Epics and Isolations
Jan. 8th, 2016 09:48 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
lydyOne of the high points of my time in NYC was Patrick and Teresa's New Year's Day party. It was more fun that I can even come close to describing. So many people. Shawna McCarthy was there, and I got to squee at her about how much I had loved Isaac Asimov's Science Fiction Magazine when she had been chief editor. It had been a very lonely period of my life, and the magazine mattered to me so very much. She looked very pleased, though she said a bit wistfully that no one remembers that she did that. Which shocked me. I remember. And it mattered. A lot. It also mattered that she was a girl, and it suggested to me that maybe, you know, girls could...do things.
I got to meet Jim Henley, which was an especial treat. I remember reading him back during the second Iraq war, and he was so very wise and sensible. He's a lovely man, funny and interesting and genuinely kind. He also has a very nice wife, who I didn't get to talk to as much as I would have liked. And a bit of ego boo: Patrick sent Jim email to confirm that they really were going to come up from Silver Springs, MD to the party, and said that if he did, Lydy Nickerson would fan-girl squee at him. Jim's response was (para-quoted), "Lydy Nickerson of the File 770 Nickersons, who always says smart things?" (I don't actually. And not nearly as many smart things as Jim does, but I'm totally taking that ego boo and running.)
So many people were there. Ellen Datlow, Moshe Feder, Avram Grumer, Julia the blogger whose last name I've lost but I like so very much, Bear, Lynch and lots of other people. Really interesting people. This was an epic party. Utterly epic.
The high point, for me, was Scott Lynch reading his epic smackdown of John C. Wright. If you haven't read it, you should. It's at http://scottlynch.us/blog/2016/01/01/what-we-talk-about-when-we-talk-about-lying-crazypants-liars-who-lie/ He did funny voices for Wright and everything. There were many interjections from the crowd, many of us (ok, me) seriously inebriated. If you've ever read Scott, you'll know that exceptionally gifted with the clever and profane turn of phrase. It was a great bonding experience.
Scott also posted the smackdown on his blog. Since he has an I.Q. greater than that of a potato, he closed comments. Good on him. The next day, which was Patrick's birthday, was occasioned by many people responding to the post with kind and or snarky encouragement. It was a lovely birthday present.
In watching all this, I am struck by how incredibly isolating being the target of the kind of abuse that Patrick has been the target of can be. It is significantly exacerbated by the fact that his professional integrity is being impugned, and there are very few ways that he can respond that don't feed into spiraling feedback loops that make him look unprofessional. Despite the fact that John C. Wright's accusations were utter lies, and the fact that they were viciously personal, there is very little that Patrick could say, publicly, which wouldn't feed into the "news cycle" and just make the whole thing worse. And while the people who love him and are intimate with him can reassure him that they don't believe this shite, the rest of the world remains silent. It's hard to send a note of support to someone you don't know. All of this is exacerbated by Patrick very sensibly triaging his on-line time, not reading the fora where a lot of this is discussed, since a) who the hell has that much time and b) it's too easy to come across trolls that will simply cause unnecessary upset. But it does mean that he also doesn't see the people who say, "Jesus, that JCW guy's fucked up."
Abuse is almost always isolating. I am immensely grateful that Scott Lynch posted his rant, which then gave so many people a reason to send Patrick a quick note of support.
On a less serious note, man that party was epic. Thank god for friends and lovers and brilliant editors and gifted ranters and people who will be kind to me when I'm entirely too drunk. People. People are remarkably awesome. Who knew?
I got to meet Jim Henley, which was an especial treat. I remember reading him back during the second Iraq war, and he was so very wise and sensible. He's a lovely man, funny and interesting and genuinely kind. He also has a very nice wife, who I didn't get to talk to as much as I would have liked. And a bit of ego boo: Patrick sent Jim email to confirm that they really were going to come up from Silver Springs, MD to the party, and said that if he did, Lydy Nickerson would fan-girl squee at him. Jim's response was (para-quoted), "Lydy Nickerson of the File 770 Nickersons, who always says smart things?" (I don't actually. And not nearly as many smart things as Jim does, but I'm totally taking that ego boo and running.)
So many people were there. Ellen Datlow, Moshe Feder, Avram Grumer, Julia the blogger whose last name I've lost but I like so very much, Bear, Lynch and lots of other people. Really interesting people. This was an epic party. Utterly epic.
The high point, for me, was Scott Lynch reading his epic smackdown of John C. Wright. If you haven't read it, you should. It's at http://scottlynch.us/blog/2016/01/01/what-we-talk-about-when-we-talk-about-lying-crazypants-liars-who-lie/ He did funny voices for Wright and everything. There were many interjections from the crowd, many of us (ok, me) seriously inebriated. If you've ever read Scott, you'll know that exceptionally gifted with the clever and profane turn of phrase. It was a great bonding experience.
Scott also posted the smackdown on his blog. Since he has an I.Q. greater than that of a potato, he closed comments. Good on him. The next day, which was Patrick's birthday, was occasioned by many people responding to the post with kind and or snarky encouragement. It was a lovely birthday present.
In watching all this, I am struck by how incredibly isolating being the target of the kind of abuse that Patrick has been the target of can be. It is significantly exacerbated by the fact that his professional integrity is being impugned, and there are very few ways that he can respond that don't feed into spiraling feedback loops that make him look unprofessional. Despite the fact that John C. Wright's accusations were utter lies, and the fact that they were viciously personal, there is very little that Patrick could say, publicly, which wouldn't feed into the "news cycle" and just make the whole thing worse. And while the people who love him and are intimate with him can reassure him that they don't believe this shite, the rest of the world remains silent. It's hard to send a note of support to someone you don't know. All of this is exacerbated by Patrick very sensibly triaging his on-line time, not reading the fora where a lot of this is discussed, since a) who the hell has that much time and b) it's too easy to come across trolls that will simply cause unnecessary upset. But it does mean that he also doesn't see the people who say, "Jesus, that JCW guy's fucked up."
Abuse is almost always isolating. I am immensely grateful that Scott Lynch posted his rant, which then gave so many people a reason to send Patrick a quick note of support.
On a less serious note, man that party was epic. Thank god for friends and lovers and brilliant editors and gifted ranters and people who will be kind to me when I'm entirely too drunk. People. People are remarkably awesome. Who knew?
no subject
Date: 2016-01-08 06:12 pm (UTC)I am reminded of the Bujold quote, "Reputation is what other people know about you. Honor is what you know about yourself." Though for me, as I think for many, Patrick's reputation is untarnished by the rantings of Wright.