I've seen people posting how shocked they were about yesterday's attack on the nation's capitol. I assume most of these people have been on a years-long vacation on Mars, feasting on home-grown potatoes and blissfully unaware of anything happening here on the home planet. April 2020: Armed protesters occupy the Michigan capitol building. (Trump described the protesters as "very good people.")

businessinsider.com/trump-protesto…

I wonder if today will dispel any illusions about our “law and order” president. I keep thinking about all the Thin Blue Line posts, and people excusing police brutality because “you have to respect and obey the police.”*

*Unless you’re a white terrorist, apparently.

I've seen two SF/F authors called out for creeper behavior recently. Both have talked about how they consider (or considered) themselves to be Nice Guys. Both of whom have been defended because they're Nice Guys. I'm reminded of my son's fifth grade teacher. He was such a good teacher - we all really liked him, and he went above and beyond to help our son.

He's now in prison for molesting kids.

He never touched my son. And I believe that, to a lot of kids & families, he was a Nice Guy.

I voted for SFWA Officers before becoming aware of two write-in campaigns for Director-at-Large. (Once a ballot is submitted, it can't be updated.)

One candidate, Lou Antonelli, is boasting about all the support he's receiving.

For the record, Antonelli is the one who: 1. Tried to out husband of author Foz Meadows as pseudonymous blogger Camestros Felapton, based on the flimsiest of "evidence." Doubled-down and lashed out. Finally admitted he was wrong and posted a half-assed apology.

jimchines.com/2018/01/fact-c…

Over on Goodreads, someone asked me for advice for people who want to be authors. That's a pretty broad question, and comes up in one form or another pretty routinely. So I'm gonna break it down into bite-sized chunks and post stuff as I have time and inspiration. #WritingAdvice 1. Why are you asking me?

I'm not saying you shouldn't ask me for advice, but why are you? Do you know anything about my career or what I write, or are you taking a shotgun approach and asking anyone and everyone you can find? #WritingAdvice

A few weeks back, a colleague wrote a guest post for a known troll and harasser. When I pointed out this individual's history, said colleague basically said, "Well, he's always been nice to me." Today, said troll posted a "wink, wink" shout-out to the New Zealand mass murderer's livestream.