As a response to Ron DeSantis’ homophobic “Don’t Say Gay” bill, one of our co-owners (herself a member of the queer community) recommended we produce an anthology written exclusively by members of the LGBTQIA+ community. We’re very proud of the excellent anthology, Written With Pride, which came about thanks to these talented LGBTQIA+ authors and the LGBTQIA+ editorial team. We knew there might be some blowback, but we have been shocked and disgusted by the quantity and repulsiveness of the vitriol bigots were far too comfortable posting as responses to the announcement of the anthology on our company’s Facebook page. We were not surprised to see homophobes also expressing sexist, racist, and antisemitic responses among their homophobic ones; oppressive ideologies are intersectional. We’ve decided to remove the comments (more on that below), but we want to take this opportunity to encourage every person of conscience to respond in a way that is encouraging to the brave authors who chose to have their talent featured so publicly. There is no benefit to telling hateful bigots that they are hateful bigots. They know, and they love to hear it. Instead, let's use this as a reminder that our LGBTQIA+ loved ones need our support in any way we can give it. Please consider responding by lifting up these authors. Purchase their books. Rate and review them. Follow their accounts on social media. Reach out and thank them for their bravery. And make books by queer authors available to everyone so marginalized people can see themselves in their literature and so everyone can see the beauty of diverse representation for all.
We at Not a Pipe Publishing debated whether or not to remove the hateful comments posted underneath this book's announcement. As publishers and authors, we value free speech and robust dialogue, and we feel uncomfortable removing anyone's comments. On the other hand, as publishers, we have the responsibility to determine the content we publish, and we feel this extends to the comments we allow to remain on our social media pages. It's shameful that anyone has to read the horrible anti-LGBTQIA+ hatred commenters have spewed. While it's been eye-opening to learn just how ugly some people's responses are to the existence of queer pride (and LGBTQIA+ people existing at all), we don't need to give bigots a platform to express that hate just to inform everyone else about their hatefulness. So we are removing the anti-LGBTQIA+ content. For the record, none of these individuals read the anthology and commented on its content. People are free to criticize any of our books. The individuals only came to announce their hatred of LGBTQIA+ people. None of the removed comments are good-faith, legitimate debate. Though many of the commenters expressed their sense that they are entitled to engagement with their hateful opinions, Not a Pipe Publishing does not owe them anything, and we feel their expressions of hatred are shameful and unworthy of individual response.
We've decided to remove the comments themselves, but we do want to make sure people in the LGBTQIA+ community and those who care about our queer siblings are warned about the individuals who chose to come to FB to spew their hatred, so we will include a list of their names and a link to a file of the screenshots of their comments on our website. You are not safe around these people. They are dangerous bigots. In addition to their hatred for LGBTQIA+ people, some have revealed their antisemitism, racism, and sexism, and all these people should be associated with those sentiments (if you choose to roll in the trash, you get dirty). If you are an employer, a religious institution, or a civic organization, and you are checking out the background of any of these individuals, feel free to examine the file of screenshots, and then you can decide if the person is an individual you want to associate with. Some are business owners; decide carefully if these are the kinds of people you want to support financially. They saw a post about LGBTQIA+ authors and chose to reveal themselves as hateful bigots willing to go out of their way to make their hatred known. Imagine how dangerous they are to people in their lives and how damaging they could be to your organization. We encourage you to distance yourself from these individuals as much as possible. Free speech should also come with the consequences of being judged by your speech.
We’re not sure we’ve found the perfect balance between educating everyone about this hatred, warning potential victims, and supporting our authors who deserve to be recognized for their talent and bravery. It’s tricky. We are asking you, good, decent, supportive, caring people to help us turn a negative into a positive. Thank you for supporting LGBTQIA+ writers and the entire LGBTQIA+ community, and have a wonderful Pride Month!
Here are the individuals who posted homophobic, sexist, racist, and antisemitic remarks and images in response to this announcement: [list of all names, with more added as they continue to post and have their comments disappear]
Gilles Pariseau
Howard Bosworth
Steven Barna
AJ Jacobs
Andrew King
Mark Vanover
Nico Stewart
Brent Biegel
James Strachan Harker
Nathan McQuaid
Scott Dawson
Tracy Kallis
Steven Yeager
Fahad Firaas
Gareth Witts
David Donohue
Ray Karner
Duramax Diesel
Ben Rose
Emerson J Carpenter
Gerry Higgins
Steven Alborough
Justin Charles
Edgar Fender Gibson
Gerry Higgins
Steven Alborough
Ellie-May Ward
Brenden Bishard
Dale Whatson
Mario Caporicci
John Hartland
BF Memes
Prestige Carpets Daz
Bob Louden
Bill Bullerwell
Carlos Da Ponte
Jeremy Wooster
Lee Morris
Tim Odom
Sheldon's Flooring
Shane Hansen
Luke Mcfarlane
Yonason Weideman
Michael Grisley
Brian De Witt
Emerson J Carpenter
Itsall Ablur
Brian Holloway
Neil Cortez
Bruce Dawson
Morris Rich
David Clements
Eric Hunt
Aaron Sanger
AJ Jacobs
Pete Lee
Dennis Welch
Matt Steward
James Strachan Harker
Glory Angelgrace
Kevin Crouch
Chase Duncan
Alex James
Jamie RC
Shanu Ullah
Chase Duncan
Jim Hayden
Shanu Ullah
David Bailey
Kelly Corbeil
Luke Mcfarlane
John Beers
Michael Waldmann
Enrique Garcia
Franco Fizz
Patrick Conway
Aaron J Semrow
Gennaro Nibaldi
Timmy Burch
Wayne Lidberg
Edward Edwards
Cymon Turcotte
Tyler Hicks
Blaize K Foulk
Jonathan Mullins
Dale Whatson
Edward Edwards
And here are the screenshots of their hatefulness. Trigger Warning: homophobia, sexism, antisemitism, and racism: [File Here]