My Thoughts on the Latest Race Wank

[lierdumoa]

Regarding the J2 Big Bang Haiti-fail, and specifically the subject addressed in whynot's reaction post.


I don't feel there's anything I need to say about gatorgrrrl that hasn't already been said, but I would like to put my two cents towards certain responders to the wank, specifically those who said:

"If this has taught me anything, you shouldn't even try to write POC."
"Yup. This is definitely what I've taken away from the whole clusterfuck."

...and similar comments in that vein.

People don't find themselves at the center of epic race wanks by accident. Racist people find themselves at the center of epic race wanks because they did something preposterously racist.

People who are not racist are not afraid of being called racist. They are not afraid 1) because it is very unlikely to happen and 2) because on the off chance they are wrongly accused of being racist, they can remain secure in the knowledge that hardly anyone is taking their accuser(s) seriously.



Men do not find themselves a the center of epic rape scandals by accident. Rapists find themselves at the center of epic race scandals because they treat women heinously.

Men who do not have a rape mentality are not afraid of being called rapists. They are not afraid 1) because it is very unlikely to happen and 2) because on the off chance they are wrongly accused of being rapists, they can remain secure in the knowledge that even genuine rape victims are often not taken seriously.



People cannot catch homosexuality as though it were a contagion. Closeted homophobes are afraid of "catching gay" because they are themselves gay and hope to suppress their gay urges with obvious overcompensation.

People who are not closeted homophobes are not afraid of being called/becoming gay. They are not afraid 1) because it is very unlikely to happen and 2) because on the off chance they are wrongly assumed to be gay/discover heretofore latent homosexual urges, they are and shall remain secure in their own identity and masculinity.


No seriously. Give me another. I can do this all night.


ETA: And as amazonziti wisely points out in my comment thread: "They are not afraid 3) because if it turns out it's true that they have said or done something hurtful, they will be more interested in assuaging the hurt and changing their behavior than in indulging their own feelings."

Because of course we all say/do stupid hurtful shit from time to time, but (I like to believe) most of us are willing to admit to our mistakes and apologize for and learn from them, and thus manage to avoid doing anything so offensive/heinous/appalling as to start a browser crashing internet wank.

Comments

[amazonziti.livejournal.com]

Thanks for linking me!

People who are not racist are not afraid of being called racist.

They are not afraid 3) because if it turns out it's true that they have said or done something hurtful, they will be more interested in assuaging the hurt and changing their behavior than in indulging their own feelings.

I point this out mostly because I don't think racism is an either/or thing -- I don't think you (meaning the greater "you") stop being racist once you've learned some stuff and talked to some people. I think being truly anti-racist requires constant growth, thoughtfulness, and self-awareness. It's something you do more than something that you are.

[lierdumoa.livejournal.com]

I agree completely! In fact I'm pasting your comment into my post as an addendum.

:)

[esorlehcar.livejournal.com]

I point this out mostly because I don't think racism is an either/or thing -- I don't think you (meaning the greater "you") stop being racist once you've learned some stuff and talked to some people. I think being truly anti-racist requires constant growth, thoughtfulness, and self-awareness. It's something you do more than something that you are.

*nodding* I think one of the first parts of become truly anti-racist (or at least, working towards become truly anti-racist; as you say, it's a process) involves accepting that you-plural have been surrounded by, and have internalized, racism from the day you were born, and that no matter how good your intentions are and how hard you try, you will fail sometimes. So I'd change "People who are not racist are not afraid of being called racist" to something "People who truly want to be anti-racist are much more afraid of inadvertently hurting others by saying or doing something racist that of being accused of racism." Pretty much everyone is going to fail at some point, but anyone who is more concerned with being called on that fail than with the hurt they cause others when they do--and every time anyone has a discussion of this type, it's monumentally clear that many, many people fall into that category--is just wallowing in their own privilege.

[lierdumoa.livejournal.com]

I personally make a differentiation between "people who occasionally inadvertently do racist things" and "people who are racist." When I use the phrase "people who are racist" I mean people for whom racism is a major aspect of their identity. For me, a person must go above and beyond for me to actually *define* that person as "a racist" -- thus my choice of wording.

And as I stated in my previous comment, I've already included amazonziti's clarification of that point as an addendum to my post. I don't think further editing of my post is necessary. People are welcome to read my and participate in my comment thread if they feel the need for further discussion of semantics.

[esorlehcar.livejournal.com]

Ah, I phrased that badly, sorry. When I said I'd change your phrasing, I wasn't trying to suggest you should edit your post--I actually had to reread my comment to figure out what about it could have possibly given you the idea I was demanding a rewrite--but rather to follow up on amazonziti's thoughts on the subject with my own.

