Kicking Puppies: The Promise of Sci-Fi vs.

Anti-Inclusivity Brigade

Warning: This article has some frank discussion about racism, sexism, homophobia, and
transmisogyny.

I don't know if you know who the Sad (or Rabid) Puppies are. I don't even know if you're familiar with
the Hugo Awards. You are reading a site about nerds by and for nerds, so I'm pretty certain you know of
the genres Science Fiction and Fantasy, yes? The Hugos are an award given every year voted on by the
attendees of WorldCon. Purchasing a membership to WorldCon grants you eligibility to vote for two
years. You also take part in nominating those pieces of fiction, be they graphic format, dramatic
presentation, novella, or other formats. This year, a voting bloc led ostensibly by author Vox Day,
organized itself to push back against what they felt was a dearth of political correctness and diversity
shoving straight, cis, white men out of eligibility. Since the Hugo voters are not usually very organized
about their voting, this allowed the “Sad Puppies” to dominate the nomination process, filling multiple
categories with their slate of nominees, and claiming almost all spots in many others. That's the
situation as it stood Saturday August 22nd as the Sci-Fi and Fantasy community watched and waited for
the results.
In the months before, there had been a great deal of discussion as to how the voting would look. The
Hugo Awards allow a vote of “No Award” if an eligible voter feels that none of the nominees deserve
the award or if they feel the category should be abolished. Many voters spoke publicly of their plan to
use votes of No Award to fight back against what they felt was bigotry and disingenuous behavior on
the part of the puppies. In response, the puppies lashed out that people were just being bitter and not
wanting to follow the rules.
I sat and watched the Hugos Saturday night, waiting to see how this struggle would pan out. You see,
I'm a firm believer in the “Promise of Sci-Fi” and to a lesser degree, what I call the “Hope of Fantasy.”
I'm not the world's best example of someone with nothing who found inspiration in Science Fiction and
Fantasy. However, I have always been a believer in the idea that with rational thought and an open
mind, humanity can reach incredible heights. Even cautionary Science Fiction, like that beginning with
Mary Shelley, doesn't doubt the incredible things we can accomplish. Instead, it astutely asks us to
evaluate whether or not we SHOULD take these actions. Even the grime of Cyberpunk has this
promise at its heart. While humans may still retain their distinct flaws in the face of the future, the
potential is there for many other hopes and dreams to be realized. This ties directly to my belief about
Fantasy. Fantasy lets us hope for worlds where no matter how strange we may seem, we are normal.
The same wonder we may achieve looking at the stars, we can also achieve imagining ourselves as boy
shepherd who one day becomes an Archmage, speaking the tongue of creation. In these places, the
marginalized can find purchase because in these fictional worlds, they are no longer marginalized.
So as the awards unfolded and the Twitter feeds rolled on, I watched with anticipation. Would the
institution of the Hugos be shaken by No Awards? Or would wings go to authors like John C. Wright
who have openly attacked equality of marriage activists asking why they don't support racism as both
are “malfunctions” (for validation of these claims, http://www.thebacklot.com/orson-scott-card-isnt-
the-only-homophobic-wackjob-sci-fi-writer-out-there/08/2009/, but again trigger warnings for all listed
at the beginning of the article and general bigotry.)
When the awards began, they began innocently enough, with a touching tribute to Jay Lake. The next
awards to be given are the Fan awards. Julian May and Ben Yallow received the first awards, both
positive members of the fan community. Then, after much pomp and circumstance, the rest of the
awards ceremony is underway. And I watched, eyes drooping from a deficit of sleep, as award after
award was called and the Sad Puppies received no succor. John W. Campbell award? Wesley Chu.
Then came Elizabeth Leggett and Laura J. Mixon in the fan categories. There was deference to the
marginalized and the #BlackLivesMatter movement. Then came Galatic Suburbia Radio, Journey
Planet, and Lightspeed Magazine's awards. These were prominent Feminist organizations. The words
“I'd like to thank the patriarchy” were spoken by Christie Yant as she accepted for Lightspeed. By this
point, Twitter began to stream with jokes asking if the Sad Puppies had intended this all along or if sad
reports were being made to Vox Day about the crumbling of the war effort.
And then the No Awards began. This article is not a definite list of the winners. The Hugos have that
themselves as well as many far more respected journalistic establishments. I'm only going to tell you
the sweeping emotion that began to take me as I started sending messages to friends, colleagues, and
acquaintances to tell them the results. I was taken by the solidarity of the thing. There were many
tolerable candidates on the Sad Puppies slate, but still, the voters hold firm. They would not negotiate
with what they felt were bigots or terrorists. They would not put up with the kind of people who would
leave a stack of vile papers on the freebies table, hoping to insult as many groups as possible while
referring to the SFWA as the “Socialist Fiction Writer's of America.” Overall, five No Awards were
announced that night, bringing the total of No Awards given in the history of the Hugos to five. The
Sad Puppies were almost entirely shut out, with the singular exception of “Guardians of the Galaxy”
winning long form presentation. It was a category completely full of Puppy nominees and yet, enough
voters had intended to vote for it regardless, that it still won. It struck me, sitting there, as the Sad
Puppies' greatest loss. It was the one that proved that voting weren't just there to spite them. They were
protesting the Puppies' methods and tactics, certainly. But they weren't beyond voting for a option that
they agreed with.
Now, in the days after, I've watched social media ignite with spin from the Sad Puppies camp as to how
this was a victory for them as it shook the validity of the awards. After all, what point is an awards
assembly that doesn't give out awards? To this nerd, it validated the Hugos all over again. I have never
been prouder of the Science Fiction and Fantasy communities as I was watching the awards happen.
The community came to together in way that, sadly, my gamer community hasn't dreamed of yet, and
told the bigots that they would not be argued or reasoned with. They would simply be shown the door.
The Sad Puppies have already vowed to try the same stunt again next year. We can only wait and see if
they wear folks down by attrition, or if they'll be more Sad Puppies sent to the shelter again next year.