[LMB] OT: The Harlan Ellison thing

[alayne at twobikes.ottawa.on.ca]

Reminds me of the time, a number of years ago (1984), when the then-Prime 
Minister of Canada, John Turner, patted a former cabinet minister 
(female), Iona Campagnola, on the bum at a public event. It lost him a lot 
of votes. He tried to excuse it by saying he was a physical person -- mano 
a mano etc. -- and that got him nowhere.

I've always thought, from my experience of her, Connie Willis was one of 
the nicest writers I've met, as well as someone who is able to meet social 
challenges calmly and collectedly (and, of course, an incredibly talented 
writer). I don't blame her for being furious, but, since she was 
responsible for keep the ceremonies on an even keel, she did the right 
thing by working around Ellison's boorish behaviour. But I hope he made a 
private apology to her that was a great deal more abject and thorough.

-- 
Alayne McGregor
alayne at twobikes.ottawa.on.ca

"There are only genres because there are shelves."  -- Jill Paton Walsh