Doctor Who writer hits out at ‘trannies’ and ‘rainbow cult’

Sad that I knew exactly who the writer in question would be before I even clicked on the thread, and the kind of idiocy that would likely be spouted.

It's a shame, because as a writer of Who I've enjoyed a lot of his work, but as a person he just seems like more and more of a prat as the years pass. And worse still, he seems to revel in it, which I personally find a bit unpalatable. Some people really should stay away from social media, in my opinion. Still, his life to live, I guess.

Gosh. He's going to have a difficult job undoing this mess, even if (as quoted on his Twitter feed) "They seem to be under the misapprehension that you are a homophobic heterosexual".

It is already on his Wikipedia page, that was quick.

I think it's healthy to separate the artist form the art sometimes. It's like finding out what song lyrics 'really' mean. I've enjoyed lots of his stories.

Thank God I'm not the only one who thought this!

I think it was use of the word 'Trannies' that has upset people.

Ah. The old "But I'm joking, what is the matter with you people?" routine.

Reminds me of something I read once: "Scrodinger's ******: someone who decides if they were joking or not based on whether people get offended."

Well, I certainly won't be buying any more of his work from now on. I wouldn't go so far as to trash all the stories I currently have that were written by him, but these comments will certainly stick in the back of my mind whenever I listen to them. 

I think it was less the comment itself and more the subsequent reactions to it that really jammed his foot in the bear trap. Mockery as deflection doesn't work on the internet, it just makes people angrier.

On the subject of political correctness, let's point out that many words have fallen into disuse because of their vulgar connotations. "Tranny" has become just as much a pejorative as "spade" or "Paki". This isn't like debating whether Christmas songs should still be sung at schools (which strikes me as a bit silly), manuals of style have banned the use of this word on the grounds that it is offensive. Like dead baby jokes -- yes, fellows, a joke can be unfunny -- it's in really bad taste.

However, I will point out Peter Davison recently who was hounded from Twitter for comments taken out of context by an appalling bit of tabloid guff and accusations at Hartnell being unrepentant in his antisemitism, which doesn't scan with his respect for Sidney Newman and Verity Lambert, nor his mutual and absolute adoration of Carole Ann Ford, all of whom were Jewish.

Take everything said online with a pinch of salt, disapprove without resorting to violent anger (use that energy to help those who are hurt rather than attacking the attacker) and remember that ultimately, art and the artist are two separate fields.