A Parable for the Dragon Awards (and Congratulations)

In his inimitable style, Dave Freer gives us a parable for the inaugural Dragon awards.

A little parable for you: Once upon a time, some Bavarian beer fanciers set up a beer-fest in field outside their small town. Now, because nothing goes quite so well with good beer as good smoked and cured pork, soon there were people providing the same, and happy buxom lasses serving beer, eisbein, various pork sausages and ham. Then there was an oom-pah band. Everyone had a great time, and the festival grew, people came from far and wide, and stall-holders made money.

A carpet seller saw the success and set up a stall in the corner. Now he came from a Muslim country, and didn’t drink alcohol, or eat pork. But people felt a little sorry for him and he did some good business. And some of his carpets were rather nice. It would be intolerant to be nasty and some diversity was good, Ja. The next year there were three carpet sellers. And then the year after twenty…

Oddly, numbers visiting the town for the festival were down, and there was less money to go around.

Read the whole thing. The fun bit here is where he compares the SJW’s in the Hugos to a certain group of religious extremists. I’m not sure who it’s more insulting to, but they certainly scratch each other’s back.

Meanwhile, congratulations to everyone who won. It’s good to see the winners list looks very little like the Hugo awards.