John Ringo Out As ConCarolinas Special Guest

A week after ConCarolinas announced John Ringo as a special guest, a choice hailed by his fans but protested by a number of writers on the con program in an extended social media controversy, the con committee has announced he won’t be coming.

Their official statement reads:

ConCarolinas and John Ringo have mutually agreed he will not attend the 2018 event. ConCarolinas wants to provide a positive environment for everyone who attends our events from our guests, attendees, vendors, and staff.

We represent a diverse range of opinions and support that.

We will not tolerate harassment or bullying as stated in our policy.

Any comments regarding this may be sent to [email protected]

ConCarolinas ConCom: Jada Diaz, ConChair; Dawson Kriska, Vice Chair; Sue Lambert, Secretary and Treasurer; Luis Diaz, Director of Security

While the official statement focuses on a desire to “provide a positive environment for everyone,” both Ringo and the con chair are spinning a different story.

John Ringo wrote on Facebook:

I just got disinvited from a con due to threats to my personal safety. This is more dangerous to me than the five fatwahs I’ve had over the years from various friendly and peaceful lovers of The Most Holy Prophet. Peace be upon his beard. Allahu Akhbar.

And ConCarolinas chair Jada Hope, responding to questions from Jim C. Hines, said:

Ringo has also unspooled a long commentary on his Facebook page [Internet Archive link] seeking to turn the “safety” complaint back against the protesters who raised it about the author and his fans in the first place. (The excerpt is about half the wordage, see the rest at the link.)

And again with the ‘we do not tolerate harassment or bullying’ without pointing out who that is pointed at.

From my last email with the conchair:

“as ConChair I know this will be an extremely hostile environment and I am concerned for your personal safety. ”

It was mutual, more on that in a moment. But they very much rescinded because they were concerned for my safety.

That was how bad it was getting.

They weren’t concerned I’d grab and axe and start killing all the POCs, women, transgenders, what have you.

They were (justifiably from the comments) concerned for MY safety. And the ‘bullying’ they were commenting on was the bullying by the SJW twitter mobsters.

Why it was phrased as ‘mutual.’

‘Oh, no, John Ringo, no! You’re giving in to the Social Justice Bullies!’

You can phrase it that way. Or you can phrase it this way.

I’m a New York Times best selling author with over 7 million books in print. By far and away I was the largest ‘print’ guest on the list with the largest fan following and thus the biggest draw.

For someone like myself, cons are NOT about marketing. There is very little additional market to be picked up at any litcon, including WorldCon. Cons are places to go to talk with people who enjoy reading science fiction and fantasy and are generally smart and interesting people. To meet new people (one of the reasons I agreed to attend ConCarolinas was ‘new people’), to pick up new characters, to have a good time.

There is very little fiscal reason for someone like myself to attend. Ergo: The best reason is to have fun.

Not for any particular ‘political’ reason, prior to my being invited the guest list for the ‘lit’ side was HEAVILY weighted to the Left. Basically, the entire guest list is ‘between Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders’ with the late add of a ‘token Nazi.’

I’ve been to those cons. I know what happens. Every single panel turns into a continuous shitfest. I’m constantly stopped in the hallways to be asked when did I join the Nazi party and how long have I been a Nazi. Forget intentional ‘disruptions’ that are the hallmark of the modern fascists called ‘progressives.’ It would be just another shitfest like WindyCon or (christ, can’t even remember the name of that one, I’ve deleted the memory…) Hell, I dropped my attendance at LosCon over much less furor than this.

The panels consist of someone with no background and no real professional CV spouting some idiocy they learned in a bad writer’s workshop followed by me trying to politely tell them they’re as full of shit as a Christmas turkey and pointing out the reality of writing and publishing. Then I get told ‘That’s not true!’ or ‘You’re wrong!’ with no logical follow-up and it just goes downhill from there. If I sit there mute it turns into a Communist Party Religious Meeting of people speaking Truth to Power and being told how great they are until the next person speaks Truth To Power and so on and so forth. And pretty much every truth to power boils down to ‘The Sun Rises in the West and Revolves Around Moscow Center and Bernie/Obama/Whoever is Jesus and We Have Always Been At War With Eastasia!’

Yeah. No.

…To be clear: This isn’t any loss to me. It is a loss to the con and the attendees who were looking forward to John Ringo attending. It’s even a loss to the Social Justice Bullies since some of my fans might accidentally have bought some of their books.

To me, there is NO downside.

YES! I caved to the social justice bullies and now I DON’T HAVE TO DEAL WITH TSA! WOOOOT!

And con chair Jada Hope added this response:

Caveat – I am commenting as Jada Hope – individual human being. Even though I am going to post somewhat as ConChair, this is not endorsed by the ConCarolinas ConCom.

This decision sucks. To be concerned for John’s safety to the point of looking at having security guards (possibly armed – an off duty police officer is present at the con during “high traffic hours”) – what fun would that be for John?

Like John, I hate traveling and I’d rather stay in my chair (I’m in it now as I post). And yes, we could have marched to the top of the hill and planted the flag of “Nobody tells us what to do”.

