Friday, November 30, 2007

Star Trek Fans are better than this

At least I hope so. From PeterDavid.net:


Dear Mr. Mangels,
> Thank you for writing stories that reside in the Star Trek Universe. I have
> enjoyed quite a few of your offerings in the past and am a very loyal fan of
> the series ever since it originally aired.
> While trying to catch up on a huge backlog of Star Trek reading, I finally
> got around to reading your Enterprise novel, ‘The Good That Men Do’. I
> really enjoyed the novel, as it very nicely intertwined various broadcasts of the
> series and added a few twists. However, I am very disappointed in your
> creation of a gay couple, Trip Tucker’s brother Albert, into the story near the
> very end. It soiled an ‘up to that point’ excellent read and was totally
> unnecessary.
> This is the first time that I have ever felt the need to comment on anything
> written in the Star Trek genre. But please keep your activism out of the
> Star Trek Universe.
> Sincerely,
(NAME WITHELD BY PAD)
>
>
(ANDY'S RESPONSE)

Thanks for your support in the past, and glad you've enjoyed some of our
writing. I suspect that will now change.

I've forwarded your email to my HETEROSEXUAL co-writer, Michael A. Martin,
who created and wrote the scenes with the gay couple in question, without ANY
prompting from me. I'll let him respond to your bigotry.

Meanwhile, you can thank me - the faggot with the agenda - for writing the
scene with Trip praying early on, and the scene where he discusses church and
faith in God with Phuong. Not the first faith-based scenes I've written for
Trek, and won't be the last. I just don't believe that God condones hatred.

It's sad and pathetic that fans of a series based on the principal "Infinite
Diversity in Infinite Combinations" — and who regularly read and enjoy books
wherein characters of DIFFERENT SPECIES engage in romantic relationships — get
their bigotry hats on when faced with gay characters.

I don't doubt that people who express ideas exactly like yours were similarly
objecting to Uhura and Kirk kissing, but thankfully, such anti-black bigotry
has been beaten back mostly. I look forward to the day when people who hate
others for loving are as unwelcome as a fart in church.

Best,
Andy Mangels

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