Amal el-Mohtar calls for…

Amal el-Mohtar calls for Theodore Beale's expulsion from SFWA:

"Beale�s response to Jemisin�s speech was astonishing. It was astonishing not so much because it was racist and disgusting in a way to do D. W. Griffith proud, which it unequivocally is, but rather because it turned up in my Twitter feed via SFWA Authors, a Twitter account designed to automatically retweet posts from members with the appropriate hashtag. This is their stated policy:

'Not every blog post is appropriate for @sfwaauthors. If a post is not about writing, or about fiction or publishing, do not mark it for inclusion in the @sfwaauthors twitter feed. Repeated violations of this policy will be grounds for removal from the feed. SFWA reserves the right to determine what posts are appropriate.

Marking blog posts for inclusion that include threats or personal attacks or obvious trolling will also be grounds for removal.'

(Emphasis mine.)

I believe the act of singling out this particular post for dissemination by SFWA Authors to be an act of deliberate, malicious trolling with intent to cause embarrassment to SFWA�s officers and the organization as a whole. I further believe this act should have consequences that SFWA is in a position to deliver."


I realized it's perhaps not clear what I think. So to be clear, and keeping in mind that I'm not actually a member of SFWA, I think Beale has clearly violated SFWA rules here, and that he should be expelled immediately. If he tries to use that to set himself up as a martyr, fine.

I went over to Beale's site to see what he was saying. The first comment on his painfully long and incoherent screed was horrible enough that I stopped reading. I'm quoting it here, so you know the level of discourse that he encourages. If you choose to read the rest, you're a stronger man than I.

"Gahhh dawg dat bitchhhh
someone needs to run a train with the homeboys
next stop, Jemisin"

-- Idle Spectator Jackson

1 thought on “Amal el-Mohtar calls for…”

  1. Thank you for spreading the word on this. While I’m not a SFWA, I have nonetheless written to their board (email addresses given by Amal) saying that there comes a point where silence is no longer promoting freedom, it is condoning abuse. I told them I wasn’t an SFWA member but that this matter has escalated sufficiently that it is no longer an internal matter. It will affect how the world views the SFWA. I encourage everyone to write directly, not just blog. It makes a difference.

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