…this is what I mean. That a book can be published, get several good reviews, and not a single person involved in these processes seemed to notice that the imagery contained within is seriously racist is deeply troubling to me. And let me be clear: I see it as a War on PoC, regardless of anyone’s intent. Perhaps that’s harsh, but really, people should know better by now.
Really, you should. There’s no excuse.
I also mean shit like this.
I really, really don’t ever want to hear another “overt sexism is so much more acceptable than overt racism, therefore /Clinton Was Wobbed!/I/we win the Oppression Olympics, not that I/we believe in such a thing, but if I/we did/it’s totally okay for me to say or do ___ because I’m/we’re the one(s) who decides what’s REALLY offensive/harmful or not”
…from any so-called “progressive.” Like, ever again.
And no, she said, pre-empting, I wouldn’t be interested in the reverse -either-, and as soon as that argument seriously comes up among anyone in these circles, I’ll be sure to smack it down also. Meanwhile, back to -this- epic endless clusterfuck…
Glad belledame’s still got some smackdown energy in the mix: despair and disgust with the online stuff has outweighed mine in this. As your final link illustrates as clearly as it can possibly be: this is not abstract shit, talking points to generate blog traffic. The complete disconnect from the fact that this is *real people’s lives* is making me sick. I think I’m going to do poetry all week; poetry of the kind that recognizes people’s *lives*.
/ spew.
Glad you’re here, Kevin. You seem to be able to keep it right to the point, and it’s sanity-inducing.
@belledame222:
For reals.
@Theriomorph: I can’t even bring myself to comment on any of the larger threads over at Feministe or Pandagon. And I find it interesting that there’s no apologies being offered until all the big-name white bloggers start demanding; and by interesting I mean fucked up. Clearly if Hugo finds racism, then it must really exist.
And yep, you nailed it. This is more than about racist images in a book when those very images replicate themselves in real life for People of Color on the daily. I wish people could get that.
Truth be told, I’ve always liked Amanda. I think she’s made some serious errors in judgment (like that “killjoy” comment over her first cover), but I felt that, despite her defensiveness, she was sincere in trying to learn. Not anymore. Not after she tried to make everything that’s happened over the past two weeks a matter of her career, which as she herself admits is in no danger whatsoever. Nope. No more passes. At least not until I see something more substantial than, “hey, I link to PoC all the time!”
An interesting parallel: I started out as a poetry blogger. That blog is now gone, but yep, I use to post about poetry and read daily mostly poetry bloggers. I eventually left the poetry blog scene for many of the same reasons that many Women of Color are now leaving Feminism.
That said, I think a week of poetry blogging is a damn good idea!