Why do we let the silence live in our genre? Why do we let it obscure the evil some genre people do to others?
The Marion Zimmer Bradley revelations shocked me when I first learned of them a week ago. But what shocked me more was that the actions of MZB and her pedophile husband were an open secret in the genre for decades. Many people even defended MZB and attacked anyone who dared speak the truth about her.
The same thing happened with Ed Kramer, who recently pleaded guilty to child molestation charges. The same veil of silence surrounded Kramer. People who dared speak the truth were attacked.
Colleen Doran had a similar experience in the genre after she was abused by a well-known publisher. As she says, "To this day, friends of this man tell people I made it up, and that this is what mentally ill girls do. Imagine the confusion I felt when I was simultaneously manipulated, abused, made to believe it was my fault, and told it never ever happened."
How many times must our genre go through this? How long must our silence protect those who use that silence to prey upon others?