17 ms·

Bloggers did an end-run around Big Media to break the ideological stranglehold of the left. I was willing to give him a chance since it's the WSJ, but he just

by Qz 16y ago

Bloggers did an end-run around Big Media to break the ideological stranglehold of the left. I was willing to give him a chance since it's the WSJ, but he just had to throw something like that in there.

danilocampos 16y ago
How about giving him a chance because he's Orson Scott Card? Either way, he's done some of my favorite science fiction titles but I mostly have to pretend he doesn't exist in real life. His politics, with regard to social issues, are just vulgar. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Orson_Scott_Card#Politics http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Orson_Scott_Card#Politics
- astrodust 16y ago
  Oh, maybe you mean his extended fawning Hitler biography Ender's Game: http://www.kuro5hin.org/story/2005/5/28/22428/7034 http://www.kuro5hin.org/story/2005/5/28/22428/7034
  - Jacquass12321 16y ago
    That link gets stupider each time I have to read it, which humorously enough is each time Card's name gets mentioned in any topic, it's a new abstract Godwin's Law.
    - zacharycohn 16y ago
      This is the first time I've seen that article. Can you explain more? Is there more surrounding this article?
      - Jacquass12321 16y ago
        Read the article linked in that link, even he comes straight out and says "This is in no way a Hitler biography." It's a bad sign when your linked citations contradict your point. The rest of it is an anecdotal and largely unrelated mess, you can scroll farther down for some of the responses to it. I think OSC's political positions are nigh idiotic, and frankly confusing given the very reasonable positions he presents in some of his books. E.G. Homosexual characters in his books are not society destroying monsters. Yet even given that you're still overstepping sane literary analysis when you start the Hitler biography bullshit. Attack the man on his politics all you want, his positions are easy to verify and highly public, just leave the stupid smears to die.
        Semiapies 16y ago
        "frankly confusing given the very reasonable positions he presents in some of his books" Yes, that has always puzzled me - going from portraying gay characters as alright people suffering from straight society's marginalization to ranting about the Gay Agenda. I suspect it has something to do with a remark he made in the late 80s or early 90s about local church (CoLDS) officials encouraging him to spend more of his pro writing time on religious propaganda or other pro-church material. It was in a non-fiction piece or an afterword in a book of his, and I wish I could remember which one.
        zacharycohn 16y ago
        Interesting. I didn't read any of the comments, I suppose that would have helped. What I thought was more interesting than the Hitler comparisons were the allegations of ghostwriting. I thought THAT was the real point of the article, that it was clear he didn't even know what was in his books, and when presented with something he definitely wrote, it was incoherent and poorly written.
- mmastrac 16y ago
  I have the same problem. The author and real-life raving loon are two different people in my head. Ender's Game is still one of the best books I've read and I have to keep this separation to avoid going out and donating the books of his I own. I refuse to read any of his new stuff, but that's probably 50% politics and 50% taste.
- rflrob 16y ago
  >And subversives can expose diplomatic secrets, critics can expose scientific hoaxes, and governments can track conspiracies While part of me is still hoping he's talking about Snopes, I know this is a reference to the University of East Anglia emails, which were about as much a blow to climate science as the Arsenic bacteria were a boon to astrobiology. I may have to adopt your "pretend he doesn't exist in real life" approach.
