Mercedes Lackey Ejected From Nebula Conference For Using Racial Slur

[Dannyalcatraz]

Here is the statement by Mercedes Lackey regarding the event~

​

That looks perfect to me.

 

[MGibster]

Here is the statement by Mercedes Lackey regarding the event~

I'm hoping the Nebula Conference apologizes to Lackey. But I'm picturing them having a Burn Before Reading moment.


CIA Superior : What did we learn, Palmer?

CIA Officer : I don't know, sir.

CIA Superior : I don't $%#@in' know either. I guess we learned not to do it again.

CIA Officer : Yes, sir.

CIA Superior : I'm %$@#$ if I know what we did.

CIA Officer : Yes, sir, it's, uh, hard to say

CIA Superior : Jesus %##@!ing Christ.

 

[Dannyalcatraz]

I am not sure it is appropriate to say that a person who may be overwhelmed and neurodivergent has some duty to you to speak out ... is proper.

It’s not a duty to me, it’s her self-preservation. How you handle your mistakes can radically affect the quality of your future.

 

[MGibster]

This isn’t a weird line: this is celebrity “branding” defense 101. You get out in front of the scandal- whatever it is- ASAP, because you only have a small golden window of opportunity to do so before things start looking…artificial. Less than genuine.

On the flip side, how many times on social media have we seen people dig themselves in deeper because they make ill advised statements in an attempt to fix things?

 

[Guest 7034872]

Here is the statement by Mercedes Lackey regarding the event~

This makes me so sad: her emotional suffering is evident throughout that message. I really don't think Mrs. Lackey is the one who needs to issue an apology.

 

[Dannyalcatraz]

On the flip side, how many times on social media have we seen people dig themselves in deeper because they make ill advised statements in an attempt to fix things?

Lots. That’s kind of beside point though. There’s a reason why the quick apology is brand management 101 stuff: it is successful the vast majority of the time. People LOVE genuine contrition. The people who fail at it often make apologies that fail to seem genuine…or seem like apologies at all.

If you take too long, as I was worried might be the case here, people start assuming you’re only apologizing because complaints reached a critical mass, not because you’re genuinely sorry X happened.

 

[MGibster]

Lots. That’s kind of beside point though. There’s a reason why the quick apology is brand management 101 stuff: it is successful the vast majority of the time. People LOVE genuine contrition. The people who fail at it often make apologies that fail to seem genuine…or seem like apologies at all.

I get where you're coming from, but Lackey is a human being not a brand. We should probably try to be a little more charitable to people who don't have a history of bigoted statements or bad behavior.

 

[Dannyalcatraz]

I get where you're coming from, but Lackey is a human being not a brand. We should probably try to be a little more charitable to people who don't have a history of bigoted statements or bad behavior.

She’s both a human AND a brand. Any celebrity- big or small- is.

Personally, I was in a very similar situation on ENWorld a couple years before I was asked to be a Mod. The Charlie Hedbo incident had just happened. I made a comment blaming Islamic radicals…at least I meant to.

Due to careless proofread and editing on my part, my condemnation of radical Islam became one condemning the entire faith, all billion+ of them. I got a 2 week ban. Because I wasn’t as frequent a visitor to the site back then, I was a good 10 days into my ban before I even knew it had happened. I was mortified when I got back and read the reason for my ban.

The first thing I did when the ban was lifted was to post a thread describing what happened and apologizing for it. Said thread was shut down in hours by Umbran, who pointed out that publicly commenting on moderation was forbidden by the ENWorld ToS. Fortunately, he didn’t give me a second infraction.

Thing is, I needed to make that apology. Even though it was accidental, I posted what I posted, and what I posted was offensive. I had to take responsibility for my action, even though it was a simple mistake.

Ms. Lackey made a slip of the tongue. She meant no harm, but clearly caused some. By apologizing for her mistake, she confirms to those who know her and illustrates to those who don’t that her word choice was merely a gaffe, and not a window to an unsuspected character flaw.

 

[Dannyalcatraz]

Now what’s needed is the followup “In regards to an incident that has been revealed to be a perfect storm of unfortunate events leading to profound misunderstandings…” message from the SFWA.

 

[Myrdin Potter]

SFWA is more likely to say that she just revealed her actual bad think feelings and bury her further as admitting weakness to the mob is not their style.