I'm a little confused by your post in light of the clarification you make here, however--are you that suggesting that only capital-R Racists, people "for whom racism is a major aspect of their identity," are afraid of being called racist, or I am reading that wrong? Because I'd dispute that pretty strongly--there are plenty of people who have a very comfortable view of themselves as anti-racist who are deeply mired in white privilege and sometimes inadvertently (or purposefully, while convincing themselves they're just speaking truth to power) engage in racist behavior, and I think that more than anything is to blame for the kneejerk derailing and attempts to stop the conversation at all costs so many people display when the subject is raised.

[lierdumoa.livejournal.com]

My post is specifically directed towards the people who, after reading about the race wank, stated that they were never going to include POC in their work because they didn't want to deal with the potential fallout. You'll notice I included a particular quote expressing that exact sentiment at the beginning of my post. The rest of my post is intended as a response to that quote.

To clarify, I was addressing the specific fear the commenters in question were expressing: the fear of inciting mass criticism. I was trying to show in my post how unreasonable and paranoid that fear was. My basic message was, "terrible consequences happened because people did something terrible; there's no reason for you to fear terrible consequences unless you also plan on doing something terrible."

Of course everyone experiences anxiety over how their work will be received. There's always the danger that we might inadvertently offend someone. However, not everyone makes the unequivocal decision to avoid certain subject matter because they are convinced wank will rain down upon them. That is an extreme reaction.

Frankly, I don't think the original commenters were genuinely afraid of being attacked with racist accusations at all. I think they were just looking for an excuse not to be inclusive in their creative works. And that is why I wrote this post. I was calling them out. I was saying "either you're being ridiculously paranoid, or you're just making excuses for being racist, and in that case, shame on you."

I suppose I thought that was clear within the context of my post -- I put forth a set of purposefully hyperbolic examples (you'll recall I use the word epic at least twice) in a snarky tone to make an angry and embittered point. Because I am in fact angry and bitter over this issue.

[erinptah]

"terrible consequences happened because people did something terrible; there's no reason for you to fear terrible consequences unless you also plan on doing something terrible."

Stop right there.

Why do you think the phrase "intention doesn't matter" gets tossed around so much? How do you think "authorial intent" got to be a bingo square?

It's because not "planning" to be offensive does not magically prevent it from happening.

[lierdumoa.livejournal.com]

I'm sure you're familiar with the term "willful ignorance"?

If you plan to do something terrible, and you *lie to yourself* and convince yourself it's not really terrible, you're still planning to do something terrible.

Let me give you some basic psychology. Subconscious intent is still intent. If a person is surrounded by innumerable opportunities to learn correct action and refuses to do so, he/she cannot say "I didn't know better," or "It was not my intention to cause harm." That person chose not to know better, and therefore chose to make it easy for him/herself to cause harm.

Small harms are excusable because their smallness indicates lack of opportunity to educate oneself.

When someone does huge harm, for example, the haiti-fail big bang fic, that person does not have good intentions. That author did not mean well. That was a lie she told herself, to make herself feel better about being a terrible racist person and writing a terrible racist story.

[permetaform]

::cracks the hell up::

trufax.

[erinptah]

People who are not closeted homophobes are not afraid of being called/becoming gay.

...seriously? Because in that case, I don't think there was a single straight person at my middle school.

(I'm also twitching at (a) the implication that all closeted homophobes are male/masculine and (b) the way your analogy puts "being called gay" in the same slot as "being called a rapist.")

Look, I know the scales are tipped in favor of privileged people on any given spectrum, but they aren't tipped so deeply that fear is automatic proof of guilt.

Especially in the case of racism, where so much of the stuff fandom calls out is unconsciously ingrained in society, there are plenty of people who fit the prevailing anti-racist movement's definition of "saying something racist" without realizing it. The fear isn't necessarily "I'd better not do this because someone will falsely accuse me"; it could just as easily be "I'd better not do this because I don't trust myself not to say something hurtful unintentionally."

Which is not to say wrong accusations don't happen, or are some kind of mysterious once-in-a-lifetime sighting. On the contrary, every extended race debate I've seen has had at least one or two fans of color getting told they're being racist - which under this particular theoretical framework is a wrong accusation by definition, to say nothing of the identity erasure that comes along with it.

[(Anonymous)]

You are right in that the "homophobe" analogy was not sufficiently analogous. Drawing a parallel between being a rapist and being gay, even unintentionally, was a cringeworthy choice on my part. I tried to force the analogy because the post felt incomplete and figured three examples would flow better than two. I prioritized lyricism over content, which was wrong of me, both in the compositional sense and (more importantly) in the ethical sense.

Ironically, being that both misogyny and homophobia are symptoms of the same cultural illness, most rapists are probably more afraid of being called gay than they are of being called rapists.

