People don’t like unrest. They don’t like challenges to the status quo. Or, at least, that’s what I’ve noticed about a certain percent of the population every time something like the death of George Floyd happens. I guess we (marginalized groups, the poor) are supposed to just shrug and keep going every time one of ours gets murdered.
What happened to George Floyd should never happen in a free and democratic nation; and it doesn’t escape me that we are far from living up to the freedom and equality the United States allegedly stands for. I support those protesting for change. I support those rioting in outrage. Silence and complacency kill.
You would think this isn’t such a radical stance. You would think everyone would be outraged by how many police officers are a behaving right now; after all, a lot of the footage of the response to the protests, even completely peaceful ones, looks like a highlight reel of police behaving badly.
And yet there are those that are shocked and outraged that I take the stance I do. I have been asked why I support thugs and troublemakers. I’ve been asked why I’m not worried about this affecting my sales. And to be perfectly honest, I laugh at both of those questions. What else did you expect from a cyberpunk author?
To me, cyberpunk exists at the intersection of the scrappy, desperately poor rebels and the glittering technological advances. Cyberpunk isn’t all neon and flashy gadgets. Yes, it’s high-tech, low-life. It’s grim. It’s gritty. But it should also be asking questions like: “How can we fix this?” And “How we can we begin to make the tech work for all of us rather than just the few in their ivory towers?”
To me, cyberpunk still has its roots in PUNK. I don’t worry about this impacting my sales, because I think most of my readers view it the same way I do. There’s also the fact that lending my support is the right thing to do, and that’s more important than book sales.
To the few who’ve unfollowed me, DM’d me their outrage, or left nasty messages after seeing my support of the BLM movement and those protesting for change– don’t let the door hit you on the way out. You clearly haven’t read what I write, or you wouldn’t be here in the first place.
To everyone else, thanks for standing with me in support of change.
