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Mr. Card holds conservative personal beliefs, and has been vocal about them - especially after Sept. 11, 2001. His books are moving, profound and Apolitical.

by swamp40 13y ago

Mr. Card holds conservative personal beliefs, and has been vocal about them - especially after Sept. 11, 2001. His books are moving, profound and Apolitical. If you avoid his books just because you don't like conservatives (and think they are all terrible people and Asshats), it is your loss. I will say one thing about this "latest" scandal (his writings supporting traditional marriage from back in 2008). Although today it is a fait accompli, back in 2008 it was a hotly debated topic. Conservatives lost and the country moved on. Throwing out 2008 arguments into a 2013 world can make ANYONE look bad. Here's what Mr. Card has to say today: With the recent Supreme Court ruling, the gay marriage issue becomes moot. The Full Faith and Credit clause of the Constitution will, sooner or later, give legal force in every state to any marriage contract recognized by any other state. Now it will be interesting to see whether the victorious proponents of gay marriage will show tolerance toward those who disagreed with them when the issue was still in dispute.

xauronx 13y ago
Starting reading this just now, wanted to share with you while I finish it: http://www.penny-arcade.com/report/article/orson-scott-card-is-a-bigot-and-a-homophobe-but-how-should-that-impact-our http://www.penny-arcade.com/report/article/orson-scott-card-...
airencracken 13y ago
If you think his books are apolitical, you haven't read them. The Shadow of Ender series in particular drips with all kinds of conservative themes. For example it waxes ad nauseum over abortion. That said. I don't see a reason to associate a persons's work with their personal beliefs. Tolerance through intolerance of differing opinions is not the right way to promote tolerance. I'm not going to see the movie because I expect it to be a bland CGI fest.
Artistry121 13y ago
I don't see hatred for him being a conservative - I see a dislike for him spending lots of money to keep a minority from having rights. His version of intolerance towards homosexuals was spending money to prevent them from having rights. Their version of intolerance is to attempt to convince people not to see his movie or buy his book. I don't think the second qualifies as intolerance. I also think it is completely within someones interest to speak out against supporting those who oppress them. There are plenty of interesting and great science fiction books or movies written by decent, reasonable people that could be supported instead. Also I the links in this thread show a side of the books that is far from "apolitical", although they were moving and profound for me.
- swamp40 13y ago
  > Also I the links in this thread show a side of the books that is far from "apolitical", although they were moving and profound for me. Ender's Game STILL sells 100K-200K copies per year. It is HUGELY popular, so of course some people on the internet are going to ride the publicity coat-tails by smashing it. Just because two academics find a way to compare the plot to the life of HITLER does NOT mean that Mr. Card had that in mind AT ALL.
  - minikites 13y ago
    From the Kuro5hin article: > On the phone and in his incoherent published reply, Card repeatedly shows ignorance of what he himself purportedly wrote. I simply cannot imagine how you could write such a stunningly well crafted piece of work (inasmuch as it is wildly popular and deeply affects people) without being aware of every fibre and splinter of its composition. About the third or fourth time I heard Card say something wasn't in his book that I knew was, I began to suspect that it was more of a committee effort. > Notice that even John Kessel distances himself from the Hitler Hypothesis even though he draws many of the same conclusions Elaine does. Card manages to sound very convincing when he says Hitler was never on his mind and that it's Elaine who has the Hitler obsession; I think he's so convincing because he wasn't in on the joke himself. Elaine's essay may have been as much a revelation to him as it was to anyone else. > I've seen Elaine's notes and heard Card on the phone, and there is no doubt in my mind that the Hitler Hypothesis is correct; it is simply impossible that Ender's Game and Speaker were written by someone who did not have a very detailed knowledge of Adolph Hitler's life. There are very exact parallels in there that you wouldn't even notice unless you read the footnotes to the most detailed Hitler biographies. I also tend to believe that Card does not have that level of knowledge about Hitler. Ergo, it is very hard for me to believe that he wrote the books. The assumption that he did not explains a great many otherwise mysterious things.
mcv 13y ago
I don't think it's reading the books that people object to; it's giving money to someone who may use it to campaign against basic human rights.

by swamp40 13y ago

xauronx 13y ago

Starting reading this just now, wanted to share with you while I finish it: http://www.penny-arcade.com/report/article/orson-scott-card-is-a-bigot-and-a-homophobe-but-how-should-that-impact-our http://www.penny-arcade.com/report/article/orson-scott-card-...

airencracken 13y ago

If you think his books are apolitical, you haven't read them. The Shadow of Ender series in particular drips with all kinds of conservative themes. For example it waxes ad nauseum over abortion. That said. I don't see a reason to associate a persons's work with their personal beliefs. Tolerance through intolerance of differing opinions is not the right way to promote tolerance. I'm not going to see the movie because I expect it to be a bland CGI fest.

Artistry121 13y ago

I don't see hatred for him being a conservative - I see a dislike for him spending lots of money to keep a minority from having rights. His version of intolerance towards homosexuals was spending money to prevent them from having rights. Their version of intolerance is to attempt to convince people not to see his movie or buy his book. I don't think the second qualifies as intolerance. I also think it is completely within someones interest to speak out against supporting those who oppress them. There are plenty of interesting and great science fiction books or movies written by decent, reasonable people that could be supported instead. Also I the links in this thread show a side of the books that is far from "apolitical", although they were moving and profound for me.

swamp40 13y ago
> Also I the links in this thread show a side of the books that is far from "apolitical", although they were moving and profound for me. Ender's Game STILL sells 100K-200K copies per year. It is HUGELY popular, so of course some people on the internet are going to ride the publicity coat-tails by smashing it. Just because two academics find a way to compare the plot to the life of HITLER does NOT mean that Mr. Card had that in mind AT ALL.
- minikites 13y ago
  From the Kuro5hin article: > On the phone and in his incoherent published reply, Card repeatedly shows ignorance of what he himself purportedly wrote. I simply cannot imagine how you could write such a stunningly well crafted piece of work (inasmuch as it is wildly popular and deeply affects people) without being aware of every fibre and splinter of its composition. About the third or fourth time I heard Card say something wasn't in his book that I knew was, I began to suspect that it was more of a committee effort. > Notice that even John Kessel distances himself from the Hitler Hypothesis even though he draws many of the same conclusions Elaine does. Card manages to sound very convincing when he says Hitler was never on his mind and that it's Elaine who has the Hitler obsession; I think he's so convincing because he wasn't in on the joke himself. Elaine's essay may have been as much a revelation to him as it was to anyone else. > I've seen Elaine's notes and heard Card on the phone, and there is no doubt in my mind that the Hitler Hypothesis is correct; it is simply impossible that Ender's Game and Speaker were written by someone who did not have a very detailed knowledge of Adolph Hitler's life. There are very exact parallels in there that you wouldn't even notice unless you read the footnotes to the most detailed Hitler biographies. I also tend to believe that Card does not have that level of knowledge about Hitler. Ergo, it is very hard for me to believe that he wrote the books. The assumption that he did not explains a great many otherwise mysterious things.

mcv 13y ago

I don't think it's reading the books that people object to; it's giving money to someone who may use it to campaign against basic human rights.