When I was about 12 or 13, one of my favourite books was “Ender’s Game,” written by Orson Scott Card. It won both the Nebula and the Hugo awards for best science fiction novel the year it came out — 1985. It’s a brutal story about kids drafted into a war against aliens called “The Buggers” (oh, the irony) that has very much a surprise twist at the end.
Ender’s Game led to a number of sequels. I think I gave up after the second book, “Speaker for the Dead,” as the books got more obtuse and harder to read (much like those endless “Dune” novels that became more and more unreadable.)
Another one of my favourite books is another Orson Scott Card book, “Pastwatch: The Redemption of Christopher Columbus.” A fascinating story about Christopher Columbus and how his discovery of the Western World led to the ultimate downfall of society.
I won’t be reading or buying any more Orson Scott Card novels, nor will I be going to see Ender’s Game.
About two years ago, I started reading stories about Card’s rampant homophobia, just ugly, ugly stuff. Apparently, he’s harboured these opinions for many years, but in the past four or five years, has become more outspoken. Card is a Mormon and unfortunately, while his novels appear to be open-minded, he is a hateful, bigoted little man. Such an irony that one of his novels is called “Xenophobia.”
Card also belongs to some right-wing anti-gay marriage organisation called “The National Organization for Marriage.”
Now, I suppose it’s a free country and people have a right to believe what they want, but Card’s comments go beyond the pale, and exhibit just outright bigotry. If he wants the right to be a bigot, then fine, I have the right to not buy his books nor be a patron to his movies.
Here is an example of some of the swill Card has said and has written over the past several years about homosexuals (and frankly, Card has written so extensively over the years about homosexuality that it becomes painfully apparent he is bloody obsessed with homosexuality … to the degree that I believe it’s likely he himself is a closet case.)
Instead they are attempting to strike a death blow against the well-earned protected status of our, and every other, real marriage.
They steal from me what I treasure most, and gain for themselves nothing at all. They won’t be married. They’ll just be playing dress-up in their parents’ clothes.”
The hypocrites of homosexuality are, of course, already preparing to answer these statements by accusing me of homophobia, gay-bashing, bigotry, intolerance; but nothing that I have said here — and nothing that has been said by any of the prophets or any of the Church leaders who have dealt with this issue — can be construed as advocating, encouraging, or even allowing harsh personal treatment of individuals who are unable to resist the temptation to have sexual relations with persons of the same sex. On the contrary, the teachings of the Lord are clear in regard to the way we must deal with sinners. Christ treated them with compassion — as long as they confessed that their sin was a sin. Only when they attempted to pretend that their sin was righteousness did he harshly name them for what they were: fools, hypocrites, sinners. Hypocrites because they were unwilling to change their behavior and instead attempted to change the law to fit it; fools because they thought that deceiving an easily deceivable society would achieve the impossible goal of also deceiving God.
Now, there is a myth that homosexuals are “born that way,” and we are pounded with this idea so thoroughly that many people think that somebody, somewhere, must have proved it.
In fact what evidence there is suggests that if there is a genetic component to homosexuality, an entire range of environmental influences are also involved. While there is no scientific research whatsoever that indicates that there is no such thing as a borderline child who could go either way.
Those who claim that there is “no danger” and that homosexuals are born, not made, are simply stating their faith.
The dark secret of homosexual society — the one that dares not speak its name — is how many homosexuals first entered into that world through a disturbing seduction or rape or molestation or abuse, and how many of them yearn to get out of the homosexual community and live normally.
Please remember that for the mildest of comments critical of the political agenda of homosexual activists, I have been called a “homophobe” for years.
This is a term that was invented to describe people with a pathological fear of homosexuals — the kind of people who engage in acts of violence against gays. But the term was immediately extended to apply to anyone who opposed the homosexual activist agenda in any way.
A term that has mental-health implications (homophobe) is now routinely applied to anyone who deviates from the politically correct line. How long before opposing gay marriage, or refusing to recognize it, gets you officially classified as “mentally ill”?
Ugh, I really can’t read anymore. It’s just stomach-churning. Like I said, this ‘phobe is quite literally obsessed with homosexuality. I’ve yet to meet a sincerely straight person who thinks about homosexuality as much as this guy. And there is also a painfully pathetic whiny streak through much of his writing about gays. Like a typical right-winger nut job, he embraces the victim card with great enthusiasm. Bigots love to wear the mantle of victimhood.
Several gay rights’ groups are organising boycotts of Ender’s Game, which opens in theatres this weekend. I personally can’t stomach watching the movie after reading some of the obsessive garbage this guy has written over the years about gays. Boycotting Ender’s Game will not hurt Card financially; he is an executive producer of the film, but isn’t getting any royalties from ticket sales. Still, a message can be sent that people are sick of this kind of vitriol; no matter how articulately Card writes, hate is hate. I will be checking the box office numbers this weekend and am really hoping Ender’s Game tanks. It’s gotten very mixed review — 54% positive rating on Metacritic, 63% on Rotten Tomatoes (which includes bloggers). Very few movies have made money this year because movies have gotten too stale, too expensive and people have CGI fatigue.
It was so disappointing to find out that the author of these two books I loved as a teenager was such a vile, disgusting person.