Orson Scott Card is one Grade A A**hole. He should NOT receive this award. As we all know there are plenty of adolescent gay people who LOVE Science Fiction and if they google Orson Scott Card, they'll get a clear idea of what Mr. Card thinks of them.

If he had expressed Anti-Black Bigotry in editorials he had written then the Award Commity would have absolutely NO PROBLEM REVOKING the Award.

Orson Scott Card is an Anti-Gay Bigot and he should not be rewarded for being one.

If a novel or novels were being honored, I would say that the books stand alone and deserve recognition. However, this is a lifetime achievement award. An award given to people "helping adolescents become aware of themselves and addressing questions about their role and importance in relationships, society, and in the world." it does not say "helping adolescents become aware of themselves and addressing questions about their role and importance in relationships, society, and in the world through their fiction."

Card's life's work includes elements that are entirely antithetical to that stated mission. It does not matter that those works were not within the young adult fiction market. A lifetime achievement award should not be given without examining an entire lifetime's achievement.

The criteria for the award is the author's books, not his personal political opinions. That sort of thing just can't be relevent at all. It opens a crazy Pandora's box. Soon we're not awarding people who voted for the "wrong" candidate. And talk about a chilling effect on expression!

This is a free speech issue. If Card's books were bigoted (and they're not, I've read most of 'em), that would be an issue. But it's not the issue here. This is, pure and simply, an effort to silence and intimidate unpopular political opinions. But the way to do that is to RESPOND to those arguments, not blacklist an author.

And I say this as someone who detests his politicals views and, frankly now that I know them, will never ever read another of his books.

Read my books! Explore "Brent's Brain" at http://www.brenthartinger.com

I found Orson Scott Card's Alvin Maker series when I was younger and devoured them; linking, in my mind, Alvin's special gifts and societal differences with my own newly emerging sexuality.

I was hugely disappointed when I learned of his anti-gay essays in the past few years. I've even gone back to re-read some of my favorite novels of his to see if they would still have the same meaning, but unfortunately they are completely ruined for me. The connection that I feel with an author when I read a book that really speaks to me (as these books once did) was broken, knowing that Card would rather I be prisoned than be able to celebrate my differences and gifts.

Let's have a law criminalizing Orson Scott Card. Nobody is allowed to be Orson Scott Card not even Orson Scott Card himself. That way nobody will have to be disgusted by Orson Scott Card. Mr. Card will have to live his life in hiding. He'll even have to assume a pseudonym if he wants to continue to write and publish books. The law will also prohibit Orson Scott Card from having or adopting children; just because he is Orson Scott Card.

Can I have a show of hands for those that support this proposed Constitutional Amendment?

There are actually two things at issue here: the behavior of YALSA and the behavior of Card:

1. Suppose YALSA had given the award--to someone--and then learned that someone was (a) an outspoken, unreconstructed member of the Nazi party; (b) an unapologetic officer in the KKK or similar blatantly racist organization; (c) a vocal advocate of Al-Quaida? Would YALSA, under such circumstances, do exactly as it has done with respect to Card (explain their purpose and reasoning, and refuse to apologize or to rescind the award)? If the answer is yes, then YALSA should be applauded for sticking to its stated purpose with regard to the award in question and for refusing to employ bigotry against a bigot. If the answer is no, then YALSA is homohostile (a word I prefer to homophobic; think about it!) and bigoted, and deserves to be treated as such. The problem with this issue is that it is very difficult to figure out what YALSA would do in any of the above circumstances. One could ask them, and if they were actually honest enough to say, "Well, no, we would rescind the award if we found we'd given it to any such people," then we would know they are bigots (if at least honest bigots). But if they say, "Yes, we would deal with such award recipients exactly as we handled the Card situation," we really won't know whether they are both liars and bigots, or whether their integrity should be applauded. Since "yes" is the most likely answer they would give, 'tis a puzzlement.
2. What do we, as concerned adults, do about the combination of admirable, useful books and the potentially harmful, bigoted rants of the author of said books? First, avoid purchasing any of Card's books. Spread the word--to purchase Card's books is to support a hatemonger. People who already own copies of Card's beneficial books (he's written some turkeys, too, don't forget) should circulate them among friends and family as widely as possible, perhaps with a little insert glued inside, an insert explaining this controversy. Only libraries should purchase Card's books, so that people in the community may read them without paying more than a fraction of a cent to the author. Finally, Card's rants should be used to create teachable moments, not just for LGBT youth but for any young people we care about. Kids shouldn't read these books in a vacuum. After the kid you care about has read one of these books, go with them to the 'Net, bring up some of Card's hate-filled spew, and have a conversation about such things as role models with feet of clay, the psychology of bigots (and how to keep oneself safe from them), the importance of community, etc. If you happen to be Christian (full disclosure: I am not), you could go on to explain about how this is an example of how God can use an evil to bring about something good, what "hate the sin (bigotry) but love the sinner" really means, etc.

Regards,

Sunder

Proud defender of the Oxford comma.