(no subject)

[ginny_t]

Earlier this week I discovered, much to my chagrin, that while I had happily skipped off and went about my life (including vacation of extreme privilege that I acknowledge fully), RaceFail '09 had continued. (Info here.)

I'm disappointed in a lot of people. I've seen accusations of bad behaviour levelled against both sides; however, all the bad behaviour I've seen has been on one side only. (If you have links to someone behaving badly that aren't included in the above link round-up, feel free to comment with them. Links, not stories or allegations.)

I've kept mostly silent on this because, as a privileged white woman, I don't have much to add. Now, I feel compelled to speak up. I'm very sorry this has happened. I'm very sorry that yet again a woman of colour's complaint about treatment of race was turned into a firestorm that turned back on all the people of colour who spoke up. I'm sorry that by my skin colour I'm implicated in the group that has reacted so badly to very reasonable and valid criticism.

It's paltry and could be offensive, but I am sorry. This seems a good place for the Murakami quote: Between a high, solid wall and an egg that breaks against it, I will always stand on the side of the egg.

Hang in there, all you eggs. I hope one day that wall will be rubble and the eggs will be whole. Until that day, I will do my best to stand on your side.

ETA: PoC Carnival at Hathor Legacy. I have a lot of reading to do.

Comments

[gruberman.livejournal.com]

Wow -- his egg quote is all over place now!

[ginny-t.livejournal.com]

As it should be.

[gruberman.livejournal.com]

Also, where you linked to was too much information for me to take in. I'm going to quiz you about what's going on when I see you online :P

[ginny-t.livejournal.com]

Sorry, but I'm not going to enlighten you. Some of those links are summaries of the story so far, and since I have one still open, I like you to it: http://popelizbet.livejournal.com/59784.html. Otherwise, you're on your own.

[gruberman.livejournal.com]

Woah!

[hysteriachan.livejournal.com]

I hadn't seen that post, and I'm glad I have now.

[zingerella.livejournal.com]

I'm deeply disappointed in a lot of people. I do think there's some merit to the suggestion that everyone step the heck back, drink some tea, and maybe eat some little iced cakes. Because this isn't going to get solved now, and it's not going to get fixed right now.

I've seen some people behaving very badly, some people behaving not-entirely-ideally, and some people being really, really sensible and thoughtful. Many of these people are the same damn people. Others are people I would have thought were friends or at least allies and members of the same community ere now.

So I'm mostly watching from the sidelines and going ... wtf? Really? HUH?

And drinking tea.

[ginny-t.livejournal.com]

Tea is always an excellent idea. I like the addition of little iced cakes.

I'm reeling a little extra from the bad behaviour from people who'd indicated previously that they'd do better (or who had done better previously). I guess it's the "but you said--" effect.

Watching and feeling helpless to improve things sucks.

[zingerella.livejournal.com]

I think there's a lot going on, that's driving people to bad behaviour. It's mostly about race and privilege, but there's another conversation about turf going on.

"But you said ... " is one of the big reasons I think people need tea, and little iced cakes.

(Around my place, we break out the little iced cakes, or the moral equivalent, when things get especially fraught.)

[ginny-t.livejournal.com]

Not to make light, but now I seriously want actual little iced cakes. I'll have to make a stop on my way out tonight.

[troubleinchina.livejournal.com]

I think we could sort out a lot of things over iced cakes.

In fact, Don and I are going out in just a moment for tea and iced cakes.

[ginny-t.livejournal.com]

*cries*

Taunting is a 15-yard penalty, miss!

[troubleinchina.livejournal.com]

By which I mean we're going to someplace awful with bad tea and pathetic cakes. *nodnod*

[ginny-t.livejournal.com]

…but--but that's the saddest thing I've ever heard!

[zingerella.livejournal.com]

You could come visit me and we could go get tea and iced cakes. There's someplace quite near Dictionopolis that has them. We could even raise a mug or cup or whatever and think of Anna and Don, just before we eat cake.

[ginny-t.livejournal.com]

Ooooh, I think this is an excellent idea. I am firmly in favour of tea and iced cakes, and of expanding my list of places to get same in Toronto. (It's all for science.)

[umadoshi.livejournal.com]

*stern* I require a cup of tea being raised to my absence as well (on your part, not zingerella's, since she doesn't know me from a hole in the ground).

I even have a tea icon on this account! (It took far too long.) Except that I am working, I swear!

[ginny-t.livejournal.com]

Pfft! As if it could be otherwise?

[zingerella.livejournal.com]

Ooh! Bring me some?

[troubleinchina.livejournal.com]

What is making me angry, what I'm trying to write about (effectively) and failing, is this:

Some folks are calling this whole mess "silly" and "pan-fandom fail" and blah blah blah. To those folks, "nothing" has been accomplished in all of this, except a "massive flame war". It's all made of fail, to them.

But, what I see is:
- 50book_poc becoming so busy that they've had to add a second moderator
- The big list of Science-Fiction/Fantasy books by PoC growing daily
- The huge number of comments at coffeeandink's with book recs by PoC
- the creation of a small press to publish PoC-focused fiction (verb_noire, iirc)
- The repeated promotion of Willow's "PoC Science Fiction/Fantasy Blog Carnival" (This month at Hathor)
- The creation of the Asian Women Blog Carnival
- The creation of fight_derailing
- financial support specifically to organisations like Kiva and Books for Africa and other groups that financially support PoC, whether through charity, donations, or microloans, sponsorships, or advertising/support
- greater attention to Avatar: The Whitening and the fan-run attempts like aang_aint_white
- other things I'm not thinking of that came directly out of this, including several things that by PoC for PoC

I know I, personally, have purchased books written by PoC focusing on Canadian history that I've been looking at for a year because of this so-called silliness, and have sought out historical sources for people I know who want to know more.

But hey, it's all "silliness", right?

That's the part that makes me angry. So much is going on, but it can be dismissed by folks who have no desire to even look at it.

[gruberman.livejournal.com]

Ooo -- are there authors and publishers on Kiva? I'll have to go look since I have some funds to redistribute... *rubs hands together*

[ginny-t.livejournal.com]

I have seen those, although some of them I only found out about this morning. I should figure out ways to help.

[ginny-t.livejournal.com]

And yeah, the way people can dismiss this as irrelevant silliness is pretty infuriating. Must be nice (I say as someone who was able to go away from it thinking that it had died down).

[sandwichboy.livejournal.com]

Irrelevant Silliness? No. I will, however say that the monumental amount of stupid that I've so far encountered merely getting my feet wet with the summaries, very likely drowns out what awareness this ever might hope to raise about anything.

Frankly, I can't say how I feel about that as I think the entire thing is a shining example of why I struggle with hating people (because they suck and do stupid things for any number of reasons) and loving to be around them.

[ginny-t.livejournal.com]

Yeah, this one's definitely net sum in the negatives. :(

[bunnyhero.livejournal.com]

hey, you got linked to on rydra_wong's link collection post!

[ginny-t.livejournal.com]

!!! *hides*

BUNNY! (Is it Sparx?)

[bunnyhero.livejournal.com]

yep.