Will Shetterly's Blog, page 36

Things shared on Nov. 20ths

In my soul, there is a constant battle between my father's working class ethos and my mother's middle class niceness. Mom usually wins. But when things matter, Dad does. - I won't join any far left party because I'm afraid I'd have to split with myself. Okay, that was funny in my head. But I remember de Clayre's "anarchism without adjectives" and wish I didn't have to add democratic to

Gen X had it easier than Boomers did

From The Economic Consequences of Millennial Health | Blue Cross Blue Shield: Don't blame the boomers, it was gen X that sat by and let the world crumble | The Independent: I remember sitting opposite a fellow gen X-er lamenting the dismal state of British politics over lunch. “We let it happen though, didn’t we?” he said. “We didn’t get involved. Perhaps we should have. But we were too busy

Things shared on Nov. 19ths

“Nice” is meaningless—many of the worst people treat friends and acquaintances well. Character is revealed by how you treat your opponents. - Has anyone ever been insulted into changing their mind? - People who insist two things are "apples and oranges" are often unable to see that they're fruit. And some people who insist two things are "apples and oranges" can't tell the difference

Things shared on Nov. 18ths

I am constantly surprised by Democrats who say the candidate in 2020 shouldn’t be the country’s most popular politician. Okay, I could’ve ended that sentence after “Democrats”. - Chandler famously couldn't remember who killed the chauffeur in Big Sleep. My theory: Joe Brody killed him to get the pictures and lied to Marlowe, then was killed by Lundgren before he could confess. - I get the "

Things shared on Nov. 17ths

Dear conservatives who talk about crony capitalism: Capitalists are human. Humans have cronies. Please stop being redundant. Sincerely, Yr. socialist friend who wants you to up your game - I'm trying to decide if "tradcon" is useful. If so, "tradlib" is not because the Gilded Age liberal is not the New Deal liberal who is not the neoliberal. -

Things I shared on November 16ths

Old creeps, stop misrepresenting the '60s. It was "Do your own thing", not "Make others do your thing." It was about consent, not coercion, and freedom, not force. - "If you would deny a thing to your enemy, it is not a right." —Edward Snowden - “Except for the relatively small number of Fascist sympathizers, almost any English person would accept ‘bully’ as a synonym for ‘Fascist’. That is

My comment at Slate about the myth that John M. Ford's family tried to keep his work out of print

I left this at John M. Ford’s books are being republished, but how did he fall into obscurity?: I was one of Mike Ford's friends and editors, and I want to go on record with this: Martha Fry was extremely helpful when we wanted to keep his Liavek stories in print. The breakdown in communication between his original family, his fannish family, and his agent has many reasons, but there are no

the myth that John M. Ford's family tried to keep his work out of print

 I left this at John M. Ford’s books are being republished, but how did he fall into obscurity?:

I was one of Mike Ford's friends and editors, and I want to go on record with this: Martha Fry was extremely helpful when we wanted to keep his Liavek stories in print. The breakdown in communication between his original family, his fannish family, and his agent has many reasons, but there are no villains in that story. There are only gossips who love drama, as there are in any community. If anyone cl...

Things I shared on November 15ths

At Aldi today, I came to the register soon after a homeless man who had not been able to wash in days or weeks or months. He smelled like capitalism. - Being a democratic socialist, I have yet to be convinced that revolution is the only path to socialism. But liberals sharing vague plans to ameliorate poverty someday maybe make me sympathize with revolutionary socialists. - "You must stay

In Huckleberry Finn, Mark Twain damns the idea of whiteness

I’m rereading Huckleberry Finn. This is one of the great lines of literature: “Dah you goes, de ole true Huck; de on'y white genlman dat ever kep' his promise to ole Jim.” Twain’s main target is whiteness, but the class system takes a hit too. I’ve read that some critics ask “Is Huck black?” That’s the kind of question that only a someone who doesn't think about class can ask. Huck is