henry%clemson.csnet@csnet-relay.arpa (06/08/85)
From: Henry Vogel <henry%clemson.csnet@csnet-relay.arpa> THE PROBLEMS OF DAVIS TUCKER'S PROBLEMS OF SCIENCE FICTION TODAY First off, as the person responsible for part 2 or your response, I'm really rather sorry about asking you if you thought you were Ghod - we all have off days and I guess that was one of mine. I'm also disappointed that people on the net would stoop to sending personal attacks to you rather than replies on the net where everyone can read them. Come on folks, at least have the guts to stand by what you say. Onward. In my opinion, the reason you have drawn such heated response (which may have been your intention to begin with - heated debate, that is) is the attitude you seem to take in your messages. It struck me as being arrogant to say the least. If your purpose in the Problems With SF series was to get people to read other forms of literature, you certainly went about it the wrong way. When you mercilessly attack something near and dear to someone, you put them on the defensive - something SF fans have been on (not as much lately) for a good while. Had you begun by telling us that you also enjoyed reading for fun and then had gone into persuasive arguements in favor of broadening our reading horizens (something I'm entirely in favor of - there's a lot of excellent work being done outside of SF that deserves to be read) you might have had more success. Instead we got, "That sucks, this doesn't, only an idiot would read that crap." Of couse, you didn't use those words but that was the impression many people got from reading your messages. In your A SHORT RESPONSE you tell us "I realize that what I say is my opinion." Right after that you say "You may think that Norman Rockwell is vastly superior to Van Gogh, but you would be wrong." You've just contradicted yourself (I doubt you'll agree with me, though). If I like Rockwell better than Van Gogh does that mean I'm wrong? No, it means my opinion is different from yours. All a critic is is someone who has studied a certain subject significantly more than the average person. Their opinion may be more learned than mine, but mine is still valid! As you said, lighten up. You also claim to support your opinions with logic and fact. Crap. You give us your opinion of what is bad SF or bad fantasy and claim it is logic? The only "fact" you used is a quote from Phillip K. Dick. You're very proud of it, aren't you? You joyfully tell us that the "majority of responses have ignored the main point of each essay. No one chose to aruge with Phillip K. Dick..." What can I do? I could give you a quote from me but you wouldn't accept it because my opinion would be wrong (to you). Remember, regardless of his stature in the field, P.K. Dick was giving his OPINION in the quote you used! Why do you assume all readers of science fiction believe that everything they read is incredibly wonderful literary art? Just like you, I read and enjoy "trash" novels. Novels that are fun to read. I don't think Battlefield Earth was literary art, but it was a Hell of lot of fun to read. This, I believe, is where You read for fun, but you also read for enlightenment into the human condition or whatever. I can get reality every day for free, I don't need to dish out money at the bookstore for it too. (No, that doesn't mean I don't read anything but "trash." I read a large number of books each year and have read quite a few I'm sure you would approve of. However, I don't feel it necessary to force others into my mold.) In closing I'd like to mention something I learned when I took a Shakespeare class a few years ago. These days, the Bard is considered to be one of the greatest of writers. During his day, his plays were considered to be trash. No reputible library had copies of them. They weren't literature then, they are now. Interesting. In future generations, the books you have spent so much time touting may be unknown and the books you have called trash may be considered classics. That's all for now. Henry Vogel henry%clemson.csnet@csnet-relay.arpa