It was one that I was thinking of attending. They did do something. It's still bothersome. Still, it's better than Ed Kramer getting money out of DragonCon.
We've got an Asexuality group over here who do this (AVEN). Rape doesn't count when it's our buddy doing it, and mentioning it ever happened (and continues to do so) will get you banned from the forums.
I avoid them like the Black fucking Death for obvious reasons.
What I find interesting about their official response (http://readercon.livejournal.com/21805.html) is that they manage to take two diametrically opposed positions at the same time. 'We assumed that they either would be doing it on purpose or accidentally, in which case they should be totally banned for life. But he realized what he was doing and is really sorry, so we're going to ban him for two years.'
Because, him *knowing* what he did was wrong, completely wouldn't come under either doing it either purposely or accidentally.
Seriously, she should sue.
Or even better, the fan that they did ban? Should sue.
And the next woman who gets harassed at Readercon by this same person? Should enjoy suing them for ignoring a pattern of behavior and creating an environment where he could prey on his victims with impunity. Because really the only way you teach people not to be incredibly thoughtless, hypocritical, and stupid to that degree is to have an example to point to that you can say: 'See how that fucking asshole got destroyed? Maybe you don't want to be next.'
It helps if you understand the context: The policy was never intended as a real harassment policy. The policy was targeted, and created to provide an excuse to ban one specific person permanently. Then, after waiting for him to fall afoul of it and banning him, they didn't take it off the books again.
I think it'd only be diametrically opposite if they were actually planning to stick by their policy. But you see, they wrote it, and then changed their minds because Some Guy was confronted with the possibility of visible social consequences and turned on the Weepy Faucet and understaaaands that what he did was wrong, a detail he apparently failed to clue into while he was spending the weekend harassing someone who actually told him to go away--
*breathes*
It's not opposition, any more than it's opposition to say "I once did X, but now I think Y is better." It's a crawling craven utter failure to behave as promised.
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(no subject)
Date: 2012-07-27 08:38 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2012-07-27 09:19 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2012-07-27 09:25 pm (UTC)This is just very disappointing.
(no subject)
Date: 2012-07-28 08:09 pm (UTC)I avoid them like the Black fucking Death for obvious reasons.
(no subject)
Date: 2012-07-29 05:58 am (UTC)Because, him *knowing* what he did was wrong, completely wouldn't come under either doing it either purposely or accidentally.
Seriously, she should sue.
Or even better, the fan that they did ban? Should sue.
And the next woman who gets harassed at Readercon by this same person? Should enjoy suing them for ignoring a pattern of behavior and creating an environment where he could prey on his victims with impunity. Because really the only way you teach people not to be incredibly thoughtless, hypocritical, and stupid to that degree is to have an example to point to that you can say: 'See how that fucking asshole got destroyed? Maybe you don't want to be next.'
(no subject)
Date: 2012-07-29 01:53 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2012-07-30 06:48 pm (UTC)*breathes*
It's not opposition, any more than it's opposition to say "I once did X, but now I think Y is better." It's a crawling craven utter failure to behave as promised.
(I realize you may not have meant this specifically, but I initially read your phrasing as suggesting they'd created a space where René Walling can prey on people with impunity. And they've done much more than that. Because I guarantee you he's not the only one who's noticed what happens if you do this at ReaderCon.)
(no subject)
Date: 2012-07-30 08:09 pm (UTC)