Again, what fun would this have been for John? He doesn’t need the marketing exposure.

I apologize, again personally as Jada the individually member of the human race, to everyone who was looking forward to John attending.

One thing I will address is the rumor that John and I were in collusion to pull a “Gotcha” by delaying the announcement. Very late in February John signed an agreement to be a guest. That Friday I was in a car accident and sustained a concussion aka traumatic brain injury and was under doctor’s orders to not be on the computer or phone. I posted very little from 3/2 until a week and a half ago and a week ago Thursday I ended up with the concussion symptoms coming back full force.

There was no collusion.

I can only apologize to John and his fans for this getting so out of hand.

As my dear friend Sue has said:

“Public stoning is no longer done in the town square. It is executed via social media.”

193 thoughts on “John Ringo Out As ConCarolinas Special Guest

  1. Kendall: JFC! (Pardon to Christians in the room.) WTF!!!

    Yes, and he did this while he was their honored guest as Toastmaster.

    Talk about abuse of hospitality. 😠

  2. I’ll say this – ConCom handled it superbly, low-key and in no uncertain terms. Ringo was in a positive fury because he couldn’t LARP his Ghost series out, and spent the rest of the con either in his room or in the company of ‘Ringo’s Roughnecks.’

    Also getting punked by Steve Brust…but that is a tale for another day.

  3. JJ, for those of us who are not on Facebook, could you summarize or screenshot?

    (Screenshot might be best, as it has the added benefit of preserving evidence… <wry>)

  4. Cassy, you don’t have to be on Facebook to see it. When the nag box pops up, find the tiny “Not Now” and click it.

    It’s a really, really, long letter from MZW to Wright calling him all sorts of names and insulting him for saying that tighter gun control is needed, and MZW basically threatens bodily harm to him.

    ETA: Oops, it’s a Closed Group, and I don’t want to violate Wright’s privacy by posting a screenshot of a private post. I’ll see if he double-posts this on his other account, which he frequently does.

  5. Wow, that dude is…something. Serious mall ninja material. I need eyebleach after looking at his Wikipedia page.

  6. I’ll just leave a link to Mr. Ringo’s comments on what you’ve said. I’ve known John for the better part of 20 years in various online communities. I hope he does file a slander suit against you and succeeds.
    This Leftist Canuckistani SJW hopes you fade into well deserved obscurity after this. Edit: I figure this won’t actually be allowed to post and will be moderated. Such is the way of things these days.

    https://www.facebook.com/notes/john-ringo/on-the-subject-of-slander/10155634795822055/?comment_id=10155398203000887&notif_id=1525154957556777&notif_t=feedback_reaction_generic&ref=notif

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  8. This Leftist Canuckistani SJW hopes you fade into well deserved obscurity after this. Edit: I figure this won’t actually be allowed to post and will be moderated. Such is the way of things these days.

    It’s always cuck this and cuck that with these clowns. They all seem like not-very-well-brought-up 11-year-old boys.

  9. Rochrist, he’s calling *himself* a *Canuck* as in, Canadian.
    He’s also self-identifying as a leftist SJW, so not remotely the same political leanings as Ringo.

  10. Rochrist: Canuckistan has nothing to do with cucks. It’s a tongue in cheek term for the country from whence come Canucks. I’ve used it myself. Canuckistani is just the next iteration down the line.

  11. Isn’t a sports team called the Canucks?

    My Canadian pals use it jokingly. It’s one of those in-group terms. I’d never use it to a Canadian I didn’t know*, but I ask my GTA pals how things are up there in Canuckistan.

    * they get mildly pained sometimes, so I guess some of them think it’s an insult coming from a Yank — and of course I’d never use “Canuckistan” around a Canadian of descent from Pakistan, Afghanistan, Tajikistan, etc.

  12. @jared If you believe someone who self-identifies himself as a ‘leftist SJW’ immediately after wishing File770 to be sued into oblivion because someone said mean things about John Ringo, I’ve got a bridge to sell you.

  13. I’m not sure why Mr. Ringo would sue Mike. Mike posted direct quotes from the con, con chair, and Mr. Ringo. He asked one commenter for sources about some actions that might or might not have happened (thus asking for original sources, in an attempt to be factual — we all like facts, right?), and told a regular to behave themselves.

    He never said anything bad about Ringo, only accurately quoted him.

    I wasn’t aware that quoting someone’s own words were slanderous/libelous.

    —————————-

    I sympathize with Ms. Hope’s dealing with this all while concussed. I’ve had concussions before and they really are most disconcerting. I wish I’d had her doctor, though — mine just said to take Motrin and avoid driving for a while. I’d probably have gotten better sooner if he’d told me to take it easy on the computer, phone, and all. And I wasn’t even running a con.

