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

[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.