Posted in: Comics | Tagged: boycott, dc comics, orson scott card

Campaign To Get Orson Scott Card Fired From Superman Begins

What if Jack Chick wrote Superman? Courtesy of Kat Rocha.

So, yesterday I wrote an article in response to requests I'd had to promote an organised campaign to boycott DC, Superman and to get Orson Scott Card fired off the Superman Adventures book for being an anti-gay marriage activist and holding virulent homphobic views.

Instead I wrote a piece taking issue with that concept. That I found the idea of campaigning to get a writer fired because you disagreed with his beliefs, however abhorrent, problematic.

Some agreed;

Plenty didn't.

And some… well…

One of the senders of the original request thanked me for raising the topic, even though I disagreed with their aim, as it seemed to them that other news sites were choosing just to ignore the issue, and the Bleeding Cool article had got people talking. A number of gay-themed sites had picked up on the story it was likely to get wider play.

It had got me thinking as well. Some of the debaters chose to frame issue of free speech around the US Constitution, that there a difference between private speech and a government law banning speech, and that boycotts themselves are also free speech. And that no boycott, not even say the One Million Moms boycott against the Archie same sex wedding issue, was against free speech. Which was a viewpoint I hadn't even considered.

I don't have the same background regarding free speech and I don't see the lines so divided between public and private. And I do see a boycott against what as I see as free speech reducing rather then increasing free speech. But that, as has been pointed out (repeatedly) may be down to my own ignorance.

The campaign has begun now with this petition on AllOut.org, stating to DC Comics;

By hiring Orson Scott Card despite his anti-gay efforts you are giving him a new platform and supporting his hate.

Make sure your brand stands for equality and drop Orson Scott Card now.

I wonder how the other DC comics creators will be reacting to the issue at the creative conference tomorrow?

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