Should’ve Voted NOLA

Posted on July 23, 2018 Updated on July 23, 2018

By Jacob P. Torres

@WORLDCON2018 is currently the largest dumpster fire on my twitter feed. This is impressive because I know and follow more than a few people who are heavily invested in national security and/or state department, and over the weekend the Trumpster Fire in Chief threatened war on a country we out-GDP 31 times over because he was having a moody day.

That the behaviour of the organizing  members of WorldCon has been reprehensible is both shockingly obvious and by this point also expressed significantly better than I can manage at the moment by people all over the internet. Read Mary Robinette Kowal or Bogi Takács or JY Yang or John Scalzi. Scalzi also has a great piece on his blog from 2013 about what a goddamn harassment policy should look like and how not to be a bucket of failure in that regard. Brianne also wrote about this and I agree with every word she said.

Over the weekend we’ve seen three big problems emerge like someone has been summoning Lovecraftian horrors.

1. A dress code sent to some but not all award finalists and award presenters.
2. Shockingly re-writing the bio of a prominent member of the SFF community that wreaks of transphobia.
3. The lack of new voices, specifically new voices that are younger, or who represent sexual, gender, or national minorities.

All of these problems are equally bad. All of them stem from discrimination. And it’s frustrating to find yet another community that fails to be as inclusive and as welcoming as we thought it was.

We look to science fiction– we look to speculative fiction– to show us some of the best of humanity. It’s born out of a desire to see a better, more inclusive tomorrow. In 2018, it’s certainly disappointing, but no longer shocking, to see the worst of us reflected in towering, rage-filled voices in the communities we have sought belonging in.

It is another reminder that we can do better. That we always must do better. And better isn’t something that happens in a vacuum. We have to work at it, fight for, clamor for it in numbers and voices that are impossible to ignore. And we have so, so far to go. I wasn’t going to be able to attend this year’s WorldCon because of scheduling conflicts, but it wasn’t until this weekend that this wasn’t something that upset me. I’m not going to rant about the big three problems, but I did have a couple sentences about the Dress Code nonsense.

The Unforgivable Shit About Dress Codes.

Some events, some places require dress codes. It’s an unfortunate reality for many, especially genderqueer or genderfluid. Because dress codes are inherently sexist. They’re almost always harsher on women than they are on men. Failure to meet dress codes is often used to excuse deplorable behaviour. Dress codes at award ceremonies are also prejudiced against people who may struggle financially. Today, Dress Codes mostly cater to people who want the sexist and classist institutions we are forced to work and live in to continue. They‘re more toxic today because the communities dress codes discriminate against have voices, and organization, and we ignore them still.

Bree and I both volunteer for another organization that has to have a dress code. It’s always a long and thorough discussion on setting that policy and making certain that it’s as inclusive as possible. That’s something that WorldCon appears to have failed profoundly at.

What Should I Do?

Well you should’ve voted for NOLA. When your options are silicon valley, known bastion of sexist nonsense or the place that has Mardi Gras, chose fucking wisely. N.K Jemison, Nielsen Haydens, JY Yang, Mary Robinette Kowal, and John Scalzi are all, as of this posting withdrawing from the panels at WorldCon76. If I was going to WorldCon to hear legends in the field, I’d have zero incentive to do so now.

I’ve struggled with this post to find something different to say than what has already been expressed by other, better people. But I realized it doesn’t fucking matter if I have something new to add. Nonsense like this, hurtful, spiteful nonsense like this, should always be called out. In the light of day, this kind of hate can’t live forever. Let’s not give it shadows to hide.

What we can all do is let your voices be heard. Go to @WorldCon2018 and tell them they’re being a dumpster fire. Then tell them you’re not going. There is plenty to do in San Jose, California that doesn’t involve helping these shitbags be a success. Get online and start tweeting about books you love from new, exciting voices, and make certain that you never shut up about them.

And finally go HERE, right the fuck now, and volunteer for World Con 77 in Dublin next year.

I really, really hope that anyone working on WorldCon 77 are watching Mary Robinette Kowal’s twitter feed today, she’s going on an epic rant about how to actually empanel a diverse, inclusive, and excellent set of programming. Let’s make certain that the planning group is full of people clamoring to be heard and guaranteeing that the inclusivity that’s present in actually nominating our Hugo Nominees is present in the planning of the events to celebrate them and the excellent work they’ve done.

And next time, unless if you’re given the option between NOLA and anywhere else, you know the right choice to make.