Serious Discussions FTW
I need to catch up on BSG. I still feel like I've broken up with the show, because I've never gotten over how good it was in the beginning and how much it later sucked, but I will still watch the rest of it, by God.
It seems like every year, I get one of the Worst Colds Ever, and that's why I haven't posted for the last three days.
It's like a truck hit me. Monday night, it was so bad that I stopped eating dinner because I could taste anything and it was almost impossible to breathe.
This morning, I finally woke up breathing through my nose again, and I was all OMGYES. It is not entirely gone - sometimes when I yawn, my hearing improves a lot, and I still need about 5-35 tissues per hour. BUT. We are much better than Sunday/Monday, I tell you what. I have been a shut-in after work, all week long. I can't say I haven't enjoyed it. Now, I look about in askance, wondering how my apartment got to be so messy, and how much of it I can tidy up tonight after finishing this post.
I know that I have lots of comments to reply to, so don't feel bad if I didn't reply to yours. I didn't reply to anybody's! Everyone is neglected! Yay!
I am hesitant to write the rest of this post, because of what happened the last time I wrote about a sensitive topic, but you know what? I'm not going to be quiet about these issues just because I'm afraid of people arguing about it in the comments of my LJ. Just don't be assholes to each other, or I will make fun of you.
ALSO, please don't skim over the post just because it's easier to do that.
The way you think about topics like feminism and anti-racism and queer people and ableism and fatphobia and everything else matters. The way narratives are delivered matters because narratives shape our lives. What you read and watch, and how people are represented in those different media, MATTERS. You internalize it, whether you read it or not. It's pretty clear to me who on my FL reads books/shows written primarily by middle-aged/old white guys, and who does not.
Maybe you pride yourself on not reading many books, but advertisements and TV shows and personal interactions and Facebook messages tell stories. So do you, every day, when you open your mouth or type on your keyboard. Because everybody's telling stories, it means we're in constant conversation with one another, that we affect the narratives of other people's lives, and that yes, Billy, you'd damn well better think about the way you say it, when you say it, and to whom you are speaking.
To be perfectly clear, YOU MUST READ THIS POST BEFORE LEAVING A COMMENT TO MY POST. If you don't, I will know, and I will delete your comment.
What a nice preface paragraph! Because the posts to which I am about to link are in conversation with each other.
matociquala on "writing the other"
deepad's I Didn't Dream of Dragons.One of the most frustrating arguments I’ve encountered is-If you hate it so much, stop bitching and write your own.
This naive position stems from the utopian capitalist belief that all markets are equal, and individuals are free to be what they can driven only by their inner divine spark.
I like this as a response to hopelarson's recent post, even though it wasn't intended a response to her.
Avalon's Willow's An Open Letter to Elizabeth Bear
matociquala (Elizabeth Bear)'s direct response to the open letter.
truepenny (Sarah Monette)'s response to the same open letter.
Linked in the comments in one of these posts somewhere (directed to me by were_duck) is this post originally written a while ago.In other words, I don’t want you to bite your tongue to avoid saying stupid, racist shit. I want you to stop believing the stupid, racist shit that you said. When I say, “You just said some stupid, racist shit,” I am not trying to silence you.
I think I personally identified the most with were_duck's post, because I hear a lot of myself in it. She ends her post by asking if anybody has YA recommendations for books by/about POC (or SF suggestions), for the purposes of being able to recommend books to people who shop at the bookstore she and I both work at (aside from Samuel Delany, Octavia Butler, Nisi Shawl, Nnedi Okorafor-Mbachu, and Nalo Hopkinson who are already well-represented at our bookstore). I did send her to a post on the topic made by oyceter a while ago, but anyone else with opinions can leave them here, or in were_duck's journal.
yeloson's Remyth Project, which is obviously on-going.
ETA: shewhohashope's Cultural Appropriation: Once More With Feeling
deepad's White People, it's not all about you, but for this post it is
I find this entire discussion intriguing most of all because 1) it started with a bunch of white guys talking about cultural appropriation, but then the feminists ignored them and began our own conversation instead. 2) Instead of being a defensive asshole, Elizabeth Bear has maturely and thoughtfully responded to comments made to her, unlike, say, Tamora Pierce or Seal Press those dudes who did the Eclipse One cover and still didn't get it.
