Wednesday, February 01, 2017
A Principled Stand
Canadian thriller writer Linwood Barclay announced yesterday in a piece for The Globe and Mail newspaper that he has cancelled his upcoming U.S. book tour due to Donald Trump’s “ill-conceived presidential executive order rooted in racism and ignorance suddenly bann[ing] entry to the United States from seven predominantly Muslim countries.” He added: “At this moment, entering Trump’s America feels akin to patronizing a golf course that excludes blacks, a health club that refuses membership to Jews.” One wonders whether other foreign authors will follow Barclay’s example.
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6 comments:
I think this is a bit misguided. Some of us didn't vote for Mr. Trump and I'm not sure why he is punishing us by not coming. In fact more of us Americans didn't vote for Mr. Trump than did.
I don't believe Barclay's goal is to "punish" those many million of Americans (myself included) who didn't vote for Trump. I think he's hoping to propel us to take action against Trump's destructive regime, which is a worthwhile goal.
Cheers,
Jeff
I am sorry but the idea of author or authors starting to make some kind of demands while Trump is President is starting to wear very thin. It started earlier this year with different comic book writers and artists saying they would not go to certain conventions because that state carried Trump in the election or they were saying they would only come if certain "demands" were met concerning conduct or giving to charites of the writers choice (not the fan). I am starting to get tired of the whole thing and just about at the point to say to all of them if your way of protesting Trump is to punish the fans...then I think it is time to say "FU" we don't need you anymore.
It's not nice to be excluded or punished because of what other people have done, but it's the most effective method of raising awareness, or sometimes, bringing change. Sporting events have been moved from U.S. states for various reasons, many musicians refused to play apartheid South Africa, etc. No boycott is going to change politics in D.C., but authors have the right to do this. In the end, it costs them sales and fans, which is a sacrifice they are willing to make. But assuming there is no disagreement on the actual reason for the boycott, true fans will understand.
i think the ban and the way it was instituted — abandoning authorized travelers mid journey — suggests a banana republic operation that would have me doubting whether if I left for a trip I could get back in. Actually I look to a country's writers and authors, who were among the first to leave Germany as it swung to the Nazi right as a warning
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