To Boldly Go Where No One has Gone Before or Stay Home Like a Coward?

By Gordon Hopkins This is another one of those missives with a long, self-indulgent preamble before I get to the point. Hopefully, you'll stick around. I think the point is worth it.My first experiences with politics as a young lad didn't come from watching the TV news and the various “pundits” giving their analysis of the political machinations of the day. It didn't come from reading the newspaper, although I encourage all kids to read the newspaper, especially this one.It didn't come from listening to the conversations between my parents, who were both very well-informed, politically speaking. Their political views were expressed vigorously, repeatedly and, quite often, loudly.Most kids lose focus the moment politics rears its ugly head. I was five when the Watergate scandal broke. The only memory I have of the biggest story in the world at the time was thinking Watergate was a dumb name for a hotel. Hey, I was five.Honestly, if it didn't involve ice cream or space monsters, why should I care?Getting kids interested in politics is like giving a pill to a dog. You gotta trick them into swallowing it. That's why you wrap up your dog's wormer pills in bologna.For me, science fiction was my bologna.I can remember sitting in school as a history teacher droned on endlessly about the events and motivations leading up to the American Revolution. That was, like a million years ago. Why should anyone care? Meanwhile, while trying to pretend I'm listening, I was actually holding open a beat up paperback under my desk, trying not to get caught reading something I actually cared about, because teachers hate it when you read something fun and interesting instead of those useless, boring, old facts that don't mean nothing no more.The book under the table, by the way, was Robert A. Heinlein's “The Moon is a Harsh Mistress,” a story abut colonists on the moon revolting against Earth rule. The parallels were completely lost on me at the time.Because it is couched in rockets and robots and rayguns, science fiction can get away with more overtly political and controversial topics. It was in the pages of those books that I first read serious attempts to discuss capitalism and socialism, violence, racism, religion, fascism, war, environmentalism and sex, in way more permutations then I can count.But that doesn't mean science fiction writers are safe. For all the colorful scientific trappings, sometimes, a lot of the times actually, the themes are just too overt. The critics got wise and when those silly writers with their silly stories about alien worlds decide to tackle a subject ‘decent’ people felt should be swept under the rug, the critics pounce.My point, yes, we are finally here, is that science fiction writers are brave, always willing to take on the taboos that made more ‘respectable’ writers queasy.That is why I am so unhappy about what happened at the 2023 World Science Fiction Convention. Or, more specifically, what didn't happen.The World Science Fiction Convention (Worldcon) is one of the oldest and most prestigious cons ever. It is especially important because that is when the Hugos, one of the oldest and most prestigious science fiction awards, is handed out.Worldcon is held all over the world. Last year, it was held in Chengdu, China, a country not exactly known for its tolerance of diverse political views.Emails from organizers of the Hugos have been leaked and they don't exactly hold to the tradition of bravery I have come to expect from the science fiction community. In an email dated June 5, 2023, head of the 2023 Hugo awards jury, Dave McCarty wrote, in part, “we need to highlight anything of a sensitive political nature in the work. It’s not necessary to read everything, but if the work focuses on China, Taiwan, Tibet, or other topics that may be an issue in China.” (The asterisks were part of the email, not my addition for emphasis.)This seems to explain the absence of several works that were deemed ‘ineligible’ without explanation, including “Babel” by New York Times bestseller R.F. Kuang. This is despite having 810 nominations, exceeding the number needed to make the final ballot.Political censorship tends to be not only cowardly but quite often sloppy as well. Take as an example Paul Weimer. He was excluded from the category of fan writer, apparently due to a blog post in which he allegedly claimed to have visited Tibet. We all know the relationship between Tibet and China is fraught, to put it nicely. Except, Weimer never actually visited Tibet. It was Nepal. Weimer pointed out, “It’s not even competent political censorship.”For a lifelong fan of science fiction, none of this makes me happy. As a journalist, however, I am pleased to point out that exposure of this cowardice by, yes, journalists, has had a positive impact. Chris M. Barkley and Jason Sanford, who happen to be both science fiction writers and journalists, reported on this matter, which is where I got most of the details included in this column.The 2024 Worldcon will be held in Glasgow, Scotland and, on February 15 of this year, the Hugo administration teams issued a statement in which they not only apologized for the actions of the previous year's team, but also pointed to changes to increase transparency for the ballot process:“When our final ballot is published by Glasgow 2024, in late March or early April 2024, we will also publish the reasons for any disqualifications of potential finalists, and any withdrawals of potential finalists from the ballot.Full voting results, nominating statistics and voting statistics will be published immediately after the Awards ceremony on 11th, August 2024.The Hugo administration subcommittee will also publish a log explaining the decisions that they have made in interpreting the WSFS Constitution immediately after the Awards ceremony on 11th August 2024.”I'm a firm believer in the need for bravery as a writer, whether you are a science fiction writer or a journalist. Just remember, admitting when you screwed up can also be an act of bravery.

Leonard Dean Bartels

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