I've been keeping casual tabs on the discussion, and to be brutally honest, I haven't felt the need to expound and I haven't chosen my thoughts and words on the subject, although I'm glad to see people are starting to talk about it. The only way to fight ignorance and hate is with love and education, and in order to educate, the discussion must be started.
Yeah, I've not needed / wanted to speak about it before - I didn't feel I had much to add. But more recently, I wondered if more voices added in support would be better. I'm wavering between having a people-power mum and a personal fear of getting involved. :)
I've written and deleted countless posts on this myself. I end up stumbling over myself and sounding like a moron. But there is something for not being silent and lord knows I babble on all the freaking time about other issues I am more comfrotable with.
Which I think is the point - you have to push pass your own comfort boundaries and say, "I am not sure how to address this, but something is not right so perhaps a simple "No" will do."
Thank you. :) Absolutely makes sense. Yeah, I've started and not posted a few times, during all this. Mine is not an important voice in this - but sometimes it is important to say "And me", and it felt like one of those times. I wavered so much about posting this - I am not good with adding my voice to a serious debate like this, knowing that I don't know enough.
That's pretty much how I feel. I've done two or three posts now. I don't think they're much help to anyone, except in that mine add--I think sometimes it matters how many people speak up against wrong and for others.
Thank you for sharing this. I can't speak for other PoC, but I will say I've gotten a lot out of this, and that I'm really, really glad so many people have responded to "shut up" with "hell, no".
I also appreciated your story about your talk about apartheid, and this:
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.
Because yeah, I definitely feel like that about a lot of things -- if we could have a world where they could not have happened, that would be great, but at the same time, there's a reason so much SF has the time travel paradox conundrum: it is always necessary to live through our past to get to the present and the future. And if we can't skip it and can't make it unnecessary, I'd much rather learn from it than wish it would go away or avoid thinking about it. (A lesson I think some people on the other side of this great morass of fail have yet to learn.)
Thank you - I'm truly glad that all this time and effort (I don't mean mine!), all these spoons (as per the post I've just been reading) haven't been wholly wasted - because I personally feel there's some gold come out of it. I've read some beautiful, thought-provoking posts - including yours, about the fish. :)
And yes, exactly - it would be lovely if it just was not. But it is, it was, it happened, it exists. And, hell NO, sticking our fingers in our ears and hoping it will all go away for a while... just, no.
:) Thanks. And oh, I did struggle - putting srs thoughts into writing and having it make sense isn't something I do well (to me, my post looks rather WALL OF TEXT - where's my space? Where's my dialogue?!? *g*). But it felt necessary to make the attempt.
Yes. I feel so clueless about race issues sometimes, but there's value in simply saying, "No. I will not remain part of the problem, and I won't shut up, either."
It's practically all I/we can do, sometimes, though it doesn't feel like nearly enough.
*whines sarcastically* Being white is haaaaard. <---- SARCASM.
Seriously, though, when I think of the sheer numbers of ways in which being white has helped me, or just made me invisible, or made me more comfortable, or allowed me to remain silent when I should have something, I start to realize what a tough job we have ahead of us if we are going to change people's attitudes.
Yes - I was feeling a little helpless, too. There aren't many times I feel strongly enough to feel helpless, but this seemed like a time when it would almost be actively negative not to add my voice.
And it's nice not to have to deal with this, it's nice not to have to think about race issues. It's nice, it's pleasant, it's relaxing, it's... not necessarily the right thing to do.
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I've written and deleted countless posts on this myself. I end up stumbling over myself and sounding like a moron. But there is something for not being silent and lord knows I babble on all the freaking time about other issues I am more comfrotable with.
Which I think is the point - you have to push pass your own comfort boundaries and say, "I am not sure how to address this, but something is not right so perhaps a simple "No" will do."
If that makes sense.
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I also appreciated your story about your talk about apartheid, and this:
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.
Because yeah, I definitely feel like that about a lot of things -- if we could have a world where they could not have happened, that would be great, but at the same time, there's a reason so much SF has the time travel paradox conundrum: it is always necessary to live through our past to get to the present and the future. And if we can't skip it and can't make it unnecessary, I'd much rather learn from it than wish it would go away or avoid thinking about it. (A lesson I think some people on the other side of this great morass of fail have yet to learn.)
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And yes, exactly - it would be lovely if it just was not. But it is, it was, it happened, it exists. And, hell NO, sticking our fingers in our ears and hoping it will all go away for a while... just, no.
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I've been following the discussion. I think it IS important to add your voice. I would struggle with what to say.
You did not.
Well said.
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It's practically all I/we can do, sometimes, though it doesn't feel like nearly enough.
*whines sarcastically* Being white is haaaaard. <---- SARCASM.
Seriously, though, when I think of the sheer numbers of ways in which being white has helped me, or just made me invisible, or made me more comfortable, or allowed me to remain silent when I should have something, I start to realize what a tough job we have ahead of us if we are going to change people's attitudes.
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And it's nice not to have to deal with this, it's nice not to have to think about race issues. It's nice, it's pleasant, it's relaxing, it's... not necessarily the right thing to do.
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