’m not racist, sexist, or homophobic, but if that crowd (I’ll talk about the derogatory label my side uses that you don’t like in a minute[1]) decides you are the enemy, they will smear you with those labels, regardless of the evidence."
[1] SJW, for any people reading this Open Letter who are not familiar with this already.
While I am only quoting a small excerpt for brevity's sake, the full blog post is here:
http://monsterhunternation.com/2015/04/09/a-response-to-george-r-r-martin-from-the-author-who-started-sad-puppies/
Larry Correia, I have something really important to say to you:
WELCOME TO THE CLUB! SO GLAD TO HAVE YOU WITH US! *HUGS*
It's always great to welcome new members, especially when they are also famous people! You add luster to our ranks!
What club am I referring to? Why, the "People are stereotyping me and it totally sucks" club. I'm so happy that I get to formally welcome someone!
Now I know that maybe my happiness is a bit grating, when you've just had an unpleasant experience. But I urge you to accept my welcome in the positive spirit in which it is given, and embrace the communion or your new brothers and sister is suffering. A burden of pain shared is a burden lessoned.
I've been a member for quite a while now. See, I was a Straight Asian Male, living in Hawaii, which is almost like being a Straight White Male living on the US mainland. We see ourselves as being basically normal, even 'default.' It's a pretty cozy existence, up until some jerk ruins it for you. For me, the moment came when I was forced to spend some months at a public school in the frozen wasteland known as Falmouth, Massachusetts. There, for the first time in my life consistently surrounded by White People rather than fellow Chinese folks., I discovered to my horror that people were Stereotyping me! They would just come right up to me, and noting my asian features, ask if my parents worked at the local Chinese Restaurant. I must admit, I am now rather ashamed of my reaction. It was apoplectic. How dare these smirking, upper middle class white folks just assume my parents must be working class stiffs just because of my Asian Heritage! Both of my parents had Ph.D's for crying out loud! We were only in the frozen wastes because my father has accepted an invitation to collaborate with a colleague at the prestigious Woods Hole Oceanographic Institute.
In retrospect, that was classist of me. But it cannot be denied that people made unfounded assumptions about me based on my ethnicity. They stereotyped me, and it hurt. Oh, it hurt. In truth, it still hurts, even today, so many years later. So Larry, I want you to know that I feel your pain. And I want you to know that you are not alone. Every asian immigrant moving to these shores shares that pain. Every woman who has tried to pursue a career in a field traditionally seen as a men's preserve has suffered as you have suffered. Every Native American who has opened a high school history textbook knows the sorrow that now weighs on you. And we all stand in solidarity with you. We support you. You are our brother now.
I make this an Open Letter, because I want to call on everyone to show Larry how much we support him in this difficult time of transition for him. I want us all to write Larry some kind words under the hashtag #WelcomeLarryCorreia . He has joined us in our fellowship of being looked upon as a stereotype rather than a human being and we must support our new brother.
I am shocked and appalled that people are attacking Larry when he needs emotional support rather than more emotional distress. I call on everyone to stop throwing around biting sarcasm and harsh political language and angry fandom rants. Theose benefit no one. Right now, we need to focus on doing what is right, what is good. Helping someone with the unpleasant, and for him, unexpected experience of being "lumped in" with people he does not consider his own is surely a more noble cause. And I have everyone confidence that the good people who enjoy SF will do the right thing.
Let us all welcome Larry Correia.
#WelcomeLarryCorreia#LarryCorreiaSolidarity
