I'm not racist, and I'll debase you to prove it!
Just when I thought I was too tired to go on in the latest explosion (implosion?) -- contrary to the characterization that PoC find these discussions fun rather than painful and exhausting and inevitable -- I find that I still have the energy to be FILLED WITH RAGE. TNH's attempt to reinvent the Bingo card in the name of her husband begins with, "I'm taking this about as well as you'd expect," and ends with, "May we all be better people in the morning," and I cannot even pretend I don't want to punch this woman in the FACE. Luckily spiralsheep broke down the reasons why TNH would deserve it, so that I can focus on other things.
First, I would like to dispel the growing myth that PNH was an innocent lamb who, out of pure love for his friend, happened to make a comment that happened to be racist. No. He knew the context. There are so many clear indications that he knew the context that I can't believe it's even a point of debate. For example, this is the comment he was directly replying to:
mac_stone: I still think Emma Bull is right; some authors write better than some readers read. This is not a new problem by any means, but I think it makes these discussions more difficult.
pnh: I wouldn't even split the problem into "authors" and "readers". Some people are smarter than others, to put it as baldly as possible.
And on and on. Of course, it's very convenient that mac_stone locked her post, and that her clique continues to delete posts, journals, and comments all over the place (including in my own journal, WTF); it's insane to watch. But back to TNH, in comments:
jesurgislac: I read all three of PNH's comments in that thread: I do not find that he clarified or that he apologized.
tnh: We already knew you're not a very good reader.
*deep breath* In a post where she paints herself and PNH as victims of a senseless mob. I just...coffeeem's original comment was entirely racist, but she made it in ignorance not malice. TNH is being deliberately vicious and using an attack that is, in this context, consciously racist. She couldn't even wield that particular insult if she wasn't familiar with the heart of the implosion.
I'd never heard of PNH or TNH (though they're supposedly famous), but I've seen people talk about how they, along with Bear, used to seem like allies? If so, then wow. It's scary how quickly things can turn this unrepentantly ugly. It's scary that no matter what PoC say or how we say it, we can always be dismissed as torch-carrying, attention-seeking abusers out to drink the blood and tears of white people. We're not even seen as human -- we're orcs, sock puppets, an anonymous mob.
The fact that these thoughts are so close to the surface for so many people is disturbing but not surprising. It reminds me why I can initiate discussions about racism one-on-one or in small groups, but I would never initiate one alone with a large group of white people. I wouldn't feel safe, physically safe, and the reason is in what we've all seen transpire over the past couple of weeks. It's in every one of these discussions that come around every few months.
As ciderpress said recently, there is no catharsis or conclusion or Very Special Moment for PoC in these discussions -- maybe because being called stupid and petty and inane doesn't actually benefit or enlighten us in any way. (Shocking.)
She also expressed guilt for wanting to pull back and not directly engage toxic people online. I get that. After the first racism blowup on LJ, I decided I need to engage academia-saturated white liberals like I need a fork in the eye. Sometimes I still feel guilty for making that choice (because aren't I abandoning all the PoC who do jump into the fray?), but that's messed up. It's not the job of PoC to bang our heads against the wall for racists, the willfully ignorant, or people who can't treat us with even the bare minimum of respect. It's amazing what we try to work with while they delete their LJs, cry in corners, and have their friends demand apologies. But I digress. Sort of. In conclusion:
Dear Crazy Racist White Liberals,
Please stop rising like zombies from this implosion. Aren't you tired yet? My friends and I are pretty tired, because we've been dealing with this shit every day since birth. Please try to understand that we'd love to pretend you don't exist, but sadly we don't have that privilege. You're just going to have to shut up for a while. If it gets a little cold you can always burn your many, many college degrees for warmth. Good luck.
Sincerely,
The Angry Mob, a.k.a. PoC
First, I would like to dispel the growing myth that PNH was an innocent lamb who, out of pure love for his friend, happened to make a comment that happened to be racist. No. He knew the context. There are so many clear indications that he knew the context that I can't believe it's even a point of debate. For example, this is the comment he was directly replying to:
mac_stone: I still think Emma Bull is right; some authors write better than some readers read. This is not a new problem by any means, but I think it makes these discussions more difficult.
pnh: I wouldn't even split the problem into "authors" and "readers". Some people are smarter than others, to put it as baldly as possible.
And on and on. Of course, it's very convenient that mac_stone locked her post, and that her clique continues to delete posts, journals, and comments all over the place (including in my own journal, WTF); it's insane to watch. But back to TNH, in comments:
jesurgislac: I read all three of PNH's comments in that thread: I do not find that he clarified or that he apologized.
tnh: We already knew you're not a very good reader.
*deep breath* In a post where she paints herself and PNH as victims of a senseless mob. I just...coffeeem's original comment was entirely racist, but she made it in ignorance not malice. TNH is being deliberately vicious and using an attack that is, in this context, consciously racist. She couldn't even wield that particular insult if she wasn't familiar with the heart of the implosion.
I'd never heard of PNH or TNH (though they're supposedly famous), but I've seen people talk about how they, along with Bear, used to seem like allies? If so, then wow. It's scary how quickly things can turn this unrepentantly ugly. It's scary that no matter what PoC say or how we say it, we can always be dismissed as torch-carrying, attention-seeking abusers out to drink the blood and tears of white people. We're not even seen as human -- we're orcs, sock puppets, an anonymous mob.
The fact that these thoughts are so close to the surface for so many people is disturbing but not surprising. It reminds me why I can initiate discussions about racism one-on-one or in small groups, but I would never initiate one alone with a large group of white people. I wouldn't feel safe, physically safe, and the reason is in what we've all seen transpire over the past couple of weeks. It's in every one of these discussions that come around every few months.
As ciderpress said recently, there is no catharsis or conclusion or Very Special Moment for PoC in these discussions -- maybe because being called stupid and petty and inane doesn't actually benefit or enlighten us in any way. (Shocking.)
She also expressed guilt for wanting to pull back and not directly engage toxic people online. I get that. After the first racism blowup on LJ, I decided I need to engage academia-saturated white liberals like I need a fork in the eye. Sometimes I still feel guilty for making that choice (because aren't I abandoning all the PoC who do jump into the fray?), but that's messed up. It's not the job of PoC to bang our heads against the wall for racists, the willfully ignorant, or people who can't treat us with even the bare minimum of respect. It's amazing what we try to work with while they delete their LJs, cry in corners, and have their friends demand apologies. But I digress. Sort of. In conclusion:
Dear Crazy Racist White Liberals,
Please stop rising like zombies from this implosion. Aren't you tired yet? My friends and I are pretty tired, because we've been dealing with this shit every day since birth. Please try to understand that we'd love to pretend you don't exist, but sadly we don't have that privilege. You're just going to have to shut up for a while. If it gets a little cold you can always burn your many, many college degrees for warmth. Good luck.
Sincerely,
The Angry Mob, a.k.a. PoC