Ligotti panel at NecronomiCon Providence 2017

It is of perpetual amusement to me that Lovecraft would be shunned by the Lovecraftian community of today.

[Frater_Tsalal]

Exactly! He probably wouldn't even be allowed to attend the convention being held in his own honor!

[Robert Adam Gilmour]

Not saying what's happening to this author is fair but Lovecraft would probably be quite a different person if he was either still alive or a relatively new author.

[dr. locrian]

Personally, I think it's pretty fantastic that not one but two major conventions are featuring panels pertaining to Ligotti's work.

[Frater_Tsalal]

Quote Originally Posted by Dr. Locrian

Personally, I think it's pretty fantastic that not one but two major conventions are featuring panels pertaining to Ligotti's work.

I just wish they had done such a panel at the 2013/2015 NecronomiCons! But hopefully they'll be a video of some sort.

[Mr. Veech]

Quote Originally Posted by Frater_Tsalal

Actually, I'm not entirely sure now if I'll be attending this year, due to a number of complicated reasons, the biggest one being that recently one of the convention's panelists decided to use Facebook as a platform to falsely smear a fellow Weird Fiction writer (guess who?) as a racist/sexist/homophobe by deploying "evidence" that was so threadbare and conjunctive that it bordered on the laughable (of course, there's nothing laughable about accusing someone of something serious like racism or homophobia when one hasn't even bothered to get their facts straight: had the panelist simply got in touch with the writer in question he probably could have had his concerns put at ease, but nooooo). Despite several of the writer's friends and colleagues (myself included) pointing out the fallacious (and slanderous) nature of these claims, the director of the convention itself felt the need to chime in and was clearly on the side of the panelist making the (unprovoked, it must be said) accusation. Needless to say this left a bad taste in my mouth, to the extent that I wonder if I'd be comfortable giving my money to these people. Incidentally, there's something mordantly amusing about the fact that the panelist in question seems to have no issues with falsely trying to paint someone who is not a racist as one, yet will still take part in a convention that celebrates the life and work of a writer (in this case, Lovecraft) who conclusively WAS a racist. But the hypocrisy of human beings never fails to elicit grim laughter.

I think I know who you're referring to. Of course, he's not a racist. Anyone who has taken the time to read his books, participate on his blog, as well as converse with him via email would know he's not a racist.

I don't get it. Are there groups of angry racist/homophobic rednecks who protest at NecronomiCon each year? Most racist and/or homophobic people tend to be very uneducated, a trait which doesn't exactly apply to readers of Weird Fiction. If there's a legitimate problem with such scum at a NecronomiCon convention each year, then it makes perfect sense to advertise the convention accordingly. If there isn't a problem, then doesn't it make more sense to assume participants will behave with decency? It's possible that some people have created an evil villian who never even existed in the first place. That's wasted energy which could have been applied to more creative pursuits pertaining to the convention itself.

Regardless, I'm happy Ligotti will be present (in spirit) at the convention.

That's my two cents.

[Frater_Tsalal]

As far as I can recall there wasn't any controversy at the 2013 convention, though of course, I have no idea if anything was occurring behind the scenes. The only issue I can think of from the 2015 convention is that Robert Price apparently made some anti-jihadist comments that some people perceived as being anti-Islam as well. But I wasn't personally at that event so I don't know the full details.

Apparently the event this year has gotten some complaints from alt-right types who have referred to it as "Necronomicuck" or something unoriginal like that. In some ways the kerfuffle I referred to earlier puts the people in charge of the convention in a tight spot. The panelist in question happens to be black, and I can see why the convention people might not want to alienate him, as they're pretty concerned with looking as diverse as possible. If anything, this all confirms my belief that extreme politics of any sort (left or right) just poisons everything.

[Robert Adam Gilmour]

Not sure what's going on here. If Mark Samuels is the one being argued over and he was never going to be at the event, then what's the problem for the people who will be there?

Quote Originally Posted by Robert Adam Gilmour

Not sure what's going on here. If Mark Samuels is the one being argued over and he was never going to be at the event, then what's the problem for the people who will be there?

A spectre is haunting Providence--the spectre of Samuels.

But, honestly, I don't know! I'm very bewildered by it all.

[Robert Adam Gilmour]

And Frater, I know you said there's a bunch of complicated reasons for you possibly not attending but I think you should go if you can, we shouldn't have to avoid these things due to this kind of discomfort. Isn't this what Nicolay did? I don't think it bodes well if people can't stand to be near people they've had serious arguments with. It's only going to divide people into more groups.

Of course, no judgements if you can't bring yourself to go.

I'm kind of curious why JR Hamantaschen suggested he wasn't welcome there anymore. I'll try to ask him.