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Comment by scarejunba | Hacker News Reader

The article mentions Harlan Ellison and his grabbing a Hugo Award host's breast and I thought to myself that surely that can't have been possible a mere fifteen years ago in front of all those people and yet https://youtu.be/Zxd1jFDXzsU that's a video.

I can't imagine someone doing that in front of me. I don't even know how I'd act. Probably just sit there wondering if they really did just do that.

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I know nothing about the incident nor about that particular person (except his most famous short story), but what I can see on this video is an awkward and misplaced move that sometime happen in nervous situations to some people. Like someone was trying to pat other person's shoulder and shake their hand (using his left) at the same time while speaking and failing both. If you ever had similar situation, you know what I mean.

Please, mind it, I don't say that's what happened, I just say it looks like it and may be interpreted this way. A person can hide his intentions using awkward behaviour, of course. Prior information and context tip the scale in the end.

It looked pretty deliberate to me. They always say never meet your heroes - I loved the Stainless Steel Rat.

Ellison did not write the Stainless Steel Rat if that is what you're saying.

Oh man. That’s embarrassing. You are of course right - it was Harry Harrison! Sorry about that.

Ellison freely admitted to doing it on his web site intentionally at the time and as I recall called it "playing" and asked people not to "lynch" him. (Paraphrasing from memory)

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