Deeper Into Witch Hunting With Kevin Strange

Over the weekend I wrote an article about social media witch hunting in genre fiction that has since gone viral. I was invited on several podcasts to discuss the matter further. In the first show I go one-on-one with tabletop game designer “Grim Jim” as we discuss the political and social climates which lead to the rise of the politically correct left, and how they infiltrated every area of artistic expression.

In the second podcast, I make my return to the Syxx Sense podcast with Mike Syxx. Here we go deep into the details of the most recent PC freakout in genre fiction, talking for over two and a half hours about the state of genre fiction and how political correctness has changed fiction writing forever.

If you have experience with SJWS, the PC left, community censorship in your writing circles, or anything else related to the mass hysteria of politically correct culture, don’t hesitate to contact me or either of these great podcast hosts with your story. We want to hear from you.

7 thoughts on “Deeper Into Witch Hunting With Kevin Strange

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  4. Jeez, Kevin. I never thought I’d write anything like this. I watched 90 minutes of your interviews and will go back later. I do not disagree with one thing you said. That would take on greater meaning if you knew that I always find some point to debate.

    So, where do I go from here? Maybe recognizing our personal belief that the Libertarian philosophy is the fairest one, is also juxtaposed with the practical reality that it is not electable beyond a small town level.

    I guess I should back up. Since starting to write, I’ve had this periodic fantasy about being interviewed. Version A is that I just refuse. Version B is that I go on the show and kind of goof on the interviewer. At some point he asks me something like what do I think of the US educational system. I say; “I just wrote a story about a hit man falling in love. What the fuck am I supposed to know about the education system?”

    That’s not conducive to a writer’s income; but at this age I generally don’t care. The whole thing strikes me as absurd. A writer writes a book about some shit; maybe it even has the opposite of his real POV in it. But, if it is noticed he is then required to tell everyone what he thinks about things he may not even think about. I saw a Nabokov interview where a critic was asking him loads of annoying questions; too which he finally said; “Look. When I put my pencil to paper I am creating art. THAT’S ALL.”

    That’s not to knock your agenda. I admire it. But, having lived through the 60’s when all the shit was almost turned on its head, to be resurrected in a Satanic ritual makes me less disposed to believe a second time. Call that cowardice. Call that rationality. Call it disrespect for a large segment of the human race. Whatever. I’ll agree with you.

    On a larger level the agendas I’ve seen are not only political, though that might be the most important one. They’re also perpetrated by very tiny people who revel in their miniscule “power.” One part of my Goodreads banishment came right after I had five days straight gotten an unsolicited review of five stars. I was being trailed around by this bitch-dog-sockpuppet-librarian who was making comments indirectly asking for money which I answered in insulting ways. Mt wife is a social worker and sometimes tells me of the never forgotten horrors which happen to orphaned children. I think pedophiles are the lowest of the low and have no inclinations in that direction. Yet this b-d-s librarian, without any evidence, publicly accused me of being a pedophile. The only reason I remember this particular libelous GR statement is that it was about something I find completely abhorrent. I don’t give the least bit of a shit about other criticisms.

    Regarding “equal results” versus “equal opportunity” I share your opinions. Perhaps coming from a longer view, I can say that I supported EEOC considerations way back when. However, even at the time, I didn’t think special considerations should be granted in perpetuity. A generation, two; maybe three; but now we are up to 5 or 6. As one example many blacks have used the opportunities created to have a white bourgeois life; fine. Others have hung out on the corner opting to be “cool” gangstas, rappers, or whatever else a “badass” of 2017 may be. Fine again as I don’t care and don’t tell people what to do. However, if they demand “equal results” with their brothers who took a different route, I say “Fuck you.” And you know, the ones I’ve said this to in real life give me more respect than they do the pussy ass neo-liberals.

