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From: ecl@mtgzy.UUCP (e.c.leeper)
Newsgroups: net.sf-lovers,soc.motss
Subject: Diversity (was Re: Asimov and Ellison and "Ego")
Message-ID: <2036@mtgzy.UUCP>
Date: Thu, 9-Oct-86 13:06:10 EDT
Article-I.D.: mtgzy.2036
Posted: Thu Oct  9 13:06:10 1986
Date-Received: Fri, 10-Oct-86 03:45:29 EDT
References: <3537@caip.RUTGERS.EDU>
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Xref: mnetor net.sf-lovers:9064 soc.motss:85
Cc: ecl


>    Should we question the value of the works of Hemmingway or Dylan
> Thomas because they were alcoholics? Oscar Wilde because he was a
> homosexual? Lewis Carroll because he was a pedophile? The greatest
> writers of all time were great because their flawed personalities
> allowed them to look at the world in a way we "normal" people can't
> imagine.

I can't let this pass.  What makes you think that being a homosexual means
you have a flawed personality?  Or that you're not normal, since you seem
to be implying that "normal" means "correct" rather than "what the majority
does."  I'll admit that homosexuals are in the minority.  So are Jews.  Does
that mean we're not normal?

To me, one of the big pluses of science fiction is the emphasis on the
diversity of the universe.  It gives its readers a sense that things are not
the same everywhere, that there are different cultures, different ideas,
different philosophies, different mores.  So I am doubly distressed when a
science fiction fan (and I presume the people who read/post to this group are
fans) displays insensitivity and even dislike to the diversity around us.  The
world would be a pretty dull place if we were all clones, wouldn't it?

					Evelyn C. Leeper
					(201) 957-2070
				UUCP:	ihnp4!mtgzy!ecl
				ARPA:	mtgzy!ecl@topaz.rutgers.edu
It's not reality that's important, but how you perceive things.