Not wanting to be part of the silence.
I was talking with a (white) woman at work yesterday, who lived in South Africa during the time of apartheid, who who fought in her own small ways against it, and leapt at the chance to vote it out, the moment she could. She said that there was only one good thing to come out of apartheid: that it forced the rest of the world to confront its own inherent and systemic racism - that countries like the UK and the US found it much harder to oppose apartheid and still pretend that exactly the same sort of thing wasn't happening at home.
I don't mean to say that it was worth it - that any people, ever, should have to suffer through something like that for the greater good. But you can't change the past, and you can learn from it.
No, racism hasn't ended. Not even remotely. White privilege is still here and living it large - I benefit from it, myself. What a rich, rich country I live in, built on the money of Empire. Do I want to give up my privileges? Well, no, not especially. God do I need the boost, to know that, when I'm applying for a job, it's possible that people will make positive assumptions about me, due to my oh-so-English name and my country of origin. Do I like that I think that way? No. Am I glad that I'm becoming more aware of it? The selfish part of me isn't, because it's uncomfortable and it might mean that I might have to do something about it, against my inherent laziness and fear of confrontation - but the part of me that wants to become a better human being is glad.
That's what EB et al are doing for me: they are giving me a shining, shining example of that selfishness taken to its logical conclusion. What EB started, and others like her have done by running with it, is polarising opinion - and I don't think it's because what they're doing is an extreme example of racism, but precisely because it's so ordinary, so established and unexamined. It makes some of us, white and comfortably liberal, stop and think - "Well, if EB can end up saying that, acting like that, when she seemed to be starting from where I am..."
(Whereas what I think WS and KC are doing is simply and solely Being Dicks.)
I have read more about people of colour, racism, racism in the SF community, and white privilege, in the last three months than I ever had before. I've read some wonderfully eloquent posts - posts that changed my perception and gave me insights I'd never thought to seek out, before. deepad's post, I Didn't Dream Of Dragons, for instance.
I think some people involved have suffered, and I would never have wished it on them - but as it has happened, I hope that people of colour are getting something out of this, and that it's not just All About Me (my education, my views challenged, my privilege, my wanting to feel and act like a better human being... I need to keep in mind that those are only important to me - only the way I act will have an impact on the larger world). Selfishly, I hope that this does not signal the departure or alienation of a large number of PoC from the world of SF fandom - because I love that world, and I want it to be enriched by as many good and interesting people as possible. I hope the dialogue underway, with those people who are ready to discuss it sensibly, can make a change to those worlds. I hope people of colour feel that the fight is becoming easier instead of harder, and that there are a lot of people out there who want to listen and help. I hope it stops being a fight, and becomes a landslide. I hope you never, ever, EVER shut up, not even for a little bit.
If my arse is showing, please let me know.
Marking this as 'Everyone (Public)' is scary, y'all.
I don't mean to say that it was worth it - that any people, ever, should have to suffer through something like that for the greater good. But you can't change the past, and you can learn from it.
No, racism hasn't ended. Not even remotely. White privilege is still here and living it large - I benefit from it, myself. What a rich, rich country I live in, built on the money of Empire. Do I want to give up my privileges? Well, no, not especially. God do I need the boost, to know that, when I'm applying for a job, it's possible that people will make positive assumptions about me, due to my oh-so-English name and my country of origin. Do I like that I think that way? No. Am I glad that I'm becoming more aware of it? The selfish part of me isn't, because it's uncomfortable and it might mean that I might have to do something about it, against my inherent laziness and fear of confrontation - but the part of me that wants to become a better human being is glad.
That's what EB et al are doing for me: they are giving me a shining, shining example of that selfishness taken to its logical conclusion. What EB started, and others like her have done by running with it, is polarising opinion - and I don't think it's because what they're doing is an extreme example of racism, but precisely because it's so ordinary, so established and unexamined. It makes some of us, white and comfortably liberal, stop and think - "Well, if EB can end up saying that, acting like that, when she seemed to be starting from where I am..."
(Whereas what I think WS and KC are doing is simply and solely Being Dicks.)
I have read more about people of colour, racism, racism in the SF community, and white privilege, in the last three months than I ever had before. I've read some wonderfully eloquent posts - posts that changed my perception and gave me insights I'd never thought to seek out, before. deepad's post, I Didn't Dream Of Dragons, for instance.
I think some people involved have suffered, and I would never have wished it on them - but as it has happened, I hope that people of colour are getting something out of this, and that it's not just All About Me (my education, my views challenged, my privilege, my wanting to feel and act like a better human being... I need to keep in mind that those are only important to me - only the way I act will have an impact on the larger world). Selfishly, I hope that this does not signal the departure or alienation of a large number of PoC from the world of SF fandom - because I love that world, and I want it to be enriched by as many good and interesting people as possible. I hope the dialogue underway, with those people who are ready to discuss it sensibly, can make a change to those worlds. I hope people of colour feel that the fight is becoming easier instead of harder, and that there are a lot of people out there who want to listen and help. I hope it stops being a fight, and becomes a landslide. I hope you never, ever, EVER shut up, not even for a little bit.
If my arse is showing, please let me know.
Marking this as 'Everyone (Public)' is scary, y'all.