  - edanm 16y ago
    Since you brought it up, I'm not sure if you're aware of it, but he is a fan of Snopes.
- GavinB 16y ago
  This bothered me, until I realized that I should be reading books by people with whom I disagree. The oddity of it is, one of the great things about his books is that they show perspectives much more alien than mere human political differences. If you feel bad about supporting him financially, remember that he only gets about a dollar for each book you buy. If you borrow it from the library, your contribution is even smaller.
  - Yzupnick 16y ago
    Why should you feel bad about supporting him because he has different political views?
    - skawaii 16y ago
      I agree with this completely. If you enjoy his novels, then read them. No where does it say that you have to agree, or even read, his personal and political views (yes, I realize they seep into his novels, but this goes back to my "if you like the novels, read them" statement). On the subject of his political views, I looked at the referenced Wikipedia site and don't see anything "vulgar" listed there. Perhaps I use a different definition of "vulgar" than others... [http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/vulgar http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/vulgar]
- Qz 16y ago
  That link and everything associated with it is exactly why I don't give him a chance just because he's Orson Scott Card.
- randallsquared 16y ago
  You'll be happy to know that his newest, _Pathfinder_, is essentially politics-free. Of course, it also covers ground he's trod multiple times before, but if you like that sort of thing, it's fine. :)
astrodust 16y ago
It must suck to live in a world where the main-stream media is so wildly left-wing you can't stand to read it. Just how extremely right-leaning do you have to be to end up with that perspective? His opinions on other subjects range from misguided to outright offensive. Orson Scott Card has devolved into a frothing at the mouth lunatic in recent years. His opinions are borderline worthless. His more recent novels make Twilight look like fine literature.
- jodrellblank 16y ago
  Meta comment: +8? Who is upvoting this comment which is nothing but a stream of insults, and why? You value this comment and want to see more of this kind of comment on HN?
  - clojurerocks 16y ago
    I just upvoted this comment as well. So apparently Card can make idiotic comments about the media and the left which are stupid beyond belief but we cant. Im a fan of science fiction and card is on my list of books to read. I knew nothing of the person but after reading that article which was absolutely devoid of any substance and sounded like it was written by someone completely out of their mind id say i will be avoiding his books like the plague.
    - jodrellblank 16y ago
      I just upvoted this comment as well. So apparently Card can make idiotic comments about the media and the left which are stupid beyond belief but we cant. What do you mean "we can't"? You can say whatever you want here (subject to YCombinator's terms of services and any applicable laws), but the voting system is supposed to encourage "content that contributes to the site" to make the site higher quality and I don't think astrodust's comment "he's a frothing lunatic" is a high quality contribution, it's just an unsupported personal insult and I'm annoyed that it's being upvoted by agreement. id say i will be avoiding his books like the plague. Ender's Game makes number 1 in a top 100 SciFi books list ( http://home.austarnet.com.au/petersykes/topscifi/lists_books_rank1.html http://home.austarnet.com.au/petersykes/topscifi/lists_books... ), don't avoid it because you don't like the author personally, only avoid it if it looks like a rubbish book.

