Thoughts on Endless RaceFail
Call me naive, but as a middle-aged woman of color and a lifelong member of the geek/fandom generation, I often find myself wondering just what the hell is going on with so many writers/artists/designers/etc. committing endless, epic racefail these days. I mean, are these folks stuck on stupid or what? This isn't the 1800's where it didn't matter if one offended people of color. This is 2011 and well, with all the information and the fact that the world is a much smaller place, there is just no excuse to be willfully ignorant.
What cracks me up the most is how offended those who do/say/write stupid things get when we "uppity" FoC's call them out on it. I mean really, what right do they have to be upset? It's not their images/personhood that is tarnished or diminished. Oh, I get it--how dare we uppity folks challenge privilege. We FoC's are no longer content to be relegated to sidekicks or in the case of TheThirteenth Child be written completely out of the narrative. We're here, we've ALWAYS been here (I forget who the idiot author who said that FoC's only came about because of the internet, but NO) and we are so not going away. It's not our fault that most racefailers live in some kind of retro-Leave-It-To-Beaver-land.
It's rather telling how many writers of color have no problem whatsoever crafting well-rounded and nuanced white characters, but for some strange reason that defies logic and sanity, the same cannot be said of the epic racefailers. For some strange reason, it just feels 'realistic' to portray characters of color as 'the other'. Amazing how nuanced these same writers can be when it comes to writing about freaking vampires and werewolves.
The problem is that those of privilege just aren't willing to give it up, no matter how liberal they like to portray themselves. They just don't like being told that "no, you can't use the word nigger", or "no, the relationship between a two different ethnicities is NOT the same as that of a werecheetah and a wereleopard", and therefore cannot be considered an interracial romance". They don't like being told that the "magical Negro/magical Native American" trope is totally offensive. They don't like being told that some members of marginalized groups take great umbrage at having aspects of their culture co-opted without the attendant sensitivity (I see a lot of this in the M/M Romance genre where a lot of straight women seem to think that every gay man is going to be open and accepting of what they do). They don't like feeling as if they are slowly yet surely losing power as PoC start to assert ours.
Here's the irony: That power you so greedly are trying to hold on to isn't even yours to begin with and worse, it's based on lie after lie after lie. It's based on the blood, sweat and tears of millions of innocent peoples around the world. How proud can anyone possibly be when your very existence is predicated upon some mythical version of superiority? And yet you guys are the smart ones? So sorry, but I didn't get that Tweet, could you possibly send it again?
One way I often see how those who commit racefail derail the conversation is to blame those who bring it to light as being hypersensitive. I seriously laugh at this because these folks never once stop to consider how that hypersensitivity came about in the first place. Little babies do not come out of the womb knowing that the color of their skin might be held against them. Hypersensitivity is not a genetic trait. Something had to happen in order for hypersensitivity to occur, and sadly this is the experience for a lot of PoC. Trust me, we're not looking for instances of racefail, but damn, so many people out there make it so easy to find. I guess it's true controversy sells and what better way to boost a flagging career than on the backs of people you despise?
Oh wait, FoC's are so angry and that anger is what stops any sort of thoughful dialogue. Oh yes, I know this derailing tactic too. It's most often used against black women when they have the unmitigated gall to assert themselves and demand respect. Of course there's anger; why shouldn't there be? You offenders aren't listening! You're intent upon shutting down the conversation because it's uncomfortable. Well duh! Of course it's uncomforable. Imagine what PoC live with everyday and stop acting like wusses. Honest and open dialogue about issues like race and gender aren't always going to be warm and fuzzy. They shouldn't be. We're talking about people's real life experiences and the pain of feeling like not belonging or having any value. Eric Holder, the Attorney General was so right--we are a nation of cowards.
