Very Poor Taste
I think having this contest/ Writing Prompt today is in poor taste. It should've never been made, and if this crime had happened to any other world leader or a former nation's leader, it would not have been made.
Shame. Innocent people were also shot and are in critical condition... right now, and an innocent person was killed yesterday. My God, YESTERDAY!!!!
RE: Very Poor Taste
Agreed. And for more poor taste read the entries...
RE: Very Poor Taste
Very poor taste indeed and this came from FanStory itself?
Are there no low levels FanStory will stoop to anymore?
Trump, Biden, or the man-in-the-moon. Makes no difference.
Tom, surprise us all. Do the right thing for a change and take this down immediately!
RE: Very Poor Taste
Yes, when I read the first entry, I knew why the site made this "writing Prompt."
I've been a member since 2006 and I'VE NEVER SEEN THE SITE DO SOMETHING LIKE THIS. Never. It does nothing but confirm what many have said about the types of entries that win contests and Seals, versus the types that doesn't have a snowball's chance in Hades.
RE: Very Poor Taste
In retrospect it was a bad idea. I apologize if anyone was offended. That was certaintly not our intention. It was to give authors a place to share how what they witnessed impacted them.
Thanks,
Tom
RE: Very Poor Taste
I disagree.
People write about many things. I admit, some of the things people write about, from my perspective, I find tasteless or insensitive, maybe even insulting.
But, as an adult, I have choices. Rather than calling for the removal of the topic or the submitted works I simply do not take part in the contest, or the reading or reviewing of these works.
What is the acceptable distance between an event and writing about that event? Up to what moment would it be tasteless to write about Ukraine, or Gaza, where many people are dying right now, and at what moment does it flip over to being an acceptable subject; how much time must pass, and crucially, if not determined by a law, which of us gets to decide if not the owner of the site?
The "assassination" prompt in question has no appeal for me, I think it's crass, but I believe a contributor who has been on the site since the Fall of Rome and one who joined today both have the same number of votes in determining what the site does or does not offer - i.e., "nil".
In the ultimate gesture, the door is the wooden thing in the wall, over there...cheers.
The middle ground we each claim to occupy only appears to be the middle ground because we occupy it. However crass the prompt, censoring it is not healthy.
I really don’t need a bunch of strangers to be my moral guides.
RE: Very Poor Taste
Frankly, I am sick of contests about politics and political figures period! They don't bring out the best in us. There are many topics to write about, why choose this one? How many more political contests will we have to endure before November and in the weeks following the election? Life is about more than politics.
RE: Very Poor Taste
Oh Damn, I missed it!
Wilfred Owen wrote some of the greatest war poems ever while fighting in France in WWI. Would he have been better to leave it till later on? We'll never know because he was killed in action SIX DAYS before it ended.
The 'assassination attempt' if that's what it was provoked controversy and conspiracy theories mainly because one of the greatest liars in history immediately started lying about it. he said a bullet 'ripped through my ear.'
There was apparent blood and Trump wore a giant bandage on his ear for a couple of days (except when golfing) and then reappeared in public without a shred of damage to the ear apparent.
What a mystery. I recently had a chunk removed from my right ear - under anaesthetic in a surgical operation. Some form of bandage remained on my ear for two weeks, stitches remained in longer than that and a close inspection will still reveal the scar 8 weeks after surgery.
Trump, of course, has forbidden his medical team from revealing details of his injury, just as he has blocked the release of his academic record! I wonder why.
Sorry, but I think it is almost a writer's duty to cover political events, especially when they have potentially grave repercussions such as the future of democracy.
Was it the contest itself that was in bad taste or just one or two members taking the opportunity to vent their spleen on the wannabe 'Dictator on Day 1?'
Jesse James Doty
Poet Rating
Rank: 82
Short Works Rating
Rank: 32
Novel Rating
Review Stars
Rank: 60
RE: Very Poor Taste
I think there were good points made on either side. Yes, my first reaction was that the contest was in poor taste. But then we all can exercise choice in the matter of whether we want to enter the contest or take part in reading and reviewing the contest.
So the choice is ours and as long as we have that we are okay in the long run.
SimianSavant
Poet Rating
Rank: 65 
(+1)
Short Works Rating
Rank: 116
Review Stars
Rank: 53
RE: Very Poor Taste
Hell, if I'd been on the site during that contest, I would have joined it. Harambe took a bullet for all y’all's sins of not eating enough bananas and he did not turn his head to the side to dodge, and will continue to host politically divisive contests as long as He is allowed to do so. There can be no good taste without poor taste.
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