Ligotti panel at NecronomiCon Providence 2017

[Shadenuat]

I don't know of him "bullying" anyone, nor do I see how anything in their relations with that bunch could be seen as bullying.

Unless some folks are deeply offended by "nasty old atheists" openly talking about about all sorts of atheist stuff!

[dr. locrian]

A general warning: let's make sure the rhetoric remains civil.

[Evans]

Quote Originally Posted by Shadenuat

I don't know of him "bullying" anyone, nor do I see how anything in their relations with that bunch could be seen as bullying. Unless some folks are deeply offended by "nasty old atheists" openly talking about about all sorts of atheist stuff!

Background detail: one of my specialty areas is philosophy of religion - I spend more time reading atheist philosophers actually arguing for atheism (as opposed to, you know, just ridiculing or calling people names) than the majority of humanity, both atheist or anything else.

As for Joshi and Price's bullying antics, well one might bring up the latter's infamous remarks about Islamic immigrants - the former is too frequent to document but I'll give as one example the Point of Inquiry podcast in which he makes the infamous remark about Lovecraft's racism being an intellectual failing. If the SJWs were actually consistent in their declamations they would castigate much of that pop level 'skepticism' as hate speech (not that I would support such a thing: people should be free to speak their minds though of course in doing so they will also reveal aspects of their moral character - those who proceed, not through rational explanation, but through attempts to hector and ridicule others whose beliefs they hold erroneous, solely for that reason, are not good people).

[dr. locrian]

The latest (and hopefully final) Ligotti panel update:

[Sam]

Oh wow, is Kurt Fawver able to attend after all? That would be great!

[Robert Adam Gilmour]

Evans- As ugly and awful as Price's speech was (and I'm sure you remember Joshi criticized him for it), did he make a habit of pushing people away?

I don't get the controversy about Joshi saying Lovecraft's racism was an intellectual failing. Would he be in the clear if he said it was a failure of compassion and intelligence? Was there something else that made it worse?

I acknowledge that his encouragement of angry letters to Charles Baxter was bullying. And his pressuring Niels Hobbs to exclude Nicolay is bullying.

But aren't you suggesting longer standing efforts at exclusion? Some of his criticism has always been unduly harsh but I don't think he was trying to push people away.

Assuming he does mock religious people unfairly (I haven't read any of this stuff) perhaps it was alienating to more people than it seemed? Perhaps his friendship with Mormon Wilum Pugmire has helped create an impression that religious people aren't bothered by Joshi's insults to religion?

Is this just two people you're talking about?

[Frater_Tsalal]

On one hand I'm kind of sad that the convention is being swamped in this drama the very year in which it hosts its first Ligotti panel. On the other hand, I still have a beef with how Hobbs handled the whole "one of his panelists smearing the reputation of another writer" situation. So anything that's proving embarrassing to the convention at the moment is cheering me up considerably. As someone who has found his own name attacked online by some of the people Joshi takes issue with, I obviously am on Joshi's side on this issue.

I agree with Joshi that it seems counterproductive that a convention that's (in theory) supposed to be a celebration of Lovecraft's life and work seems to be bending over backwards to try to invite dubious anti-Lovecraft writers into its fold (some of whom's work has only a very tenuous link to horror/Weird Fiction in the first place). If that's the course they're pursuing I feel they should just change the name of the convention entirely (of course, they won't for various reasons, the chief one being $$$$).

[dr. locrian]

Quote Originally Posted by Sam

Oh wow, is Kurt Fawver able to attend after all? That would be great!

I was wondering about that, too, Sam. I hope it's true!

[Druidic]

Joshi, on the other hand, has no issue with championing authors whose views are far removed from his own, as long as they produce quality fiction.--Shadenuat.


Quite true.

[Spiral]

I'm keeping hope this panel gets recorded. I want to hear it/ see it so much