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I'm still flabbergasted that she and others seriously proclaimed Trump's election would bring about the scenario of the handmaids tale. I guess she should be ex

I'm still flabbergasted that she and others seriously proclaimed Trump's election would bring about the scenario of the handmaids tale. I guess she should be excused for being ridiculous because of her old age, but I've lost all interest in her work. (downvotes incoming in 3...2...1....)

pbourke 7y ago
To many of us, Trump's election felt like some kind of discontinuity in the timeline - sort of like the train had jumped tracks and now was on a different course. I wonder if it always feels like that during stressful times, or whether it's a product of multiple worlds being a prominent sci-fi theme. As for your original point, we've yet to see whether Roe v Wade is overturned, whether the rule of law will prevail, and whether the tide of isolationism, authoritarianism and nationalism will corrode the liberal internationalism that emerged after WW2.
- dang 7y ago
  Please don't take HN further into off-topic generic (in this case political) tangents. https://hn.algolia.com/?dateRange=all&page=0&prefix=false&query=by%3Adang%20generic&sort=byDate&type=comment https://hn.algolia.com/?dateRange=all&page=0&prefix=false&qu...
dang 7y ago
Please don't post political flamebait to Hacker News, and please don't downvote-bait. Both those things are in the site guidelines, and if you'd review and follow them, we'd be grateful. https://news.ycombinator.com/newsguidelines.html https://news.ycombinator.com/newsguidelines.html
- pksdjfikkkkdsff 7y ago
  Doesn't that apply to the submission about Atwood, though? It seems to me the "political flamebait" rule is applied rather selectively on HN.
  - pvg 7y ago
    No. Work with political implications and articles about it are just that, not 'flamebait'. 'Old lady I disagree with lol' is "political flamebait" only through an exceptionally stoic application of the principle of charity.
    - pksdjfikkkkdsff 7y ago
      I honestly don't understand the distinction? The article is legit, because somehow it has authority by being published in a random media outlet? Is that it? Whereas my opinion is "flamebait" because I don't have authority? Yes, I disagree with her. Not because of her old age, but because she seriously claimed the scenario of Handmaid's Tale was near. There were people demonstrating in Handmaid's Tale costumes, and she was cheering them on. If anything, THAT is "political flamebait" - claiming we are entering Handmaid's Tale territory. It was and is ridiculous (unless you believe fundamentalist Islam will take over eventually, which for PC reasons I assume we don't), and that is why I don't hold much stock in her writings anymore. Not because of her old age. And the article is applauding her for "political flamebait", so by extension, it pretty much also is "political flamebait". That's my opinion anyway. But I'm sure it will be considered "political flamebait" by HN.
      - pvg 7y ago
        The distinction is the article is some personal recollections about an author whose, you know, actual literary work many (including plenty who don't agree with her) consider important and your comment is a generic dismissal barely even related to said article. As distinctions go, it doesn't seem like a very difficult one to make.
        big_chungus 7y ago
        So it's wrong not because it's political but because it's "generic"? Or because you believe it's a poor argument? Those aren't against HN guidelines. "Political flamebait" seems to involve in no small part disagreement withtm the majority.
astura 7y ago
Where did she say that?
- pksdjfikkkkdsff 7y ago
  I learned about it from her Twitter account, not sure if she talked about it elsewhere. Edit: it is also right on top of the article - "her long-awaited sequel to The Handmaid’s Tale, was released, and she became something else entirely: a worldwide cultural phenomenon. The novel, set in a not-so-distant United States where fundamentalist fascists have gained power and stripped away women’s rights" (Although I was referring to her comments before the release of the new book, but the new book confirms it).
  - goto11 7y ago
    I think you just misunderstand the sentence. It describes the setting of the novel.
    - pksdjfikkkkdsff 7y ago
      Yes I know that, but it confirms that it is now a realistic scenario for her. But as I said, my information was from her comments on "Handmaids Tale" demonstrations she made on Twitter, which she made before publishing the novel.
      - goto11 7y ago
        I think you are fundamentally misunderstanding the meaning and purpose of speculative fiction.
        pksdjfikkkkdsff 7y ago
        Again - I was referring to her tweets, commenting on the real US. Not her fiction. There were demonstrations inspired by her fiction. In the real world. She commented on those. Since then she has released a whole book about the US becoming a handmaid's tale world. That book is fiction. Here Twitter comments before that were not. They refer to the real world.

