Saturday, March 23, 2013

The hallmark of the inferior

Laura Resnick proposes a simple test, and in doing so, inadvertently demonstrates why it is so hard to take people like her seriously:
I would propose the following simple test for everyone who wants to threaten someone else with rape and death:

Do =you= intend to rape, murder, and/or cause the death this person? Not in a “wishspeak” way, but in an “yes, it’s on my calendar for tonight” way?

If the answer is “yes,” then turn yourself in to the authorities, because you are a danger to society.

If is “no,” then just don’t say it. Not ever. Because threatening someone with a felony isn’t cool or funny or macho or a way to release your anger or express your disapproval; it’s just a good reason for the cops to find you and question you about your stated intent to commit a felony.

And if you want to call someone a “bitch,” slut,” “whore.” etc… Oh, come, ON. How LAME. How childish. How unimaginative. Why not give yourself a CHALLENGE? Replace every hostile schoolyard name you want to call a woman with a phrase that begins with, “The reason I don’t like your actions” or “my argument with what you’ve said is” or “what I dislike about your position on this matter is” and then finish the sentence with a substantive comment that’s devoid of sarcasm and facetiousness (because of you’re a name-caller, than these conversational techniques are WAY beyond your skill set) and completely eschews threats.

And if you can’t do THAT… then say nothing, because you clearly have NOTHING TO SAY.
It sounds nominally reasonable, if more than a little naive, and in truth, it is nothing more than the usual bien pensant posturing.  The important thing to note here is how Miz Resnick is firmly asserting that one should never joke about harming others, because it isn't cool or funny or macho.  Which is a little ironic in light of Miz Resnick's own admittedly felonious fantasies of last summer.

Whever I think “alpha male”… my daydream quickly becomes a Sweeney Todd nightmare in which I’m serving the remains to my dinner guests, disguised as some sort of heavy-seasoned stew beneath puff pastry, because I wound up killing said Alpha Male in sheer exasperation before sundown and need to get rid of the body….  Laura Resnick, August 17, 2012 at 1:12 pm
In addition to this, while Miz Resnick was more than eager to criticize unknown people on the Internet, she didn't see fit to criticize our fellow SFWA member, Lee Martindale, who wrote: "When I decided to run for re-election as SFWA South-Central Regional Director, someone asked me what I would do if Mr. Beale won the Presidential election. I replied, "Ask my friends to start a bail fund."

And yet, are we not reliably informed that threatening someone with a felony isn't cool or funny?  Are we not told that it is grounds for being questioned by the police.

The hallmark of the inferior being is not hypocrisy, or the mere appearance of hypocrisy.  Everyone with ideals fails to live up to them at some point or another.  One's failure to live up to a standard is not at all the same thing as denying the standard applies to oneself.  The hallmark of the inferior, the sure sign of the self-admitted inferior, is the individual who demands others live up to standards that he refuses to accept for himself.

If you do not hold yourself accountable to the same standards you apply to others, you are not only an anti-equalitarian, you are a self-declared and admitted inferior to those to whom you hold to those higher standards.

I don't know if Ms Resnick is a hypocrite, a failure to live up to her own standards, or a self-confessed inferior being.  But rather than speculate or call her names, I shall simply follow her advice.  The reason I don’t like her actions is that she purports to be my equal, and yet, she appears to hold me and many others to a standard she does not appear to apply to herself or to her fellow SFWA member.

29 comments:

kh123 said...

Like I said, there was the female gaming author who wanted anti-cyber bully laws for anything hurtful anyone might have said on the interwebz.

Fits the above post like a mirror image, quite literally.

Sigyn said...

The reason I don't like her actions is because she's a bitch.

...What?

Harsh said...

She either needs to get punched or laid... or maybe both in quick succession...

Shimshon said...

My wife can be, well, extremely colorful in her use of violent language when suitably angered. Back in my bad old beta days, she was positively vicious. Anyway, I recently called her on this when she described in great detail what she wanted to do me because of some slight. I told her that had I said the exact same thing to her, she would consider me psychotic, paused, let the implication sink in...and then stood my ground as she blew up even more. Made for a good laugh.

Will Best said...

The problem with "bitch" "slut" "whore" etc isn't the words themselves which convey very proper reasons to dislike something. Its that these words have been overloaded to assert a generalized displeasure.

It seems to me then that the call to say "I don't like her actions" is really more of a call to use the proper word so that the context can be derived from the statement.

The Great and Powerful Oz said...

I used to know Lee Martindale and I've read some of her writing. It's not very good. I've also seen her at various social events and she insists on being the center of attention. In addition, she seriously embellishes her role in many events and stories. I haven't seen her in several years, but the last few ties i ran into her, I realized she was someone I really didn't want to hang around with and I've hung around with quite a number of SF authors and considered a few to be my friends, including a couple who shouldn't be allowed out without a keeper. So, that should give you an idea of what I think about her.

I'm not a writer, but i would be tempted to make the effort to qualify just so I could vote for Vox Day in the future. I would trust him to run the organization much better than the incumbent or Steve Gould (who I also used to know).

tz said...

I need to stop reading this while eating, or put a guard on my tablet. Or remember to swallow before reading.

15 min ago I noted in a guardian article (Greenwald on Chomsky) that Liberals don't themselves live now under the rules they would impose. Bigfoot carbon is the new limousine (solar-powered, a123, solyndra, bankrupt) liberal.

... cause the death [sic - of] this person, Evangelium Vitae noted capital punishment is evil, is she doing something on that?

Yet nowhere is McRapey mentioned. Does his charity counter apply ther or only Vox Populi?

tz said...

