On Wiscon's Concomm's decision.

[maevele]

I'm trying to remember I trust my concomm. And that they have spoken with Ms. Moon, and I have no idea how those conversations went, so they have more information than I do. Maybe she said "hey, you're right, I fucked up and would love the chance to try to make this right by answering to people at the con" IT COULD HAPPEN.

I don't think there was any neat answer, disinviting her would have invited claims of silencing and slippery-slopes where we police con guests for politics, and would not have left an opportunity for her to be confronted face to face with the people she has offended. However, it would have made Muslim fans feel like the con as an official entity had their backs, which I would really prefer. I'm hoping that the community reaction and counterprogramming shows that Wiscon as a larger community does have their backs, even if the official comm didn't feel comfortable removing her for whatever reasons, they made it clear they disavow her statements and encourage people to take her to task for them. I'm not fucking happy with how they phrased the whole thing with believing her presence will contribute to the con, but if I choose to interpret that as her presence will encourage talking about this issue and confronting her, I can accept it better.

In a way, disinviting her would have silenced those who wanted to confront her face to face as much as it would silence her, so I don't think the comm took the least confrontational path. I am not going to be surprised if closer to the event she cancels out for other reasons so to avoid the confrontations.

Also, as far as I am concerned, My Wiscon has one Guest of Honor this year, who certainly rocks hard enough to deserve solo GoH status, and an "also featuring."

Comments

[littlebutfierce]

If Moon was really into dialoguing & saying she fucked up & apologizing & stuff, surely she could do that before the con. Like, oh, on her LJ?

I don't know how much good face-to-face confrontation/dialogue would do; I feel like it would heat up more than the comments in her LJ, & well, she deleted all of those.

Did anyone say they wanted to confront her face to face? I would've thought there'd be more support for safer space & inclusion: if that meant people could only argue w/her over the internet, so be it...

[maevele]

I'm trying just to give the concomm the benefit of doubt because they have spoken to her. They did not make the decision I would have. I just get that there was no easy clear decision, and they made the compromise they felt they had to make. The big name outcry about why not to disinvite got pretty vocal for a minute, and I think it influenced the decision.

[littlebutfierce]

I suppose I should be glad that at least big name person doing the outcry admitted that the outcry had more than a tinge of self-interest about it. :P

[flourish]

I definitely do agree that there is no neat answer...

[amadi]

It's a rough thing, but I think perhaps the balance may have been struck by retaining her invitation, without the "Guest of Honor" title. The honor part is what is going to stick in a lot of people's craws and I can't fathom feeling safe in a place where someone who espouses such loathsome thoughts is considered honorable.

[sophygurl]

Ditto.

[brainwane]

An interesting suggestion!

[urocyon]

That suggestion makes a lot of sense. The "honor" bit would definitely get me. :/

[pantryslut.livejournal.com]

This is more or less how I feel too.

I will also admit that if anyone other than Nisi were GoH I probably would have decided for sure to not bother with this year. (I still might not, depending on finances and how well the kids look to travel.)

Wiscon outsider has opinions, film at 11

[tacky-tramp.livejournal.com]

Slippery-slope arguments don't work for me, honestly. Wiscon's values are pretty clearly defined, as far as I've seen, and I don't think saying "This is inconsistent with our values and so we don't want this person as our GoH anymore" is a problem. I mean, is there ANY debate in the Wiscon community about this being inconsistent with the con's values? If there's debate, err on the side of caution; if there's not, gtfo.

Re: Wiscon outsider has opinions, film at 11

[maevele.livejournal.com]

I wasn't saying the argument held water, only that it left it open to be made, by people who already think wiscon is the thought police.

Re: Wiscon outsider has opinions, film at 11

[tacky-tramp.livejournal.com]

Gotcha.

Re: Wiscon outsider has opinions, film at 11

[rhipowered.livejournal.com]

Yeah, that's what I was trying to get at--that they looked at the PR possibilities from the asshole contingent, and were like 'hell no'.

[al-zorra.livejournal.com]

"Maybe she said "hey, you're right, I fucked up and would love the chance to try to make this right by answering to people at the con" IT COULD HAPPEN."

Knowing her books, knowing her, watching her operate for years, it could not and will not happen.

[maevele.livejournal.com]

Yeah, I was grasping at straws for good reasons the concomm would have made this decision. re-reading the statement they made, I got nothing. They fucked up, and it's up to the rest of wiscon to make it a safer and welcome space.

[upstart-crow.livejournal.com]

Man, what a mess. :(

If I go to the GoH speeches, I'm leaving for hers.

[maevele.livejournal.com]

There'll be an organized walkout.

[upstart-crow.livejournal.com]

Great!

[bcholmes.livejournal.com]

On the plus side, the panels in that time slot have always been problematic because the GoH speeches run long. Not this year!

[emilytheslayer.livejournal.com]

You and I are in very similar places on this. I'm still thinking about this, and I haven't come to any conclusions one way or the other yet (other than the obvious: Moon said Islamaphobic things), and argggggg.