Will Shetterly's Blog, page 128
June 9, 2014
Another reason to think the American people are better than their leaders
On polls, Americans are usually more progressive than either the Dems or the Repubs, which makes sense, because both parties are run by the rich and wealth is conservative. One exception used to be the death penalty, which a majority of Americans favored. Not anymore:New Low in Preference for the Death Penalty - ABC News: "A majority of Americans favor life imprisonment without parole over the
June 7, 2014
On "freeze peach": Do people who mock free speech deserve it? Plus Frederick Douglass!
My heart says no, but there's a reason humans have minds, and my mind says yes, rights belong to those who reject them, too.
A note for people who know so little of the principle of free speech that they think mocking it as "freeze peach" is funny: The First Amendment covers the legal principle, but the moral principle is always greater than the law. You have a legal right to try to get people
A note for people who know so little of the principle of free speech that they think mocking it as "freeze peach" is funny: The First Amendment covers the legal principle, but the moral principle is always greater than the law. You have a legal right to try to get people
On "freeze peach": Do people who mock free speech deserve it?
My heart says no, but there's a reason humans have minds, and my mind says yes, rights belong to those who reject them, too.
A note for people who know so little of the principle of free speech that they think mocking it as "freeze peach" is funny: The First Amendment covers the legal principle, but the moral principle is always greater than the law. You have a legal right to try to get people
A note for people who know so little of the principle of free speech that they think mocking it as "freeze peach" is funny: The First Amendment covers the legal principle, but the moral principle is always greater than the law. You have a legal right to try to get people
June 6, 2014
About George Orwell's list that he gave to a friend who worked for the British Foreign Office’s Information Research Department (IRD)
Some socialists hate Orwell. Some hate him because they like totalitarianism so long as they get to be the totalitarians. Some hate him because1984and Animal Farmhave been used by capitalists as arguments against socialism rather than totalitarianism, but capitalists will spin anything to their benefit. And some hate him because they think he was an informant, no different than the people who
June 5, 2014
Today's thing that makes a writer's day: Kind words from a gay reader
Over on Facebook, where I said, "I've been paying too much attention to bad things lately, so I'm going to pay attention to good ones for a while", I just got this comment: "thanks for your inclusion of a gay character in your young adult fiction works, Elsewhere and Nevernever, and for having the other characters accept and defend him. As a young gay man I was pretty happy to see that...You can
Is racism rising in fandom?
Annalee Newitz postedFantasy Writer N.K. Jemisin Explains the Rise of Racism in Fandomat io9. Jemisin quotes an old essay of Delany's in which he said the genre was less racist than the world at large, but when the genre's racial mix reflects the US, so will its racism.
What Jemisin misses is that the US is less racist. Gallup found that 4% of Americans approved of marriage between blacks and
What Jemisin misses is that the US is less racist. Gallup found that 4% of Americans approved of marriage between blacks and
June 4, 2014
woman warriors of the day: a female sheriff and a blacksmith
Since I'm not sure I have a theme for my "women kicking butt" posts, I'm not sure these two comics are exceptions, but I grant they don't break the traditional models for women when they were published. But they bend them.
"Sheriff Sal's Last Stand", from Western Love Trails #7, is atPappy's Golden Age Comics: A sheriff’s place is in the home. My favorite page:
The ending is very 1950s.
"Sheriff Sal's Last Stand", from Western Love Trails #7, is atPappy's Golden Age Comics: A sheriff’s place is in the home. My favorite page:
The ending is very 1950s.
June 3, 2014
Call the Midwife and Princess Jellyfish—our Netflix recommendations
Emma and I just finished Princess Jellyfish, which we loved, and just saw the first episode of Call the Midwife, which we also loved, even though Emma's attitude toward babies is about the same as her attitude toward monkeys. All I can really say about either show is try one and see what you think.
woman warrior of the day: Roza Miletić
FromMilitary History and Wars: Which warrior was the most dangerous in single combat in the history of the world? - Quora:
Kresimir ZeravicaSuggest Bio
Votes byWill Shetterly,Thomas Herren,Vamsi Chunduru,Shashank Singh, and319 more.
Croatian war of independence 1991-5, a grandma (Roza Miletić) captures an intact Serbian T-55 tank with live crew with plenty of ammo still
Kresimir ZeravicaSuggest Bio
Votes byWill Shetterly,Thomas Herren,Vamsi Chunduru,Shashank Singh, and319 more.
Croatian war of independence 1991-5, a grandma (Roza Miletić) captures an intact Serbian T-55 tank with live crew with plenty of ammo still
