(no subject)

[violachic]

Well.

I have unwittingly put myself right in the line of fire of Race Fail '09. I suppose I should admit to myself that it is my white privilege that kept me out of it until I purposefully got involved.


The 400-some comments in my email inbox are fascinating to go through. I don't have the first clue where to jump back in with the discussion, but I can't just throw the topic out there and disappear.

I am glad the band-aid got ripped off the wound, but I am truly sorry to the people who actually got hurt- and that would be the PoC (or, a new term I learned, FoC (Fen of Color)) in the community.

I don't see this whole Race Fail thing going away any time soon (yeah, I know, brilliant analysis), and I have no idea how to actually help the situation. But in the meantime, I am going to support projects such as verb_noire, and try not to let the righteous white folks get away with convincing themselves that they're... well, righteous.


The next sound you hear will be my forehead repeatedly hitting my desk.

Edit: If you don't know what I'm talking about, check out the startrek community. Look for a post I made. Then look for the folks who showed their asses.

Comments

[anansi133.livejournal.com]

I think I understand what you're saying, but I've come away with a somewhat different take: On the internet, no argument can be said to have finished. No one ever gets in the last word.

I have had my own mind changed by the words of others on the net, and I have had my own words make a mark on others... so it can't all be pointless. But because of the nature of the beast, I can't expect the same kind of satisfaction on the net that I would feel in a F2F encounter.



The social aspect of the net reminds me sometimes of that famous showdown between John Henry and the steam hammer. I can't possibly think as much or as fast as the net can bring me information. The dynamic rewards nitwits and punishes honest inquiry.

Yet the countermeasure has been blindingly simple: I have to be parsimonious in how much I choose to care what people think.