Baen Books Author Larry Correia Brags About Picking Fights With Other Authors Online: "I Don't Give A Crap"
Larry Correia, Baen Books author of the Monster Hunter International Series, bragged on Facebook about getting into fights with other authors and billionaires online.
Over the years, Larry Correia has shown he likes to pick fights with people online to further his ego. While undoubtedly this behavior has cost him a lot of sales and followers over the years, he continually doubles down on fighting, no topic too big or small to draw the ire of the man who brands himself the “International Lord of Hate.”
As Baen Books' bestseller and flagship author, his online antics have gotten him no small amount of trouble over the years, even bleeding into his recent book series as he dedicated the completion of his book to George R.R. Martin to troll his fellow fantasy author in print. While this was a pretty funny gesture, the problem is that Correia often picks fights with fans and smaller fantasy authors to maintain his persona.
In person, Correia is much different from how he is online. Having interacted with him in a real-life setting, he is relaxed, laughing, and generally a nice person. It makes the whole online persona even stranger when one comes to look at it from that perspective.
Earlier this year, he picked on science fiction author Yakov Merkin, who made a comment on a post that didn’t even tag Correia saying, “If Larry really cared about new authors (outside his immediate friend group) "getting a chance", he'd help signal boost people via his large platform.”
Correia used his platform to quote tweet and blast Merkin, who is a right-leaning craetor of Light Unto Another World, who’s worked in the field for a long time, someone who would have been on Correia’s side if not for his antics.
The original poster where Correia was responding, Cirsova Magazine, another right-leaning creator doing incredible work in the field, pointed out that he had Correia blocked becuase of his antics already, saying, “no, i have because Larry is a blowhard who has repeatedly picked fights with our authors over stupid shit.
Cirsova Magazine not only has been publishing a lot of right leaning authors, using his platform to advance great storytelling, but also shared a Hugo Awards slate with Correia back when Correia was pushing his Sad Puppies awards, someone who should have been a comrade in arms against the mainstream publishing establishment and their extreme leftism.
Apparently, Larry Correia got into another fight with an author who accused him of picking on “little people,” with his big account. It seems a hallmark of Correia’s behavior is indeed getting his syccophantic followers to relentlessly pile on someone he picks a fight with, and Correia all but gleefully admitted to the behavior on a Facebook post.
He said:
Someone told me that one of doofi I recently crushed was somewhere else whining about how I pick on “little people”.
Lol no.
People who have followed me for a long time know that I am an American in my philosophy. I believe all people were created equal. I don’t believe in classes and castes.
I’ve picked fights with billionaires, congressmen, journalists, judges, and people in my own industry who are way bigger than I am. I don’t give a crap.
I have also fought with total losers who couldn’t get their crap together if their life depended on it.
I truly do not care. I treat everyone the same.
If you are cool, I’m cool. If you are a dick, I’m a dick back, only I’m better at it.
I am like Dexter, a killer of killers. Only I’m a bully who only targets other internet bullies.
And if you end up on my table there is a reason.
I try to only use my powers for good.
I try really hard not to turn my ire against regular people who weren’t trying to be pricks, and you have all seen that when I read that wrong I will retract and apologize.
There is no “punching down” in mutual combat.
The people I am mean to, it’s because they opened in an assholish manner. When I see this it is an invitation to reciprocate. Bullies aren’t used to meeting direct resistance to they will usually cry about civility and tone then. But as we all know bullies only believe in rules of civility as long as those rules benefit them.
I hate “fake nice” more than anything else.
The reason there are so many assholes in the world is that decent people let them get away with it.
Well that’s enough philosophy for the night.
While most of his followers cheered on his negative behavior, some criticized it, ironically, getting piled on by his followers for doing so in the very manner Correia first talked about.
It seems it’s Correia’s online sport to do so, though again it seems against his best interests as an author to get into slap fights with random people, his enjoyment of it is obvious from his post to Facebook.
Author Misha Burnett took exception to it, another right leaning author who’s tired of seeing this trend, posting to X, “One common characteristic of bullies is that their targets always deserve it, and the bullies get to decide what "deserving it" means.”
Burnett is another who should be an ally of Correia, writing great short fiction in the fantasy genre that would be sympatico with the Baen Books author if Correia would stop with the relentless prodding of people on his side.
His swearing up a storm is another hallmark of how he treats a lot of authors on his side online, and it’s been something of a pattern for a lot of years many wish would stop. In these turbulent times, so many independent and right-leaning authors could band together to build something a lot bigger and create a parallel economy to the system the left has set up through New York Publishing, but with leaders on the right like Correia working to tear down so much goodwill, it makes it that much more of an uphill battle.
What do you think of Larry Correia picking fights online with authors? Leave a comment and let us know.
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"Earlier this year, he picked on science fiction author Yakov Merkin, who made a comment on a post that didn’t even tag Correia saying, “If Larry really cared about new authors (outside his immediate friend group) "getting a chance", he'd help signal boost people via his large platform.”
I think Mr. Merkin got stepped on because "If you REALLY [x] , you would/wouldn't do [Y] is a basic verbal attack pattern.
If you attack a man out of the blue, expect a counter-attack. Especially, since VAPs like this are pure quill weasel/mean girl tactics: Verbal subterfuge, hiding the subterfuge in misdirection.
The goal is, in fact, to get a blow up, which then allows the weasel to say, "Why is it, you [Bad Category of Person] that whenever we try to have a reasonable discussion of an issue, you turn it into fight." Nasty. In this particular construction, it includes a 2ndary hidden assumption: You should feel guilty because you're doing/not doing [Y] the which our SJW AWFLs applied relentless to us during the Covid Panic.
"You don't care about [X], Mr. Correia!" is honest. But still, we all know if you walk up to a stranger and drop an accusation on them, you have to expect a bad reaction. Sneak attacks? Hiroshima time.
The charitable responses by the way are to address the hidden attack neutrally.
1. It's interesting that so many new authors feel unsupported by a writing community.
2. Have you always believed that more prosperous authors should support less prosperous ones they don't know?
3. You're having a bad day. I know it's tough out there. I don't have the bandwidth to help everyone, but here's a link to the Based Book Sale.
"What you feed will grow", and one can either respond as a Christian peacemaker (very hard when someone sneaks up and hits you), or use the pagan method of overwhelmingly violent response, "pour encourager les autres".
YMMV. Mind the gap.
Mr. Correia chooses the latter, in part because it's hilarious. And his fans like it because this verbal attack pattern is one that our SJW pals use on us relentlessly. And sometimes the old Adam rises,
and we enjoy watching one of these pests getting pummeled.
I think he can do whatever he wants, and find your lecturing about he should act ridiculous. Apparently, he doesn’t think you, or anyone else, is in charge of regulating his conduct. And I am fine with that.