  14. Kevin Harron: I’ll just leave a link to Mr. Ringo’s comments on what you’ve said.

    That you don’t realize how his comments make it even more clear that he is not a nice person, and would be a poor choice as a Guest for most conventions, certainly speaks volumes about you. 😐

  15. I am an elderly man have had one heart attack, 3 stints, open heart surgery with a quintuple by pass have a tad of trouble with a hip and knee and walk with a cane, If they allow attendance of people so violent that they cannot guarantee the safety of a prominent author and pull his invitation? I do not need to attend that Con. Nor IMO should anyone else, Well maybe if they have a CCP for that State.?

  16. Dan Kauffman: No one in this world or the next can guarantee your safety, because that’s not how reality works.

  17. Does anyone actually believe there was a safety issue? Aside from posturing, that is. If that’s the case, I fear for the outgoing generation.

  18. Dan Kaufgman: If they allow attendance of people so violent that they cannot guarantee the safety of a prominent author and pull his invitation? 

    Oh, good! I’m glad that you’re here, Dan, because I’m sure that you’ll be able to explain what neither Jada Hope, Ringo nor any of his sycophants have yet been able to explain:

    How could a bunch of people who refuse to show up at a convention because Ringo is a Guest possibly pose a threat to his safety?

    It’s okay, take your time, I’ll wait.

  19. It is a very touching story from Ringo, and if true, then it is very horrible slander. Regardless of if knowingly or not.

  20. Hampus Eckerman on May 1, 2018 at 6:51 pm said:

    It is a very touching story from Ringo, and if true, then it is very horrible slander. Regardless of if knowingly or not.

    Good that the particular comment was removed – I’ve only just seen it via Puppy channels now. If there’s evidence of that story then there’s other ways that should have been reported and if there isn’t then it’s sh_t-stirring that undermines this site.

  21. @JJ: “That you don’t realize how [Ringo’s] comments make it even more clear that he is not a nice person, and would be a poor choice as a Guest for most conventions, certainly speaks volumes about you.”

    Maybe I’m a bit dense at the moment, but perhaps you can explain how “I did no such thing, and moreover I couldn’t have done so because I was too busy arranging for my wife to meet the child she gave up for adoption twenty years before” signifies that the speaker is an awful person and would be a terrible guest.

    Because I don’t see it.

  22. Ringo’s anger in the circumstances seems entirely justified. Blaming Mike, less so, and a bit hypocritical for reasons of Puppy history, but well within entirely normal emotional reactions.

    So no, in this case, I’m not seeing it, either. It’s his other comments, on other subjects, that make Ringo look bad, not these comments, on this.

  23. Before I forget completely, FenCon has issued a statement on their Facebook page about John Ringo’s appearance there in 2013, saying that no such incidents occurred.

  24. @Jeff Jones

    Thanks for pointing out that statement. I think that independent confirmation of Ringo’s version pretty much clears the whole thing up.

    This begs the question though – who is the Jim Hague in question and why did he feel the need to make something up about Ringo? I don’t believe he’s ever commented here before.

    What’s quite sad is that there was plenty of material about Ringo’s poor (but not illegal) behaviour which demonstrated why people wouldn’t want to share a panel or a con with him, so making up something extra bad wasn’t necessary, and now it will no doubt be the only story that matters when this comes up.

  25. @Mark – I was wondering, as well. I poked around a bit, and found someone with that name who is involved in a fandom, but I have no idea if it’s the same person. My guess would be it was someone who heard a story that someone else had heard that someone else had been told by someone who was paying just a little bit of attention at Fencon – a game of telephone, basically. That’s also speculation, of course.

    ETA: Weird, though, reading that other claims Hague made have also been shown to be unlikely- to impossible.

  26. kathodus: You probably weren’t going to do this, but for everyone’s benefit, if there are other false claims it would be more helpful not to actually quote them, which would perpetuate them.

  27. @Mike – Good point. I wasn’t planning to, but it’s a good reminder.

  28. JJ:

    I’m with Rev. Bob on this. Of all the things I have yet read by Ringo, fiction or real world, this was absolutely the one that shows him in the best light.

    He was angry, yes, but so would I be.

  29. Sounds like a weirdo troll to me. I won’t bother speculating on who/why/type/etc. Just “okay rando troll loser.”

    @Cassy B: Agreed re. glad to learn it’s false.

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  31. I remember when everyone went to conventions to have fun, hook up with friends, go to some panels, meet favorite authors, buy books and stuff. But mostly to have fun. Now it’s a political mess. The loss of those “good old days” is a real shame.

    ** sigh **

  32. The good old days when Isaac Asimov could freely sexually harass women with no repercussions. I do not think the question about Ringo is an inherently political one, i.e it is not about his political opinions.

    It is about his behaviour.

  33. “I remember when everyone went to conventions to have fun, hook up with friends, go to some panels, meet favorite authors, buy books and stuff. But mostly to have fun.”

    That’s why most people go to conventions. Of course, there are always people who make it hard for others to do those things — and removing *those* people from fandom is, I think you’d agree, a good thing.

    When someone posts about their own harassing behavior at cons, or when someone announces their intention to upset other con members for their own personal amusement, that seems like a good reason to me to remove them from the con.

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