NS: Chuck Wendig Gets Axed From Marvel

[cygnia]

I initially became aware of this from the Absolute Write forums.

In Which I Am Fired From Marvel

"And then we announced SHADOW OF VADER juuuuust last weekend, and people were excited, and I thought everything was good. I was not made aware of any issues, and my online self has always been my online self, so.
Except, yeah, no. Today I got the call. I’m fired. Because of the negativity and vulgarity that my tweets bring. Seriously, that’s what Mark, the editor said. It was too much politics, too much vulgarity, too much negativity on my part.
Basically, because I was not civil.
Which, of course, is their decision to make. I’m not their boss. (And, turns out, they’re not the boss of me, either. Har har.) (I joke because otherwise, I cry.)
My understanding over this call was that this was a Marvel decision, not an LFL decision, but I can’t really confirm that. The editor said he had made the call. He seemed genuinely upset at my tweets and profanity, so maybe that’s accurate. And again, that’s his right to do so. If they honestly feel that my presence will damage the book, I don’t want that. I want the book to shine, and artists like Juanan Ramirez and Greg Smallwood to do their amazing thing. Artists like that are gods in my mind, so I’m happy to not distract from their literal magic.
But it does set a troubling precedent. One we’ve seen already – James Gunn, Jessica White, and so on – of folks fired because they riled up the wasp’s nest of asterisk-gate. And it seems odd to be mad that I’m mad about politics when – well, look around. Climate change, kids in cages, sexual harassers at the topmost tiers of power, and so on. A call for civility as the PA GOP candidate threatens Tom Wolf with a golf cleat stomping. I dunno, man."

Comments

[deh_tommy]

I disagree, calling anyone a 'prolapsed anus' who will get their righteous comeuppance in the cold fires of a wintery hell is a bit much regardless of whom you're talking about. To me, this is less a case of the Comicsgate hotel being unaccomodating and more general human decency (or lack thereof in this scenario).

[laughing_tree]

calling anyone a 'prolapsed anus' who will get their righteous comeuppance in the cold fires of a wintery hell is a bit much regardless of whom you're talking about

Nobody really believes that, including yourself. Nobody would mind if he called, say, someone who conned millions of dollars from people that. The question is always whether you believe the target of such words *deserve* the harshness.

In this case, as I understand it, Wendig's comments were in response to Brett Kavanaugh's Supreme Court confirmation. I, for one, have no problem with anyone aiming such profanity at people morally void enough to support that. YMMV.

[deh_tommy]

In my view, that doesn't matter to whom the cruelty is directed to, the cruelty thatself is always wrong.

[laughing_tree]

Always? Always? If someone was boosting for... let's say segregation, you'd condemn a person for calling them prolapsed anuses?

Living well is the best revenge.

[deh_tommy]

I'd frown upon both (maybe not equally, but still) but wish them well, and that they may get better. Hate is foolish and cruelty will only beget cruelty, where kindness can go a long way in helping all parties.

"Don't kill if you can wound, don't wound if you can subdue, don't subdue if you can pacify, and don't raise your hand at all until you've first extended it."

Re: Living well is the best revenge.

[janegray]

Wonder Woman uses that motto to explain why she leaves "beating the shit out of them" as the very last option after peace talks have failed. She does, however, beat the shit out of them when they refuse to stop.

You don't stop fascists by asking them nicely. And yes, the Trump administration is indeed in the early stages of fascism. Trust me, my country already went through that shit. It's already atarted.

Re: Living well is the best revenge.

[deh_tommy]

Certainly, but you have to at least try and be better. How would you feel if he said that kind of thing about someone like Hillary Clinton, or someone you know, or even you? If you wouldn't say that to their face, maybe you shouldn't say that at all.

There's a reason why one shouldn't feed internet trolls, because then they'll take what they provoked you to say or do and twist that to fit the narrative that you're no better, if not worse, than them.

Re: Living well is the best revenge.

[janegray]

To say that Hillary Clinton is a fascist would be factually incorrect. You are conflating name-calling with literal descriptions.

And I would absolutely say that to their faces.

EDIT: In any case, even if we are talking about actual vulgar insults? It's still not the same. "How would you feel if they did that to you" doesn't work when you haven't done the same things they have. "How would you feel if they locked you up" is not a good argument against putting criminals in prison. If you support ideologies that in recent memory have caused the oppression and torture and slaughter of countless innocent people, you absolutely deserve to be called vulgar names.