so, MASSIVE racefail in Supernatural J2 fandom.

[permetaform]

(signal boost)

What has happened is essentially a Big Bang author thought it would be "a perfect idea" (quote) to set 80k words of slashfic in post-earthquake Haiti. The resulting story is a ridiculous epic of white privilege and the kind of racism that, while not literally going out and lynching minorities, is basically the emotional equivalent thereof.

This post catalogues what has happened and the ensuing discussions.

Thoughts on this:

- "...she wrote 80000 words of escapist porn using real people's personal and collective tragedy as stock footage, and characterised the entire population of Haiti as adoring subhumans by drawing on the collective store of racist tropes in the American unconscious instead of actually learning anything about Haiti, Haitians or earthquakes." (written by tiferet)

- (on whitewashing) People in Harry Potter fandom have British beta's to Britpick their fic. WHY IS THIS NOT DONE FOR RACE? ::wry:: is it because the British are white?

- people are defending the author? Gah. Again?

- "...a soldier shoots at a target, but hits an innocent person. Removing the bullet doesn't automatically fix the problem -- the wound is still there and the scar from said wound probably always will be.

Now, just to expand on that example a bit; imagine how pissed off the person would be if the soldier said he/she didn't intend to hit them and waited quite some time before removing the bullet. Imagine how pissed off the innocent person in question would be if, after all that, people kept asking why he/she got so angry in the first place. Or if the person was told to just get over it. Suddenly, the intent of the soldier doesn't seem so all-fired important, does it?

Perhaps more select fandom denizens (writers in particular) would think to check their proverbial aim if they had that example in mind." (written by emerald-skies)


There are tons of meta on this subject. There are tons of posts. I have no new thoughts or opinions really.

But I'm linking to this on the off-chance that anyone who's reading this HASN'T seen it yet.

If you haven't posted about this in your journal, please please please at least post a link. Spread the word.

edit: http://www.derailingfordummies.com/ heh.

edit2: rewritten a bit to remove unkind and incendiary language. Comment thread regarding the same will remain.

Comments

[permetaform]

I apologize for the offense I have caused you.

The "ah okay" was specifically in reference to, "I said that because I didn't want it to seem like I was ignoring or trying to cloud the original issue.", which was a line reply to a previous line I made. The "ah okay" was not in reference to the rest of your comment.

Racism as it is enacted on a person very much feels like an assault. The powerlessness, doubt, fear, and deep hurt is actually paralleled very clearly in psychological terms, and I'm not sure that a parallel to sexism can be drawn so clearly, though it is there as well.

Was is specifically the "ah okay" that upset you, or the other comments in general? To be honest I was speaking from a place of frustration that you did not seem to be understanding my point of view, so I apologize for the harm that I caused from that.

But the matter is that racism feels like a continuous punch to the face, an *assault* on the body that I inhabit. So yes they feel comparable to me, in the way that they are enacted, in the mental and emotional repercussions, in the way that people apologize for it, and I stated so.

I am sorry for triggering you.

[kiki-miserychic.livejournal.com]

It's sad that it took my saying that I was raped to get an apology. I shouldn't have to comment with that information to be given an apology for the offense that I felt. The apology is for the offense I felt, not even the for making the comment. I pointed out that the comment caused personal offense and you didn't think you should apologize because you meant it a different way. What you said offended me, it doesn't matter what you meant. It's the words that caused offense.

Defending someone who raped and defending someone who wrote a racist story can't be compared. Racism and rape are cannot be assigned qualitative and quanitive values that will make them similar enough to be directly compared. Furthermore, even if racism "feels like a continuous punch to the face," it's not an actual physical event. It's a psychological one until it is, sadly, is an physical act. In the case you referred to, the story, it wasn't a physical act against someone. Rape is not worse than racism and racism is not worse than rape because they cannot be accurately compared.

My whole point is that the situations are not comparable. I think I understood what your comment meant, I didn't agree.

I brought up sexism because it relates to racism in that they are both beliefs that lead to physical acts and are "isms." I wouldn't have been offended if the comparison had been made to sexism and not rape.

I appreciate the apology.

Merely because I dislike the word: I was upset, not triggered. That word makes me feel like a gun people are scared will go off.

And please know that I am not upset with you as a person, but with the comment.

[permetaform]

It's sad that it took my saying that I was raped to get an apology. I shouldn't have to comment with that information to be given an apology for the offense that I felt. The apology is for the offense I felt, not even the for making the comment. I pointed out that the comment caused personal offense and you didn't think you should apologize because you meant it a different way. What you said offended me, it doesn't matter what you meant. It's the words that caused offense.

I'd assumed, from your tone in prior comments that you were being triggered. I realized it by your second comment; I perhaps shouldn't have to share the fact that I've been molested either. But there you go. Our experiences are possibly/probably wildly different. I do feel that there is a parallel, and still feel there is a parallel, but as I in hindsight feel that it's unkind, will edit the post to remove the incindindary language. I apologize that I reacted badly.

Merely because I dislike the word: I was upset, not triggered. That word makes me feel like a gun people are scared will go off.

I apologize for that term, it's a term I use around friends.


it's not an actual physical event.

The true damage of rape I find and am finding is in the mind and in the heart. The body heals much quicker, the mind keeps echos for ages. If you are referring to the fact that rape is an "action", words are "actions" too, it is a thing that is decided upon, at some level, to enact. It's only as thoughtless as a thoughtless action, "oh my hand slipped." It still caused damage, it is 80k words of damage. Of "oh my hand slipped."

[kiki-miserychic.livejournal.com]

Tiggered is the generally accepted term. I'm the only person I know of that dislikes it, so thank you for the apology. It's one of those small things that gets to me.

[permetaform]

gah, I facepalm. I realize on reading your comment and what it'd replied to that I'd used the word in reply to an earlier section of your comment. my bad.