Harlan Ellison and his little personal space problem

[leahbobet]

(ETA: Followup post here.)


So, when I got in this afternoon I was shocked to discover that Harlan Ellison groped Connie Willis during the Hugo presentations on Saturday. On the same page in my friendslist, up comes Rachel Manija Brown's own account of her Harlan encounter this weekend.

And y'know, I'm tired of this inappropriate bullshit. Really, really tired. So this can only be resolved in one fashion:

Fatwa.

We will now address common objections to the Fatwa in our Fatwa on Asshats Questions section (FAQ):

But Leah, Connie Willis is reported to have said she can handle him and he's done worse? Why are we involved?

Because I sincerely doubt otherwise honest persons wake up one morning and say you know what? I would like to grope Connie Willis and then one other woman I don't know and then I will retire from my asshat ways and take up meditation in the mountains. Because there are already a few people I know who are referred to as "thinking they're Harlan Ellison" and you know what? If he gets away with it, they feel they can too. They think it's cute to be an asshat. I don't think it's cute to be an asshat.

Because things that are just plain wrong deserve to get called on the carpet.

commodorified adds: "Because the fact that Connie Willis chose not to make a loud public scene in the middle of a Hugo ceremony and had the presence of mind to pass it off quietly does not mean she wasn't gravely insulted, and she doesn't deserve to be repaid for that with indifference?"

But Leah, why must we go to war? Why not just a little skirmish?

Fandom prides itself on conventions being "safe space" for all comers: it doesn't matter if you're gay, straight, poly, black, Asian, Middle Eastern, white, Wiccan, Pagan, Jewish, Muslim, Buddhist, Christian, hard of hearing, vision-impaired, mobility-impaired, a goth or dressed as an anime character or any of these things.

But apparently it matters if you have tits.

That is bullshit.

But Leah, it is not worth declaring Fatwa on Harlan Ellison. He is old and will die soon.

Old men will be old men is just another variation on boys will be boys, and they damn well will be boys until you tell them it's not appropriate. If the behaviour makes you uncomfortable, annoyed, angry, outraged -- if you think about it being applied to you and you are any of the above, it is worthwhile to state that it is inappropriate, illegal, and should not be swept under the rug.

But Leah, Harlan Ellison is just one man!

Yup. And the guy who, when I was twenty, told me at a convention that I could have a beer when my top came off was just one man. And the individual who groped divalea at Comicon was just one, too. And the guy who was making creepy leers at katallen in Boston two years back was just one too.

Y'know, eventually this shit adds up to a lot. Eventually it adds up to a systemic issue.


ETA:Okay, apparently you can't close polls anymore, and I don't want to make this entry private, so...

So:

[Poll #808886]

Vote early, vote often.

...and forward yourself to the tricky bit of the program.


ETA: Link roundup thus far. Gwenda Bond -- Catherine Morrison (and her part two) -- Gavin Grant -- Graham Sleight -- Edward Champion -- Alan DeNiro -- Elizabeth Bear -- Jim C. Hines -- Steve Nagy -- Lea Hernandez -- Meredith L. Patterson -- Kate (juliansinger) -- Lis Riba part one part two part three --

Comments

[maradydd.livejournal.com]

I have this rule whereby if someone makes physical contact with me and I did not invite it, I reserve the right to punch them in the face.

I mean, yes, people brush past each other in hallways or crowded rooms, or get tangled up in hot tubs, or stumble and flail for support and the nearest thing happens to be another person's arm, or whatever. I'm not going to deck somebody for something that's clearly an accident. But I've run into enough mouthbreathers who think that my tattoos and sleeveless shirts constitute an invitation for them to get all touchy-feely, and I am sick of it. Uninvited touch is legally defined as assault, and perhaps a couple of dislodged teeth or a broken cheekbone will suffice to remind people of this.

[leahbobet.livejournal.com]

That is a good rule.

What I'm hoping for is that we can stop saying we have an environment where that rule isn't needed, and actually have it for once.

[nike-victory.livejournal.com]

A very nice rule. I don't have a rule per-se, but I react similarly in a swift and unconscious fashion towards unexpected and unwanted physical contact. The only time I haven't hit for someone touching me inappropriately is when my roommate fell and accidently grabbed my breast to stop her fall, and I damn well near hit her - I stopped my fist less than an inch from her face because it took me that long to turn my head and see she was unbalanced. She was rather frightened of me for the rest of that night.