RaceFail 09

[poilass]

I have been following this for some time but rarely commenting. However I do not want my silence to be taken for apathy or assent, particularly not assent with this piece of condescending fuckwittery (a more elegant response to that here, also here, here, here and hereIf you don't know what I'm talking about (srsly?), various timelines & summaries

Comments

[poilass]

Bear's book was criticised -- politely -- by all of two people, at least one of whom also said that she had enjoyed the book despite having some problems with it. Bear responded in a post that was widely praised, apologising and agreeing the book had failed in that respect. The fail began when people made racist comments in that post, Bear didn't call any of them on despite having promised to moderate the discussion, and eventually started agreeing with them, saying she was just "taking a hit for the team" and, god, I don't even want to go into it now, the details are linked above if you want to search them out. In her most recent post she now says that the original criticism was shallow and never valid, and she only *pretended* to believe that she'd made a mistake because she "felt it was important to serve as an example of how to engage dialogue on unconscious institutional racism."

Not that Bear is even the point anymore, despite what she seems to think, but no-one needed a flak jacket for making a *mistake*, is what I'm saying. No-one attacked Bear or anyone else for trying but not quite getting it 100% right. It took a lot of people working very, very hard to cling to their racism to get this thing where it is now.

[dawnkiller]

"Taking a hit for the team"? Yeah, I think that's the official sign that Reason has left the building because Martyrdom keeps elbowing it in the eye. *headdesk*

Well, the debate proved a kind of equality . . . If nothing else, we've got a good demonstration that anyone, regardless of race, sex, religion, finances and fandom, is capable of sticking their foot so far up their mouth they can kick themselves in the tonsils.

[trishalynn]

The fail began when people made racist comments in that post, Bear didn't call any of them on despite having promised to moderate the discussion

This I'm interested in seeing. Which link above goes to this part?