    Back to books; Bizarro in particular. For whatever the little it’s worth, I can go with it when they do the Marx Brothers. When it gets to Three Stooges I lose interest. In book form I’ve previously written some stuff which was meant to be chiding; and has been viewed as critical. Like what I criticize carries a whole lot of weight in the literary world; I still regret doing something which could be so interpreted. Bizarro is getting its ass handed to it by every purposely misinformed asshole who thinks they know grammar. These are the exact people the genre has disdained from the get go. These are the exact people who David Foster Wallace disdained; people who write very un-entertaining books used by Ph D candidates for the period in which they were trying to get the professor’s approval. Given a choice between them and the Three Stooges I’d opt for the Stooges. I have a small inadequate excuse. At the time I was getting a very jaundiced viewpoint from someone who is still bitter that the Bizarro world rejected him from the beginning.

    IDK; Kevin. Your philosophy is refreshing; your chosen genre is your chosen genre. Your thoughts do coincide with the little I’ve seen of high end literary; but with all the crap out there they are difficult to reach from here.

    Cheers.

    • Ed, thanks for watching the interviews! Most people just see my purposefully baiting headlines, wring their hands in the air and declare me the enemy without ever taking a second to understand my position or why I raise the issues I raise.

      I appreciate the comments!

  5. Funny and sad in a way. We live in a time when the AOL headlines regularly have nothing to do with the story which follows. It is often the exact opposite of what the headline was designed to make one believe. Yet internet mavens limit themselves to the “smart” headlines.

    It has to be some sort of sick joke to call this the information age. It seems more likely that this is an age of neglectful indifference masquerading as a 1955 Robby the Robot.

    You are aware that at some point, probably a function of “like” clicks; that they’ll kill ya. I know this goes all ‘conspiracy theory’ at ya. But, I did know someone who had been studying these thing for more than a decade. No, not the crap some “writers” copy from the well known things on Wiki. Things only Bizarro people can “imagine” in “fiction.”

    I truly hate to say this; but it seems much too far gone to fix.

  6. You guys really made me laugh. When you were talking about the old people (I’m 67) saying “WTF? This ain’t my world. ” That’e exactly what I say all the time and I don’t know how to work the DVD player. And I don’t care.

    I thought that I was the only one who hated millenials. I actually wrote that on line in a few contexts. One was a review of a very predictive Heinlein book which some gay reviewer criticized “because it didn’t encourage him to be gay.” At first I thought WTF? Then ended it with a recommendation to everyone who hates millenials.

    I did a sarcastic bit thanking millenials for volunteering to educate me about sex. Ended one saying “I’m glad I didn’t know anything about it, as otherwise I could have been accused of making you.”

    Yeah, they’re fucked up, boring squeelers. Even before gangsta rap my generation knew not to “tell the teacher,” and for the most part people learned to handle things themselves.

    Personally, I theorize that they know less of real people; and this internet where everything you say is available forever must make people different than people who used to say; “Just go fuck yourself, asshole,” and have the words just float away.

    But, the whines. Holy shit. One of my bad early Bizarro experiences was when somebody gave me a Konrath PDF. This guy’s got a thing about butt plugs and describing how this tawdry world didn’t meet his expectations. When my heart stopped breaking I started to joke about it. That wasn’t popular.

    I had a lesbian real life friend a while back. When I got to know her really well, I asked what kind of discrimination she experiences. I’m originally from the NYC area and over there nobody really gives a shit since before I was born. She told me she was at a cocktail party and introduced her partner to a straight couple. The straight couple proceeded to politely excuse themselves. I was thinking “big shit,” but didn’t say it as she’s a sweet person.

    I never heard of any child molestation as a kid. I didn’t experience any and my mother just told me not to go for car rides with strangers and no one offered me one. But, I think a lot more of it does go on now. My wife’s a social worker and tells me some unbelievable stuff, including stories about foster parents.

    Your perceptions are amusing; and with just a few exceptions they make me think that not all that much had changed until those fucking millenials came along.

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