One of the banners the Honey Badgers displayed at Calgary Expo. The irony was lost on no one.

I’ve been mulling for the past couple days over how to address this. It has become the latest controversy to cross the table, in the wake of #GamerGate, Sad Puppies, and a mountain of other issues. This one hit a chord with me. I have written before about how the faces of those opposing GamerGate so fervently remind me so much of the bigots in the past who have tried to take away my rights as a gay woman. And never has that feeling ever felt so prominent.

I consider myself a very liberal person. I’m left of center on pretty much any issue you can fathom. However, I don’t feel free speech has a place on that spectrum. In my mind, it is something everyone should value. And yet, on both sides, there are people who do not. People who see it as a nuisance. And those people will attempt to stop it, under the guise of “saving” certain people. When I was fighting for same sex marriage, it was to save children. Now, it is to save women, which is a slap on the other cheek. Not only are they limiting what I can say, they’re doing it to “save” people like me. People who are women or identify as such. It’s the most infantalizing feeling imaginable.

This weekend, the Honey Badger Brigade, an egalitarian podcast run mostly by women, labeled as an MRA group, was banned from the Calgary Expo in Canada. The allegations are several, and they have not kept the story straight. First it was asserted that members of the Honey Badgers instigated a Women in Comics panel. A recording of the panel was released, revealing it was untrue. Then it was asserted they lied on the application about who they represented, but their nametags and website indicated this couldn’t possibly be the case, as the comics of Alison Tieman, which Honey Badger was representing, were clearly linked to the Honey Badgers website. (Apparently this allegation claims they were representing GamerGate, which is not only false since they were clearly showcasing non-GamerGate related work, but also impossible since GamerGate is not a group, simply a movement, therefore there are no representatives for it). The Calgary Expo Twitter has erased most of the Tweets about this incident, and their official statement, and now are blocking anyone who questions them on the matter. They also asserted the Honey Badger’s planned to “infiltrate” the expo, based on a clearly tongue-in-cheek statement from their social media, a statement so obviously sarcastic, meant to mock “geek girl” stereotypes, that I hardly feel the need to insult the intelligence of my readers by addressing it. Meanwhile Alison, the artist who is credited for creating Honey Badgers, is seen on video, explaining what happened and her feelings about it.

I saw that video. And my heart broke.

Prior to this, I knew of the Honey Badgers but I didn’t make any effort to listen to them. I was, and still somewhat am, skeptical of MRA groups for the same reason I am of many feminist groups. Mostly, it just wasn’t a podcast I found myself interested in. So this isn’t a matter of me defending a group I am any sort of fan of. Or even necessarily defending a political stance. This is me abhorred at the idea of someone being so carelessly shut out of an event, entirely and permanently, for voicing an opinion. Not only that, but slandered in the mean time, by the event itself and the ring of horrendous “news stories” about it which report only on Calgary’s side of the story, with no effort to reach out to the Badgers.

I am not Canadian, though I have since become quite familiar with Canadian law (and what Calgary did is essentially a human rights violation). In the United States, it would be equally illegal and morally reprehensible. Freedom of speech, freedom of opinion, is a human right.

This is a dangerous slope. Those with authoritarian ideals who take it upon themselves to silence groups they feel are not “proper” or whose opinions they feel are detrimental are all the same to me. Calgary Expo, when I look at you, your face and voice are no different from those who attempted to silence me for speaking out for gay rights. No different from those who tried to silence Civil Rights leaders, suffragettes, any group throughout history who has dared to be different and speak against a status quo. What is more disturbing is the hypocrisy required for you to take this stance. Alison Tieman is an egalitarian, as much for the freedom of women as she is for men. Her statement at the Women in Comics panel is one that has been espoused by feminists since the dawn of the movement — women have the power to build the culture around them. To contribute, to share their ideas. Obviously, feminism has lost touch with these roots since you have made it clear, you do not value the opinions of women. You do not value the freedom of women, and therefore you do not value the rights of women.

As I go on a tangent here: women are not perpetual victims. They don’t need to be coddled. They don’t need their hand held. And they don’t need every scary opinion hidden from them. I am outraged when I hear people pushing this narrative, because it is insulting to me. This is exactly what feminists of the past fought against. The narrative you are now promoting can be found in ancient employee manuals about how to deal with “women” employees. Manuals and guides stating that women are delicate, fragile, must have their opinions agreed with at a moments notice because otherwise, they might break down. Feminists fought against that for obvious reasons. Because it is the exact opposite of equality.

So here you are, banning women from expos for stating the wrong opinion. Shunning them, laughing at them. And not once have you looked in a mirror and critically analyzed the attitudes you are mimicing. Never once has the self awareness kicked in and you have realized, that the actions you are taken are perfect mirrors of the actions taken against women of all creeds and races, persons of color, the LGBT community, the disabled community, and each and every marginalized group in every span of the world. Your tactics, your behavior, is just the same as getting on a bullhorn and screaming at me that I am going to hell. That my rights don’t matter. That my speech doesn’t matter.

And you do this in my name. In the name of women everywhere.

That is despicable, in any sense of the word.

And of course, this happened in the geek community. When I was growing up, geeks were outcasts. There was some semblence of mainstream, but for the most part, we weren’t accepted. We still aren’t in a lot of ways. But things have improved so greatly. So now, to see this type of thing happening in this community. I’m aghast. I have been cast out all my life, because I am gay, because my hobbies weren’t the “cool” hobbies, because I didn’t look attractive enough. For a long time, because I was very shy and didn’t feel I could share my thoughts (though as you can see, that much has changed). Those hobbies, those were my escape. Even now, my friends and my surroundings are people I related too, people who have helped me learn to speak my mind.

How dare you discredit that, one of the things that have made the geek community so wonderful. How dare you diminish that unity by exerting your authority to censor and shame others.

Consider this an open letter to everyone in the geek community. If you play video games, read comics, roleplay, tabletop, love SF/F, whatever the case may be. You all know who you are. And I hope, deep down, you know this is wrong. So many games I have played, so many films I have seen, make a point that diversity goes farther than skin. It is about diverse ideas. And no where is that more prominent than in geek culture. Look at us. We create, we dream, we speak our minds through our imagination and fandoms. And Calgary Expo has ripped that ideal to shreds with their actions. They broke an artist down and told her “You are not good enough”, then happily watched as so many others who dare wear the title “geek” did the same.

If you are a true geek, you know. Look at what you read, what you draw, what you watch, what you play. Accepting others who are different. Who look different. Who think different. Who say things that challenge our point of view. That is our way of life. Our bread and butter. Honey Badgers has never tried to prevent anyone from engaging in that. They welcome all thought, they simply challenge a status quo.

Whoever you are, please show them your support. Make sure they know, Calgary Expo doesn’t represent this culture, and they they are welcome. And make sure to use your voice, however you choose to do it, and make sure this doesn’t happen again.