Thread by @AlexandraErin

I know it must seem weird to be talking about science fiction and fantasy convention politics in 2018, but: fascism doesn't just walk up the steps of the capitol and declare it's in power.

Gamergate and its brother movements of the cultural alt-right like the Sad/Rabid Puppies have been described as "trial runs" and "recruiting grounds" for the political far right, but it would be more accurate to say they are and always have been a part of it.

One of the techniques we have seen applied by the cultural alt-right again and again is to try to create an illusion that they are much bigger than they are, that their ideas are widespread and accepted, that they represent the majority of a community.

And because humans are social animals and we look around at other members of our herd or flock or pack to figure out what's going on and how much we need to be alarmed by it, these illusions can become reality if they aren't challenged.

The stance of WorldCon2018's programming people has been that, well, "their attendees" just aren't interested in the Hugo nominees or the new up-and-comers or things like #OwnVoices.

They're saying this to people who are or were planning on attending WorldCon, who participated in the creation of programming, who nominated people to the Hugo ballot, etc. Telling them that "attendees" (a group that must exist distinct from "everyone who is going") don't care.

It's the same playbook. The same gaslighting, the same freezing of a demographic definition in order to claim control of a space.

We are not going to defeat Trump by confronting erasure in science fiction conventions.

But "defeating Trump" ultimately isn't going to accomplish anything if we're not changing the culture that brought us here.

And here's the thing. A lot of people like Feel-Good Fascism Fighting. They like when there's a recognizable distinct group like the Puppies and a cackling supervillain like Vox Day, someone they can stand up to and measure themselves against.

There is Evil, and here is us.

But with the power of the "baddies" broken and the obvious villains scattered, now it's back to business as usual. The usual faces, the usual topics, the usual names.

"Big smiles, everyone! You beat the bad guy!"

No need to do anything else. No need to keep going. Certainly no need to turn into... *looks around, drops voice* WisCon.

If you saw James Comey calling for liberals to "not lose their minds" and go to the left and you saw WorldCon people talking about how they're not going to be WisCon, you should understand what the micropolitics of fandom culture have to do with the macropolitics of the country.