However, all is not darkness and despair. As I said, FoC's have always been here and will continue to be a huge thorn in the side of racefail. We're not waiting around for racefailers to grow up, but have our own blogs, books, sites for costuming and other awesome things. We're using our dollars to boycott whitewashing of books and films. We're not powerless, and perhaps that's what scares the racefail crowd most of all. So here's my suggestion--step away from the privilege, shut up and be good little listeners when people who know far better tell you wnat's going on.
What cracks me up the most is how offended those who do/say/write stupid things get when we "uppity" FoC's call them out on it. I mean really, what right do they have to be upset? It's not their images/personhood that is tarnished or diminished. Oh, I get it--how dare we uppity folks challenge privilege. We FoC's are no longer content to be relegated to sidekicks or in the case of TheThirteenth Child be written completely out of the narrative. We're here, we've ALWAYS been here (I forget who the idiot author who said that FoC's only came about because of the internet, but NO) and we are so not going away. It's not our fault that most racefailers live in some kind of retro-Leave-It-To-Beaver-land.
It's rather telling how many writers of color have no problem whatsoever crafting well-rounded and nuanced white characters, but for some strange reason that defies logic and sanity, the same cannot be said of the epic racefailers. For some strange reason, it just feels 'realistic' to portray characters of color as 'the other'. Amazing how nuanced these same writers can be when it comes to writing about freaking vampires and werewolves.
The problem is that those of privilege just aren't willing to give it up, no matter how liberal they like to portray themselves. They just don't like being told that "no, you can't use the word nigger", or "no, the relationship between a two different ethnicities is NOT the same as that of a werecheetah and a wereleopard", and therefore cannot be considered an interracial romance". They don't like being told that the "magical Negro/magical Native American" trope is totally offensive. They don't like being told that some members of marginalized groups take great umbrage at having aspects of their culture co-opted without the attendant sensitivity (I see a lot of this in the M/M Romance genre where a lot of straight women seem to think that every gay man is going to be open and accepting of what they do). They don't like feeling as if they are slowly yet surely losing power as PoC start to assert ours.
Here's the irony: That power you so greedly are trying to hold on to isn't even yours to begin with and worse, it's based on lie after lie after lie. It's based on the blood, sweat and tears of millions of innocent peoples around the world. How proud can anyone possibly be when your very existence is predicated upon some mythical version of superiority? And yet you guys are the smart ones? So sorry, but I didn't get that Tweet, could you possibly send it again?
One way I often see how those who commit racefail derail the conversation is to blame those who bring it to light as being hypersensitive. I seriously laugh at this because these folks never once stop to consider how that hypersensitivity came about in the first place. Little babies do not come out of the womb knowing that the color of their skin might be held against them. Hypersensitivity is not a genetic trait. Something had to happen in order for hypersensitivity to occur, and sadly this is the experience for a lot of PoC. Trust me, we're not looking for instances of racefail, but damn, so many people out there make it so easy to find. I guess it's true controversy sells and what better way to boost a flagging career than on the backs of people you despise?
Oh wait, FoC's are so angry and that anger is what stops any sort of thoughful dialogue. Oh yes, I know this derailing tactic too. It's most often used against black women when they have the unmitigated gall to assert themselves and demand respect. Of course there's anger; why shouldn't there be? You offenders aren't listening! You're intent upon shutting down the conversation because it's uncomfortable. Well duh! Of course it's uncomforable. Imagine what PoC live with everyday and stop acting like wusses. Honest and open dialogue about issues like race and gender aren't always going to be warm and fuzzy. They shouldn't be. We're talking about people's real life experiences and the pain of feeling like not belonging or having any value. Eric Holder, the Attorney General was so right--we are a nation of cowards.
However, all is not darkness and despair. As I said, FoC's have always been here and will continue to be a huge thorn in the side of racefail. We're not waiting around for racefailers to grow up, but have our own blogs, books, sites for costuming and other awesome things. We're using our dollars to boycott whitewashing of books and films. We're not powerless, and perhaps that's what scares the racefail crowd most of all. So here's my suggestion--step away from the privilege, shut up and be good little listeners when people who know far better tell you wnat's going on.