I don't want my point to be lost, which is that we live in a society that is inherently biased towards the privileged, and a person who is in a position of privilege must often be ridiculously offensive before they are called on their offensiveness. I specifically referred to male homophobes because they are in a position of greater privilege than female homophobes. I your greatest fear is of being called racist, or sexist, classist, etc., then there is something wrong with your priorities. There are more important things to be afraid of, like actually *being* racist, or sexist.

And in that vein, I want to respond to this statement of yours:

The fear isn't necessarily "I'd better not do this because someone will falsely accuse me"; it could just as easily be "I'd better not do this because I don't trust myself not to say something hurtful unintentionally."

Perhaps excluding a minority group is a better choice than actively abusing that minority group, but that doesn't make it a *good* choice, whether in reality or in fiction. Segregation was better than slavery, but it still wasn't good. If people honestly don't want to be hurtful, the best thing they can do is try to educate themselves. Silence and omission are never the correct actions.

I make hurtful mistakes. I made some in this post. It's okay if I make mistakes. People (like you) will call me on them. And then I'll learn something. And then I'll be the better for it. Fear is not a justification, whether you're afraid of criticism or afraid of causing offense. Because either way, you've made the choice not to learn. You've made the choice not to grow. And in my view, refusing to educate oneself -- to even *try* -- is the most reprehensible choice a person can make.

I'm not sure how to respond to your "all the guys in my school must be gay" comment. Are we talking about the same fear here? I know lots of guys who wouldn't like being called gay -- no one likes being labeled, especially if that label is intended as an insult -- but that's not the same as being afraid of homosexuality.

Perhaps I should clarify that when I said "afraid of being called gay" I was implying a situation in which a person honestly mistakes you for gay, not a situation where some asshole bully calls you a fag.

Because, the thing is, if you are honestly afraid of homosexuality, you are a homophobe. That is the *definition* of a homophobe. There's a reason we call it homophobia (from the latin root phobia meaning "fear") and not misohomy (from the latin root mis, meaning "hate"). a Homophobe is a person who is afraid of the homosexuality/the implication of homosexuality to the degree that it colors his (or her) behavior.

Of course not every single homophobe is closeted, but I do honestly believe a significant percentage of male homophobes are ashamed of some aspect of their own sexuality, whether it be gayness or something else. With women it's a little different due to the way male sexuality is privileged over female sexuality.

[scalesandfins.livejournal.com]

Which is to say that, sometimes, marginalized people say to privileged people...

What if I don't want to be your learning experience?

What if I had plans for my morning that did not involve being a tool for your self-improvement?

(No, don't apologize - if I did have urgent plans, I would have stopped engaging with you already. Just, please, recognize that this is also a dynamic that privileged people need to be cognizant of.)

Are you seriously yelling SCREW YOU, YOU PRIVILEGED PERSON at a black woman in a post about racism? lierdumoa is a queer woman of color who has been active in several race/intersectionality discussions on lj. She doesn't usually hold discussions at a Racism/Gender Issues 101 level, which seems to have confused you, and led you to comment with a text block of condescending 101 language that you honestly do not seem to have a very solid grasp on. Congratulations: you have now successfully appropriated anti-oppression language to a.) insult her, and b.) derail the conversation from a discussion about passive-aggressive racist white fans into chest-pounding about how you are being marginalized. I would be surprised by how thoroughly all of your earlier predictions about clueless white antiracists and their bad behavior have come true, but honestly, it's not that much of a shock. Your martyred pose here is disgusting.

[erinptah]

I'm not yelling at anyone.

I'm also not the one who brought sexual orientation into the conversation in the first place. If her original post had been only about race and racism, I wouldn't have commented at all.

That said, I do apologize for any and all implication that lierdumoa has more privilege than she does. I've been attempting to speak in terms of people in general, and I am sorry for having missed the mark.

[(Anonymous)]

I realize now this entire discussion of semantics was wastful and unnecessary.

I wrote an angry, sarcastic, admittedly overzealous rant specifically in response to specific comments expressing a specific racist sentiment. We've talked on and on about how my rant is too broad, my language too vague, and how I label too many people as racist. However, we haven't established whether or not you agree with my impression of the original comments. And I quote:

"If this has taught me anything, you shouldn't even try to write POC."
"Yup. This is definitely what I've taken away from the whole clusterfuck."


You see, you could be doing either of two things. You could be telling me that my argument is over the top. Or you could be telling me my argument is altogether a mistake, and that I should have given these people the benefit of the doubt.

If if it's the former, I agree with you. My rant is overzealous.

If it's the latter, we're going to have to disagree. I do not believe these people deserve the benefit of the doubt. There is really no more to say on the subject.

[lierdumoa.livejournal.com]

Oh, oops. I forgot to log in, but that was definitely me commenting and not an anonymouse.