pbourke 7y ago

To many of us, Trump's election felt like some kind of discontinuity in the timeline - sort of like the train had jumped tracks and now was on a different course. I wonder if it always feels like that during stressful times, or whether it's a product of multiple worlds being a prominent sci-fi theme. As for your original point, we've yet to see whether Roe v Wade is overturned, whether the rule of law will prevail, and whether the tide of isolationism, authoritarianism and nationalism will corrode the liberal internationalism that emerged after WW2.

dang 7y ago
Please don't take HN further into off-topic generic (in this case political) tangents. https://hn.algolia.com/?dateRange=all&page=0&prefix=false&query=by%3Adang%20generic&sort=byDate&type=comment https://hn.algolia.com/?dateRange=all&page=0&prefix=false&qu...

dang 7y ago

Please don't post political flamebait to Hacker News, and please don't downvote-bait. Both those things are in the site guidelines, and if you'd review and follow them, we'd be grateful. https://news.ycombinator.com/newsguidelines.html https://news.ycombinator.com/newsguidelines.html

pksdjfikkkkdsff 7y ago
Doesn't that apply to the submission about Atwood, though? It seems to me the "political flamebait" rule is applied rather selectively on HN.
- pvg 7y ago
  No. Work with political implications and articles about it are just that, not 'flamebait'. 'Old lady I disagree with lol' is "political flamebait" only through an exceptionally stoic application of the principle of charity.
  - pksdjfikkkkdsff 7y ago
    I honestly don't understand the distinction? The article is legit, because somehow it has authority by being published in a random media outlet? Is that it? Whereas my opinion is "flamebait" because I don't have authority? Yes, I disagree with her. Not because of her old age, but because she seriously claimed the scenario of Handmaid's Tale was near. There were people demonstrating in Handmaid's Tale costumes, and she was cheering them on. If anything, THAT is "political flamebait" - claiming we are entering Handmaid's Tale territory. It was and is ridiculous (unless you believe fundamentalist Islam will take over eventually, which for PC reasons I assume we don't), and that is why I don't hold much stock in her writings anymore. Not because of her old age. And the article is applauding her for "political flamebait", so by extension, it pretty much also is "political flamebait". That's my opinion anyway. But I'm sure it will be considered "political flamebait" by HN.
    - pvg 7y ago
      The distinction is the article is some personal recollections about an author whose, you know, actual literary work many (including plenty who don't agree with her) consider important and your comment is a generic dismissal barely even related to said article. As distinctions go, it doesn't seem like a very difficult one to make.
      - big_chungus 7y ago
        So it's wrong not because it's political but because it's "generic"? Or because you believe it's a poor argument? Those aren't against HN guidelines. "Political flamebait" seems to involve in no small part disagreement withtm the majority.

astura 7y ago

Where did she say that?

pksdjfikkkkdsff 7y ago
I learned about it from her Twitter account, not sure if she talked about it elsewhere. Edit: it is also right on top of the article - "her long-awaited sequel to The Handmaid’s Tale, was released, and she became something else entirely: a worldwide cultural phenomenon. The novel, set in a not-so-distant United States where fundamentalist fascists have gained power and stripped away women’s rights" (Although I was referring to her comments before the release of the new book, but the new book confirms it).
- goto11 7y ago
  I think you just misunderstand the sentence. It describes the setting of the novel.
  - pksdjfikkkkdsff 7y ago
    Yes I know that, but it confirms that it is now a realistic scenario for her. But as I said, my information was from her comments on "Handmaids Tale" demonstrations she made on Twitter, which she made before publishing the novel.
    - goto11 7y ago
      I think you are fundamentally misunderstanding the meaning and purpose of speculative fiction.
      - pksdjfikkkkdsff 7y ago
        Again - I was referring to her tweets, commenting on the real US. Not her fiction. There were demonstrations inspired by her fiction. In the real world. She commented on those. Since then she has released a whole book about the US becoming a handmaid's tale world. That book is fiction. Here Twitter comments before that were not. They refer to the real world.