by Qz 16y ago

danilocampos 16y ago

How about giving him a chance because he's Orson Scott Card? Either way, he's done some of my favorite science fiction titles but I mostly have to pretend he doesn't exist in real life. His politics, with regard to social issues, are just vulgar. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Orson_Scott_Card#Politics http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Orson_Scott_Card#Politics

astrodust 16y ago
Oh, maybe you mean his extended fawning Hitler biography Ender's Game: http://www.kuro5hin.org/story/2005/5/28/22428/7034 http://www.kuro5hin.org/story/2005/5/28/22428/7034
- Jacquass12321 16y ago
  That link gets stupider each time I have to read it, which humorously enough is each time Card's name gets mentioned in any topic, it's a new abstract Godwin's Law.
  - zacharycohn 16y ago
    This is the first time I've seen that article. Can you explain more? Is there more surrounding this article?
    - Jacquass12321 16y ago
      Read the article linked in that link, even he comes straight out and says "This is in no way a Hitler biography." It's a bad sign when your linked citations contradict your point. The rest of it is an anecdotal and largely unrelated mess, you can scroll farther down for some of the responses to it. I think OSC's political positions are nigh idiotic, and frankly confusing given the very reasonable positions he presents in some of his books. E.G. Homosexual characters in his books are not society destroying monsters. Yet even given that you're still overstepping sane literary analysis when you start the Hitler biography bullshit. Attack the man on his politics all you want, his positions are easy to verify and highly public, just leave the stupid smears to die.
      - Semiapies 16y ago
        "frankly confusing given the very reasonable positions he presents in some of his books" Yes, that has always puzzled me - going from portraying gay characters as alright people suffering from straight society's marginalization to ranting about the Gay Agenda. I suspect it has something to do with a remark he made in the late 80s or early 90s about local church (CoLDS) officials encouraging him to spend more of his pro writing time on religious propaganda or other pro-church material. It was in a non-fiction piece or an afterword in a book of his, and I wish I could remember which one.
      - zacharycohn 16y ago
        Interesting. I didn't read any of the comments, I suppose that would have helped. What I thought was more interesting than the Hitler comparisons were the allegations of ghostwriting. I thought THAT was the real point of the article, that it was clear he didn't even know what was in his books, and when presented with something he definitely wrote, it was incoherent and poorly written.
mmastrac 16y ago
I have the same problem. The author and real-life raving loon are two different people in my head. Ender's Game is still one of the best books I've read and I have to keep this separation to avoid going out and donating the books of his I own. I refuse to read any of his new stuff, but that's probably 50% politics and 50% taste.
rflrob 16y ago
>And subversives can expose diplomatic secrets, critics can expose scientific hoaxes, and governments can track conspiracies While part of me is still hoping he's talking about Snopes, I know this is a reference to the University of East Anglia emails, which were about as much a blow to climate science as the Arsenic bacteria were a boon to astrobiology. I may have to adopt your "pretend he doesn't exist in real life" approach.
- edanm 16y ago
  Since you brought it up, I'm not sure if you're aware of it, but he is a fan of Snopes.
GavinB 16y ago
This bothered me, until I realized that I should be reading books by people with whom I disagree. The oddity of it is, one of the great things about his books is that they show perspectives much more alien than mere human political differences. If you feel bad about supporting him financially, remember that he only gets about a dollar for each book you buy. If you borrow it from the library, your contribution is even smaller.
- Yzupnick 16y ago
  Why should you feel bad about supporting him because he has different political views?
  - skawaii 16y ago
    I agree with this completely. If you enjoy his novels, then read them. No where does it say that you have to agree, or even read, his personal and political views (yes, I realize they seep into his novels, but this goes back to my "if you like the novels, read them" statement). On the subject of his political views, I looked at the referenced Wikipedia site and don't see anything "vulgar" listed there. Perhaps I use a different definition of "vulgar" than others... [http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/vulgar http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/vulgar]
Qz 16y ago
That link and everything associated with it is exactly why I don't give him a chance just because he's Orson Scott Card.
randallsquared 16y ago
You'll be happy to know that his newest, _Pathfinder_, is essentially politics-free. Of course, it also covers ground he's trod multiple times before, but if you like that sort of thing, it's fine. :)

astrodust 16y ago

It must suck to live in a world where the main-stream media is so wildly left-wing you can't stand to read it. Just how extremely right-leaning do you have to be to end up with that perspective? His opinions on other subjects range from misguided to outright offensive. Orson Scott Card has devolved into a frothing at the mouth lunatic in recent years. His opinions are borderline worthless. His more recent novels make Twilight look like fine literature.

jodrellblank 16y ago
Meta comment: +8? Who is upvoting this comment which is nothing but a stream of insults, and why? You value this comment and want to see more of this kind of comment on HN?
- clojurerocks 16y ago
  I just upvoted this comment as well. So apparently Card can make idiotic comments about the media and the left which are stupid beyond belief but we cant. Im a fan of science fiction and card is on my list of books to read. I knew nothing of the person but after reading that article which was absolutely devoid of any substance and sounded like it was written by someone completely out of their mind id say i will be avoiding his books like the plague.
  - jodrellblank 16y ago
    I just upvoted this comment as well. So apparently Card can make idiotic comments about the media and the left which are stupid beyond belief but we cant. What do you mean "we can't"? You can say whatever you want here (subject to YCombinator's terms of services and any applicable laws), but the voting system is supposed to encourage "content that contributes to the site" to make the site higher quality and I don't think astrodust's comment "he's a frothing lunatic" is a high quality contribution, it's just an unsupported personal insult and I'm annoyed that it's being upvoted by agreement. id say i will be avoiding his books like the plague. Ender's Game makes number 1 in a top 100 SciFi books list ( http://home.austarnet.com.au/petersykes/topscifi/lists_books_rank1.html http://home.austarnet.com.au/petersykes/topscifi/lists_books... ), don't avoid it because you don't like the author personally, only avoid it if it looks like a rubbish book.