Orson Scott Card Hiring Sends Mixed Signals to DC Comics' LGBT Fans

[CBR News]

In the wake of DC Comics' hiring Orson Scott Card as a writer on "Adventures of Superman," Brett White discusses how damaging the author's anti-gay views are, to the project and society as a whole.


Full article here.

[Rao-El]

So Christians jews and muslims are the enemy whose beliefs are to be demonized and have no place in society.

No mindless ideological bigotry and stifling of dissent there.

[WhiteHusky]

I'm a long-time lurker, and just registered to say that this article was great, and I completely agree. DC should have known better than to hire Orson Scott Card. As someone who's gay myself, I'm offended and will seriously consider removing all DC titles from my pull-list if they go through with this. And I get a lot of DC books now. I'd rather read Marvel books which have openly gay characters and who don't discriminate. I know a ton of LGBT comic fans, and pretty much every one of them I've talked to about this is also offended. Normally, a persons views wouldn't affect who their work is perceived... but in this case, he's no vehement about hating LGBT people, and so active in rallying against our rights, that DC becomes associated with the anti-gay rhetoric. It's people like him that are responsible for high suicide rates, bullying, bashing, etc. They should be ashamed. But... Again, great article, thanks! :-)

[Nik]

So every comic book writer should share the same beliefs of who exactly? We all believe different things. Who is Bendis supposed to fall in line with? Or Snyder? Card is wrong about his views on gay marrage but that doesn't mean the man can't write a comic, it also doesn't mean he's a bad person. He's just wrong. We're all wrong about something.

[FIFTY-TWO (52)]

I'm sorry, what mixed messages are being sent, besides the message that if you believe differently from others you will be denied gainful employment?
I don't like Card's politics, but I'm not down with that mixed message at all.

[americanwonder]

Some people won't like me saying this, but I don't see this as a case of "mixed signals." First and foremost, I see it as DC hiring a writer to write a story. But I also think it's important to allow for employees to have diverse opinions, even opinions and political ativities we don't agree with or even like.

To my knowledge, the man has done nothing illegal. He votes and advocates in the same manner afforded everyone in this country.

If we want to challenge his political views, I'm all for that. I don't think the workplace in the right place for that. If he can't work for DC, are we, the public, going to create a list of "approved" places he can work? Do we boycott his options for employment everywhere he goes? How far do we take this line of thinking?

[Kiryu]

I'm sorry, what mixed messages are being sent, besides the message that if you believe differently from others you will be denied gainful employment?
I don't like Card's politics, but I'm not down with that mixed message at all.

Isn't the message that "We will try to promote diversity and profit from it by appearing as a place that supports diversity and thus gains diverse new readers but we will also pay a man who will certainly use that money to promote hatred"

Like, I think that's the problem. It's like if DC launched All Jewish Super-Stars and then hired Hitler to write a Superman comic. You'd kinda be like "Uh, excuse me, am I missing a step here?"

[Obregon Kaine]

So the world of comics is now a police state?

Believe differently from us and you will be black-listed?

[WhiteHusky]

I'm sorry, what mixed messages are being sent, besides the message that if you believe differently from others you will be denied gainful employment?
I don't like Card's politics, but I'm not down with that mixed message at all.

If *I* were DC, I wouldn't want OSC's beliefs to be attached to my company. Because they will be.

[Kiryu]

So the world of comics is now a police state?

Believe differently from us and you will be black-listed?

Why shouldn't people be against their money going towards supporting hate speech? Orson Scott Card making money just enables him to spread hatred. I'd love to see a world where he can't find work anywhere. I think it's time the world got over the idea that it's okay to hate people for their sexuality or their race. It isn't. It's not even a belief at that point. It's just you hating people.

[FIFTY-TWO (52)]

I'm a long-time lurker, and just registered to say that this article was great, and I completely agree. DC should have known better than to hire Orson Scott Card.

Orson Scott Card is a damn good writer, and I'd like to read his take on Superman. That doesn't mean I agree with his politics, though. Superman isn't anti-gay, so doubt he'll be spouting any anti-gay rhetoric under Card's pen.

As someone who's gay myself, I'm offended and will seriously consider removing all DC titles from my pull-list if they go through with this.

Ah, reward DC for censorship even though you've no idea what's been written. Good move.

And I get a lot of DC books now. I'd rather read Marvel books which have openly gay characters and who don't discriminate.

Interesting. I guess you don't know that Card adapted his Enders Game books for Marvel and that he wrote a couple of Ultimate Iron Man miniseries for that line as well.

I know a ton of LGBT comic fans, and pretty much every one of them I've talked to about this is also offended.

And it's their right to be offended. I don't expect anyone to pick up Card's two co-written issues of Adventures of Superman if they find him objectionable. But you shouldn't prevent the rest of us from getting his take on the character.

[Turk 182]

The "article" in question was nothing more a bloated opinion piece. His opinions haven't appeared in his work and he hasn't done anything illegal. By all means if you don't like the man or his work, don't read them! But to deny the man work simply because he or his own personal beliefs "offend you?" Get out of here with that nonsense. Where did this sense of entitlement come from?!

Oh - and dropping ALL DC titles because of this? Yep. That's mature. Punish the creators not even involved. That'll show 'em.

[FIFTY-TWO (52)]

If *I* were DC, I wouldn't want OSC's beliefs to be attached to my company. Because they will be.

That doesn't begin to answer my question. Why should someone be denied gainful employment because of their beliefs, especially if said beliefs have not proven to affect the quality of one's product?
Has gay-friendly Hollywood been boycotted for adapting his book into a movie?
Have you asked why someone so vehemently anti-gay would consider working with a company with high profile gay characters and supports gay rights in its products aimed at younger demographics?
Don't you see the irony here?

[ThomasC22]

I’m not going to address the “he can’t do the job point” because that’s ridiculous. Can Stephen King write about murderers without having murdered someone? People are perfectly capable of writing stories about people worse, and better, than they are. To say otherwise is just foolish.

On bigotry being an opinion I’m sorry but it is.

Bigot is a pejorative. All it means is “that person hates a group of people and I don’t believe that is right”. Meaning bigotry is contingent on what you BELIEVE to be right and the only way bigotry isn’t a matter of opinion would be if good and bad were absolutes and they aren’t.

The dangers in thinking good and bad are absolutes is you forget good people can hold bad opinions. Like it or not more than 50% of Americans are against gay marriage. Polls say it’s about 50% but those same polls acknowledge a large margin of error because people who are against gay marriage don’t always admit it in public. But in California, a very liberal state, gay marriage lost 52% to 48%. Also of note, Gay Marriage is still illegal in all but 9 states

If you want to change that you have to be open minded enough to debate the point. That means you can’t call everyone that opposes gay marriage a bigot and be done with it. You have to acknowledge they might be good people who simply have a bad opinion and try to persuade them.

Freedom of speech is not just to let good ideas out but to smack bad ideas down.

[FIFTY-TWO (52)]

Why shouldn't people be against their money going towards supporting hate speech? Orson Scott Card making money just enables him to spread hatred. I'd love to see a world where he can't find work anywhere. I think it's time the world got over the idea that it's okay to hate people for their sexuality or their race. It isn't. It's not even a belief at that point. It's just you hating people.

So I take it you're keeping track of where all your money is going, right?