Orson Scott Card shows what we're up against

Unlike Ed Brayton, whose blog brought this crazy rant to my attention, I've been aware of Orson Scott Card for a quarter of a century or more, have read many of his books, and have even reviewed his work quite favourably. He's a popular writer with a good sense of suspense and narrative pace.

He's also an extreme homophobe from way back. In the past, I've tried to give him the benefit of the doubt as far as possible, since he always stays just this side of the line, never, on any one occasion, crossing into territory where he'd be unambiguously stating his hatred for homosexuals and bisexuals. Even this time, he doesn't quite do that. It's a bit like a high-wire performance, a dizzy circus act. But the cumulative effect over the years has led me to believe that, spin and twist it however we may, Orson Scott Card is a bigot. He's a good example of what we're up against if we advocate the cause of freedom and reason. He's smart, articulate, but fundamentally unreconstructed.

Sometimes, you've got to call a spade a spade and a bigot a bigot. Sometimes, you've got to tell it like it is, plain and unvarnished.

This is one of those times.