I have finally got a short list of brief statements to make, after reading on and off for a couple of months. I believe these things:
1. When someone posts as a member of a marginalized group to share their thoughts, feelings, and hopes, responses that are supportive and thoughtful are called for.
2. Everyone has something to say worth hearing, in a general sense, but nobody is righteous when grabbing the microphone from a marginalized group member while they were still speaking. Metaphorically or literally.
3.Fighting racism means being willing to recognize that all members of racist cultures *are racist by default*. If you want to do right, fight the reality, not the label.
4. Using institutional power to threaten or endanger marginalized groups who argue with you is wrong. Talking about why people should fear you IS A THREAT. If the people who read your talk self-select your comments based on being POCs? Well, you fail in a truly stupendous way. Use your institutional power to make amends by empowerment of POC's voices.
5. Ideally, everyone can learn. I hope to see some of the people who've said really stupid things in this round show up as genuine white allies of POCs for the inevitable Racefail '10, because this is not over.
6. I hope even more for a backlash which brings more and better written Characters of Color to SF/F, as well as the increased publishing of authors who are POCs.
ETA:
rydra_wong has fantastic collections of links, for those who want to know more about the whole thing. There have been some amazing posts, as well as some awful ones. sees fire was particularly amazing. (Thanks, Vera.)
1. When someone posts as a member of a marginalized group to share their thoughts, feelings, and hopes, responses that are supportive and thoughtful are called for.
2. Everyone has something to say worth hearing, in a general sense, but nobody is righteous when grabbing the microphone from a marginalized group member while they were still speaking. Metaphorically or literally.
3.Fighting racism means being willing to recognize that all members of racist cultures *are racist by default*. If you want to do right, fight the reality, not the label.
4. Using institutional power to threaten or endanger marginalized groups who argue with you is wrong. Talking about why people should fear you IS A THREAT. If the people who read your talk self-select your comments based on being POCs? Well, you fail in a truly stupendous way. Use your institutional power to make amends by empowerment of POC's voices.
5. Ideally, everyone can learn. I hope to see some of the people who've said really stupid things in this round show up as genuine white allies of POCs for the inevitable Racefail '10, because this is not over.
6. I hope even more for a backlash which brings more and better written Characters of Color to SF/F, as well as the increased publishing of authors who are POCs.
ETA:
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