Remember what I said about reading this post before leaving a comment. I WILL KNOW IF YOU DON'T, AND I WILL DELETE YOUR BS.
It seems like every year, I get one of the Worst Colds Ever, and that's why I haven't posted for the last three days.
It's like a truck hit me. Monday night, it was so bad that I stopped eating dinner because I could taste anything and it was almost impossible to breathe.
This morning, I finally woke up breathing through my nose again, and I was all OMGYES. It is not entirely gone - sometimes when I yawn, my hearing improves a lot, and I still need about 5-35 tissues per hour. BUT. We are much better than Sunday/Monday, I tell you what. I have been a shut-in after work, all week long. I can't say I haven't enjoyed it. Now, I look about in askance, wondering how my apartment got to be so messy, and how much of it I can tidy up tonight after finishing this post.
I know that I have lots of comments to reply to, so don't feel bad if I didn't reply to yours. I didn't reply to anybody's! Everyone is neglected! Yay!
I am hesitant to write the rest of this post, because of what happened the last time I wrote about a sensitive topic, but you know what? I'm not going to be quiet about these issues just because I'm afraid of people arguing about it in the comments of my LJ. Just don't be assholes to each other, or I will make fun of you.
ALSO, please don't skim over the post just because it's easier to do that.
The way you think about topics like feminism and anti-racism and queer people and ableism and fatphobia and everything else matters. The way narratives are delivered matters because narratives shape our lives. What you read and watch, and how people are represented in those different media, MATTERS. You internalize it, whether you read it or not. It's pretty clear to me who on my FL reads books/shows written primarily by middle-aged/old white guys, and who does not.
Maybe you pride yourself on not reading many books, but advertisements and TV shows and personal interactions and Facebook messages tell stories. So do you, every day, when you open your mouth or type on your keyboard. Because everybody's telling stories, it means we're in constant conversation with one another, that we affect the narratives of other people's lives, and that yes, Billy, you'd damn well better think about the way you say it, when you say it, and to whom you are speaking.
To be perfectly clear, YOU MUST READ THIS POST BEFORE LEAVING A COMMENT TO MY POST. If you don't, I will know, and I will delete your comment.
What a nice preface paragraph! Because the posts to which I am about to link are in conversation with each other.
matociquala on "writing the other"
deepad's I Didn't Dream of Dragons.One of the most frustrating arguments I’ve encountered is-If you hate it so much, stop bitching and write your own.
This naive position stems from the utopian capitalist belief that all markets are equal, and individuals are free to be what they can driven only by their inner divine spark.
I like this as a response to hopelarson's recent post, even though it wasn't intended a response to her.
Avalon's Willow's An Open Letter to Elizabeth Bear
matociquala (Elizabeth Bear)'s direct response to the open letter.
truepenny (Sarah Monette)'s response to the same open letter.
Linked in the comments in one of these posts somewhere (directed to me by were_duck) is this post originally written a while ago.In other words, I don’t want you to bite your tongue to avoid saying stupid, racist shit. I want you to stop believing the stupid, racist shit that you said. When I say, “You just said some stupid, racist shit,” I am not trying to silence you.
I think I personally identified the most with were_duck's post, because I hear a lot of myself in it. She ends her post by asking if anybody has YA recommendations for books by/about POC (or SF suggestions), for the purposes of being able to recommend books to people who shop at the bookstore she and I both work at (aside from Samuel Delany, Octavia Butler, Nisi Shawl, Nnedi Okorafor-Mbachu, and Nalo Hopkinson who are already well-represented at our bookstore). I did send her to a post on the topic made by oyceter a while ago, but anyone else with opinions can leave them here, or in were_duck's journal.
yeloson's Remyth Project, which is obviously on-going.
ETA: shewhohashope's Cultural Appropriation: Once More With Feeling
deepad's White People, it's not all about you, but for this post it is
I find this entire discussion intriguing most of all because 1) it started with a bunch of white guys talking about cultural appropriation, but then the feminists ignored them and began our own conversation instead. 2) Instead of being a defensive asshole, Elizabeth Bear has maturely and thoughtfully responded to comments made to her, unlike, say, Tamora Pierce or Seal Press those dudes who did the Eclipse One cover and still didn't get it.
Remember what I said about reading this post before leaving a comment. I WILL KNOW IF YOU DON'T, AND I WILL DELETE YOUR BS.