Well, first up, my solidarity with Erin, and with all other people affected — and in hope of accountability. But also, while this is about the actions of one individual, it’s also not *just* about that: it’s also about an industry climate that has enabled this. I want to talk a bit about that. 🧵 - ThreadSky

gautambhatia88.bsky.social • 131 days ago

Well, first up, my solidarity with Erin, and with all other people affected — and in hope of accountability.

But also, while this is about the actions of one individual, it’s also not *just* about that: it’s also about an industry climate that has enabled this. I want to talk a bit about that. 🧵

Reposted from ErinLindiCairns

Here is my report on my experience with unethical behavior and bad faith dealings of Oghenechovwe Donald Ekpeki.

ethicsreport.tiiny.site

Comments

gianttourtiere.bsky.social•131 days ago

Thank you for your thoughts on this and for your time in sharing them.

tanngrisnir.bsky.social•126 days ago

Thanks for this thread.

esseasterisco.acme.it•118 days ago

Looks like ODE didn't do anything wrong.
Maybe before starting throwing stones it would be good to wait to have all the facts.
https://file770.com/two-accusations-against-ekpeki-disproved/

laviecestmoi.bsky.social•131 days ago

Excellent and much-needed thread, Gautam. 💜

morselya.bsky.social•131 days ago

📌

alisonbaker01.bsky.social•131 days ago

This is great. Those of us who have been around a long time and remember RaceFail will also remember R*quires H*te and the way they manipulated people; one of their tactics was to guilt white people who were vulnerable into thinking that they owed RH.

nadiaking.bsky.social•127 days ago

Great thread! 📌

tuttyfrutty.bsky.social•130 days ago

Very well said

gaycannibalism.bsky.social•131 days ago

Thank you for this thread, Gautam. It echoes thoughts and feelings I've been having about SFF for a while now.

drakanox.bsky.social•131 days ago

Thank you for your thoughtful comments.

sff180.bsky.social•131 days ago

I’ve had several friendly exchanges with him but at the same time there was always a slightly-off vibe, like he’s the kind of guy who only befriends you if he thinks you can do something for him.

cornellwriter.bsky.social•130 days ago

Also my experience.

ranylt.bsky.social•131 days ago

Yuck. So many of those, some of whom are now successes (pubs, awards). I saw many drop their "less successful" friends while sucking up/befriending anyone who appears to have more publishing status. I suspect another, much bigger name like this will drop, eventually.

datlow.bsky.social•130 days ago

Thank you for this thread.

maniagnosis.bsky.social•131 days ago

How much of the "industry climate"---the structure that supports these kinds of events---are fundamentally the result of a culture of personal relationships, the "It's who you know" thing?

jenbrownwrites.bsky.social•127 days ago

Powerfully said, through and through. Thank you for framing this with nuance & care. THIS is the kind of analysis needed, and what generalized diversity panels, workshops, and symposia often gloss over or outright ignore. 👏🏾

aliettedebodard.com•131 days ago

Thank you for this.

almaalexander.bsky.social•131 days ago

Thank you.

gautambhatia88.bsky.social•131 days ago

This thread is not meant in any way to be a pile on, and it’s not about one individual; but there will inevitably have to be references to OED, as I’m talking about a set of actions over the years. My main purpose, again, is to prompt folks in the industry to perhaps reflect on a few things.

gautambhatia88.bsky.social•131 days ago

Two preliminary points, based on my observations as a participant in the industry over the last decade.

1. Modern SF publicly claims to value diversity and inclusiveness (as against large parts of its history). One part of this is - to put it bluntly - large chunks of “white guilt” all around.

gautambhatia88.bsky.social•131 days ago

Now, I don’t think guilt is a particularly useful lens through which to discuss problems of power in modern SF, but that said, it’s also not my place to tell people how to feel. That said, it matters when guilt is leveraged for harmful practices, which in my view is the case here. More on this anon.

timlieder.bsky.social•129 days ago

He's never used yt guilt. You are projecting.

gautambhatia88.bsky.social•131 days ago

2. Modern SF has more people from the global South than it used to. Our passports place us at certain disadvantages, yes. BUT - and I can’t stress how important this is - with a very few exceptions, none of us inhabiting these spaces are *oppressed* in any meaningful way.

gautambhatia88.bsky.social•131 days ago

If we’re in these spaces with you, if we’re able to make ourselves intelligible to you because we share a common set of cultural reference points, it’s because almost always we come from immensely privileged spaces *within* our own societies, from childhood or college onwards.

gautambhatia88.bsky.social•131 days ago

I want to stress this again, because I think a lot of this is at the heart of everything - passports confer structural advantages and disadvantages, but we are not *oppressed* by you.