Amendment One
.
I have a problem.
Part of the problem is that my home state of North Carolina is voting on a constitutional amendment today. As you may know, the so-called Amendment One would explicitly declare that a marriage of one man and one woman is the only civil union the state may recognize.
Note: Gay marriage is ALREADY illegal in North Carolina.
In short, the amendment, if it passes (which is likely) will do nothing to gay marriage except to put it on Double Secret Probation. What it WILL do, however, is ensure that anyone currently protected by laws against domestic violence, or currently receiving benefits from a state-funded employer such as a university, will have to be legally married in order for his/her partner to have those protections or share those benefits. (Yes, even heterosexual partners may be excluded through this change in the law.)
To say I oppose this change is something of an understatement, but as I live outside NC, I can't do anything directly about it other than tell those who live in the state to get to the polls and vote against it. (And believe me, I have been.)
But that's not my problem.
My problem is that one person who has been vocal about SUPPORTING Amendment One is a writer I once admired and enjoyed, but whose gradual descent into radicalism has destroyed his standing in my eyes: Orson Scott Card.
His attempt to defend the teaching of "intelligent design" in public school classrooms was a big red flag for me, but it has been all but overwhelmed by the horde of red flags sent up whenever Card has attempted to discuss homosexuality. Having purchased and enjoyed a number of his books for almost two decades, I only gradually became aware of his rampant homophobia, but with the rise of the internet over the last decade and a half, I found it impossible to miss the various statements he made about gay people. A few years back he actually wrote a column claiming that gay marriage was in itself the end of representative democracy in America, and that he would actively resist any government that allowed it. It was one of the most hateful (not to mention arguably treasonable) screeds I have ever seen in print, and I was frankly aghast that I had ever considered its author to be a man worthy of my respect and my attention. I haven't picked up a book of his since that day.
That's where the matter rested until a few days ago, when I learned that Card had penned a piece for the conservative Greensboro paper The Rhino Times . (I'm not linking to it--I don't want to give them the traffic, frankly.) In this opinion piece, he claimed that a vote for Amendment One was "a vote for freedom of religion - the only right that is in serious danger in America today."
If you haven't become deluded into believing that ravening secular humanists roam our nation breaking into Sunday School classes to prevent young Christians from learning about Jonah and the whale, you will recognize that Card is out of his mind. Worse, he's encouraging OTHERS to join him in his madness, demanding that the people of North Carolina vote to cause harm to their fellow citizens purely for the sake of further illegalizing something that is already illegal. If it wasn't so hurtful, it would be laughable.
But that brings me to my problem.
I own dozens of Orson Scott Card's books. Some were gifts from friends and family members. Some are hardbacks. Some are signed. Some are personalized. And thanks to his outrageous assaults on the rights of my fellow North Carolinians--including my friends and family there--I simply cannot imagine a way that I could ever again read them or enjoy having them in my library.
So what can I do with all these Card books?
I wouldn't feel right giving them to Goodwill or selling them (even if I gave the profits to ACT UP or some other gay-rights-supporting organization) because I frankly don't want to increase his audience. And I just can't bring myself to throw away a book, let alone burn one. So what can I do? Any and all suggestions are welcome, so long as they don't benefit Card or turn me into a Guy Montag-style fireman.
One friend suggested that I find some way to use their covers and pages as decorations for and/or invitations to gay weddings involving SF fans. I love that idea a whole lot, but I'm unlikely to be involved in planning any such celebrations. (I could barely handle planning my OWN wedding, thanks.)
So, can anyone out there tell me what to do with these books? Is anyone in need of some raw materials for a Big Fat Gay Wedding? Or can I interest you in some one-of-a-kind hamster shavings? Let me know!
I have a problem.
Part of the problem is that my home state of North Carolina is voting on a constitutional amendment today. As you may know, the so-called Amendment One would explicitly declare that a marriage of one man and one woman is the only civil union the state may recognize.
Note: Gay marriage is ALREADY illegal in North Carolina.
In short, the amendment, if it passes (which is likely) will do nothing to gay marriage except to put it on Double Secret Probation. What it WILL do, however, is ensure that anyone currently protected by laws against domestic violence, or currently receiving benefits from a state-funded employer such as a university, will have to be legally married in order for his/her partner to have those protections or share those benefits. (Yes, even heterosexual partners may be excluded through this change in the law.)
To say I oppose this change is something of an understatement, but as I live outside NC, I can't do anything directly about it other than tell those who live in the state to get to the polls and vote against it. (And believe me, I have been.)
But that's not my problem.
My problem is that one person who has been vocal about SUPPORTING Amendment One is a writer I once admired and enjoyed, but whose gradual descent into radicalism has destroyed his standing in my eyes: Orson Scott Card.
His attempt to defend the teaching of "intelligent design" in public school classrooms was a big red flag for me, but it has been all but overwhelmed by the horde of red flags sent up whenever Card has attempted to discuss homosexuality. Having purchased and enjoyed a number of his books for almost two decades, I only gradually became aware of his rampant homophobia, but with the rise of the internet over the last decade and a half, I found it impossible to miss the various statements he made about gay people. A few years back he actually wrote a column claiming that gay marriage was in itself the end of representative democracy in America, and that he would actively resist any government that allowed it. It was one of the most hateful (not to mention arguably treasonable) screeds I have ever seen in print, and I was frankly aghast that I had ever considered its author to be a man worthy of my respect and my attention. I haven't picked up a book of his since that day.
That's where the matter rested until a few days ago, when I learned that Card had penned a piece for the conservative Greensboro paper The Rhino Times . (I'm not linking to it--I don't want to give them the traffic, frankly.) In this opinion piece, he claimed that a vote for Amendment One was "a vote for freedom of religion - the only right that is in serious danger in America today."
If you haven't become deluded into believing that ravening secular humanists roam our nation breaking into Sunday School classes to prevent young Christians from learning about Jonah and the whale, you will recognize that Card is out of his mind. Worse, he's encouraging OTHERS to join him in his madness, demanding that the people of North Carolina vote to cause harm to their fellow citizens purely for the sake of further illegalizing something that is already illegal. If it wasn't so hurtful, it would be laughable.
But that brings me to my problem.
I own dozens of Orson Scott Card's books. Some were gifts from friends and family members. Some are hardbacks. Some are signed. Some are personalized. And thanks to his outrageous assaults on the rights of my fellow North Carolinians--including my friends and family there--I simply cannot imagine a way that I could ever again read them or enjoy having them in my library.
So what can I do with all these Card books?
I wouldn't feel right giving them to Goodwill or selling them (even if I gave the profits to ACT UP or some other gay-rights-supporting organization) because I frankly don't want to increase his audience. And I just can't bring myself to throw away a book, let alone burn one. So what can I do? Any and all suggestions are welcome, so long as they don't benefit Card or turn me into a Guy Montag-style fireman.
One friend suggested that I find some way to use their covers and pages as decorations for and/or invitations to gay weddings involving SF fans. I love that idea a whole lot, but I'm unlikely to be involved in planning any such celebrations. (I could barely handle planning my OWN wedding, thanks.)
So, can anyone out there tell me what to do with these books? Is anyone in need of some raw materials for a Big Fat Gay Wedding? Or can I interest you in some one-of-a-kind hamster shavings? Let me know!