If the description is accurate, 'slut' or 'whore' are reasonable. Bitch, too, but there is some ambiguity (related to bestiality).

On a side note, the new mass translation of the Apostles creed renders "inferior" as "hell" instead of "the dead" ("he descended into hell"). "Inferior" may be an ancient pun.

swiftfoxmark2 said...

See if I called this bitch a bitch, it would be because I'm being honest.

Isn't that what women value in their men? I mean, at least that's what they say...

Daniel said...

European Error: To make insufficient bread and circus for the openly acknowledged lower castes.

American Error: To let the unacknowledged lower castes drone on eternally about how much better they'd do things if they were in charge.

Old Harry said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
halibetlector said...

@GF Dad

http://openbooksociety.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/04/LauraResnickAug2004.jpg

O_O

Stickwick said...

http://openbooksociety.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/04/LauraResnickAug2004.jpg

Too much heavy-seasoned stew beneath puff pastry.

Old Harry said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Markku said...

She is asking for half-truths at best, and lies at worst, because the true version would be "The reason your actions nauseate me", "what disgusts me about a person who would take your position on the matter is" and so forth.

cynical said...

Hmm, right in the vein of this post, it seems that a mere three days before PyCon, and Adria Richards hissy fit, she herself was making not-funny sexualized jokes, and on twitter, no less. Not cool.

https://twitter.com/skwashd/status/314070390525816832

Yeah, I'm going to go with "inferior being" on this one.

Mike M. said...

And Vox, the Black Knight, dons his armor of proof... :-)

Boogeyman said...

The problem with "bitch", "slut", and "whore" is that they are sexist words.

The female version of the word dick is bitch. But like the "N word", bitch is no longer acceptable in polite society. In order to keep from offending women in the future I suggest we all use the more gender neutral term 'asshole'. It would help in showing that ones contemp stems from the subject's actions and not sex.

Anonymous said...

I needed the red pill - same story as most people in the manosphere.

A friend of mine from uni grew up in a family that runs under the English Victorian model - traditional gender roles, self-disciplined emotionally-controlled father who runs his own business, mother who cooks every day and does the business admin.

He never had to go through a red-pill shattering of his belief system, because he grew up with the idea that women were interesting but flighty, erratic, and untrustworthy.

Where I feel a certain level of anger sometimes because I feel I was lied to, he has always viewed women in a paternal manner. I have to admit, while I have a higher chance (not incredibly high, but still) of a same-night lay (just due to a basic level of game), he has a much higher chance of a positive, stable marriage than I do.

Just thought you all might like to know that there are still family systems that can produce men who can deal with women, but who don't need to stare into the abyss of biomechanics.

Laura Resnick annoys me, but for him, her writing would just be noise in the ether.

- Student001

Toby Temple said...

The reason I don't like her actions is because she's a bitch.

It perfectly fits miz Resnick's standard.

Anonymous said...

HEY!!!!!!

NAWALT. *rolls eyes*

Anonymous said...

I know both Laura and Lee, and like both. I agree, however, that consistency needs to be applied: you can't have one rule for you and one for other people (well, you can, but it erodes your own position due to being hypocritical). There's also a culture of extreme verbal violence on the net in left-wing SF circles, particularly on Tumblr and often directed from women towards other women - goes hand in hand with the language policing. Any cognitive dissonance goes right past the perpetrators - whoosh.

To the gentleman who suggested we replace sexist terms with 'asshole' - outstanding suggestion! I have already implemented this to some degree in my own vocabulary.

swiftfoxmark2 said...

Ha!

Now that I've seen her pic, I completely understand her hostility toward Alphas: they would never bang her or give her the time of day.

Anonymous said...

To paraphrase a great American philosopher,

"Lighten up, cunt."

Doom said...

I don't know. But, take a woman seriously? In conversation or life? That's for men who think that playing nice will get them laid, or even men who can only think about getting laid. Or men who have divorce hanging over their head. When I have wanted a woman around, I do that. Getting laid is just part of that, it isn't really the goal. When she has a kid in her belly, okay, then the situation, but still not her, is to be taken seriously.

Has she ever... spoken to another woman, and listened to what they say? She should read her own notions, as you have shown. Either you take her at her word and hold her accountable or you realize... she is just a woman. Women aren't hypocrites. Women are... well... just women. Take them easy, not literally, or even figuratively. I can't even remember how many women have told me they wouldn't be caught dead with me. Although, in truth, they weren't dead when caught with me. Never even believe a woman about some things unless you think playing along will profit you somehow. I'm wondering if by her telling people not to threaten she is asking for more. And... really... isn't that what she will get?

Play all you want, Vox. But come on, you aren't truly judging this woman by what she says/wrties, are you? Really? It would be like taking a 6 your old as a threat enough to beat him up if he challenged you. Then again I might pay to see that.

Deer in the headlights! Hit the gas!

Markku said...

I suggest we all use the more gender neutral term 'asshole'.

An asshole is effective about being an asshole. A bitch is merely annoying.

protagonist said...

another of the rabbit-people *served*.

it's so easy that it almost seems cruel sometimes... but i mustn't give in to thinking that way. it is the feelings of pity in good men that the rabbit-people seek to manipulate.

tz said...

@Markku - try living without an asshole.

http://www.spunk.org/texts/humour/sp001525.html

Anonymous said...

Perfect example of this today on NPR:

http://www.npr.org/2013/03/25/175265720/how-ellen-degeneres-helped-change-the-conversation-about-gays

Look for Katie Van Winkle comments to see it.

~E

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