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My confession about Fascism
Oct. 24th, 2010 01:24 am![[identity profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/openid.png){kind=small}
herrw.livejournal.comI have to confess something, and it causes me great distress to have realized it: I have been an unwitting supporter of Fascism, and I appologize.
At this point, most of my fellow democrats would say, "ah, you've finally come around about that Beck moron, and Fox News!" But that's not Fascism. That's alternative opinion, much like HuffPo and NY Times. I'm talking about the work of one (and possibly more) authors.
I was introduced to the work of Catherine Valente some time ago when I followed a link to her blog![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
yuki_ona here on LJ through a friend's post. At the time, she had posted a race-fail commentary which ultimately ended up as homo-fail in nature. I thought, "wow, she's willing to speak out about a controversial subject. I want to see more!" I friended her, and followed her career with interest. When she asked for help, I was there and did all that I could. When she wrote 'Fairyland' I read it and directed as many people as possible to it. I was all set to buy the hardback of 'Habitation of the Blessed' which is due to come out shortly. Then she posted this:
http://yuki-onna.livejournal.com/613791.html?thread=17325215
The first time I read this post, I blinked a couple of times. This wonderful author, with a unique voice and the bravery of conviction, did not just come out in support of WisCon's actions, did she? I read it again, and had to nod that yes, she did. Moon should have never said what she said, according to her post. She should have known better than to say it in a year when she was a GoH at WisCon. Paraphrased, she got what she deserved even if it sets a nasty precedent which might bit Valente as well.
My initial thought then was, "Perhaps she doesn't understand that Moon's career is being attacked because of her beliefs--she is a young author, after all." But no, she understands this. Valente just doesn't care. She has built her career on the alternative-sexuality crowd and expanded it to a more mainstream (yet rabidly vocal) audience. The righteous indignation of her audience is more important than the freedom to express one's self, in her mind. Disregarding the fact that she COMPLETELY MISSED THE POINT OF MOON'S POST (which is sad for someone who portrays themself as an intellectual) she could have easily written "I disagree with moon's post. But I support her right to say it." She did not.
I can no longer read Valente's work without seeing her, and her characters, in this new light. The woman who wrote "Fairyland" wasn't writing about fantasy, now--she was writing revenge on the mean-girls of her youth. Palimpsest is not a novel about an alternative world, now... it is a novel about building a self-righteous world for those who choose to pursue their own interests over the interests of others. I have de-friended her, and am no longer interested in her work. She has ruined anything she could ever write from this point forward, simply by admitting that homo-fascism is more important to her than the pursuit of free-speech... something which actually enables her to write on the subjects she has chosen.
I do not reccommend her work to anyone. It is flowery and escapist, but in the end it is the tripe of a bitter woman who cannot accept that painting one's self as an outsider means being often unaccepted. Her characters exact her revenge against a world which did not meet her rosy expectations, yet allowed her to become a rising superstar in the publishing industry. It is ironic that I would campaign against her work, considering that she has supported a movement of the same against Moon, and I am not blind this. Poetic justice has its place, and I can oppose fascism whenever I see it. And this is fascism (socially, if not econimically) in both nature and scope. Finally, I would like to extend a warning to the homofascist movement:
All repressive regimes begin by courting the excluded. The chinese communist revolution began not among the accepted, but among the rejected. Yet it was ultimately those same rejected who were killed by the millions because they were no longer of any use to the society they built. Homosexuality was welcomed in the Nazi party, until chystalnacht, when homosexuals were slaughtered and wiped from society once again. Do you really believe that homosexuality, having supported the rise of the progressive movement, will be treated any different in America? Is the evidence of every socialist society on earth ever, in the history of ever, going to apply to a socialist movement within the US? Or is it just possible that you are willing to ignore the lessons of the past simply to enjoy the fleeting political power of the present? If so, enjoy while you can. Fascism has a nasty way of devouring supporters.
At this point, most of my fellow democrats would say, "ah, you've finally come around about that Beck moron, and Fox News!" But that's not Fascism. That's alternative opinion, much like HuffPo and NY Times. I'm talking about the work of one (and possibly more) authors.
I was introduced to the work of Catherine Valente some time ago when I followed a link to her blog
yuki_ona here on LJ through a friend's post. At the time, she had posted a race-fail commentary which ultimately ended up as homo-fail in nature. I thought, "wow, she's willing to speak out about a controversial subject. I want to see more!" I friended her, and followed her career with interest. When she asked for help, I was there and did all that I could. When she wrote 'Fairyland' I read it and directed as many people as possible to it. I was all set to buy the hardback of 'Habitation of the Blessed' which is due to come out shortly. Then she posted this:http://yuki-onna.livejournal.com/613791.html?thread=17325215
The first time I read this post, I blinked a couple of times. This wonderful author, with a unique voice and the bravery of conviction, did not just come out in support of WisCon's actions, did she? I read it again, and had to nod that yes, she did. Moon should have never said what she said, according to her post. She should have known better than to say it in a year when she was a GoH at WisCon. Paraphrased, she got what she deserved even if it sets a nasty precedent which might bit Valente as well.
My initial thought then was, "Perhaps she doesn't understand that Moon's career is being attacked because of her beliefs--she is a young author, after all." But no, she understands this. Valente just doesn't care. She has built her career on the alternative-sexuality crowd and expanded it to a more mainstream (yet rabidly vocal) audience. The righteous indignation of her audience is more important than the freedom to express one's self, in her mind. Disregarding the fact that she COMPLETELY MISSED THE POINT OF MOON'S POST (which is sad for someone who portrays themself as an intellectual) she could have easily written "I disagree with moon's post. But I support her right to say it." She did not.
I can no longer read Valente's work without seeing her, and her characters, in this new light. The woman who wrote "Fairyland" wasn't writing about fantasy, now--she was writing revenge on the mean-girls of her youth. Palimpsest is not a novel about an alternative world, now... it is a novel about building a self-righteous world for those who choose to pursue their own interests over the interests of others. I have de-friended her, and am no longer interested in her work. She has ruined anything she could ever write from this point forward, simply by admitting that homo-fascism is more important to her than the pursuit of free-speech... something which actually enables her to write on the subjects she has chosen.
I do not reccommend her work to anyone. It is flowery and escapist, but in the end it is the tripe of a bitter woman who cannot accept that painting one's self as an outsider means being often unaccepted. Her characters exact her revenge against a world which did not meet her rosy expectations, yet allowed her to become a rising superstar in the publishing industry. It is ironic that I would campaign against her work, considering that she has supported a movement of the same against Moon, and I am not blind this. Poetic justice has its place, and I can oppose fascism whenever I see it. And this is fascism (socially, if not econimically) in both nature and scope. Finally, I would like to extend a warning to the homofascist movement:
All repressive regimes begin by courting the excluded. The chinese communist revolution began not among the accepted, but among the rejected. Yet it was ultimately those same rejected who were killed by the millions because they were no longer of any use to the society they built. Homosexuality was welcomed in the Nazi party, until chystalnacht, when homosexuals were slaughtered and wiped from society once again. Do you really believe that homosexuality, having supported the rise of the progressive movement, will be treated any different in America? Is the evidence of every socialist society on earth ever, in the history of ever, going to apply to a socialist movement within the US? Or is it just possible that you are willing to ignore the lessons of the past simply to enjoy the fleeting political power of the present? If so, enjoy while you can. Fascism has a nasty way of devouring supporters.
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