Ground Rules for Discussion
I think I'm going to follow the example of my lovely shero, brandywilliams and lay some ground rules here.
1) When I write/talk about gender/queer issues, queerness, feminism, and related issues, I am not interested in having an entry-level discussion. That means that I am not interested in having such discussion with someone who is totally unfamiliar with the terms being discussed, or who has a skewed idea of the issues such as that formed by right-wing media. I do not wish to have to explain the terms under discussion. If you want to join the discussion in my journal, you must have done some research on your own, and have some background on the subject already.
2a) I am not interested in having anything other than good-faith interactions. This means two things: one, that I am not interested in debate and two, if you wish to engage in this discussion in my journal, you must commit to engaging respectfully and in good faith. If you are a member of a privileged class, you must be willing to acknowledge your privilege (if only to yourself), and refrain from making the discussion about you and your discomfort with said subject. An example of this is when a white person comes into a conversation about racism and says something like "Well, I'm not a racist, the generalizations about white people in this thread (are unfair/hurt my feelings/etc)." In this example, the white person is attempting to turn the conversation from the subject of racism, to the subject of their individual discomfort with the subject and the discussion.
2b) You must do your very best to communicate clearly, and be willing to acknowledge that our experiences may differ. You must be willing to accept that my experiences, as I relate them here, are offered completely honestly and in good faith. If you attempt to invalidate my experiences, you will be removed from the conversation, because I don't have time for that.
3) To engage here, you must commit to reading what I write and responding to that rather than to your own emotional baggage. If I receive a response wherein I am characterized as having said what I did not say, I can only assume that what the writer has brought their own baggage to the table. I am not here to engage with your baggage, so I will not engage with those tactics. I am not here to be your emotional punching bag, or, for that matter, to serve your desires in any other way.
4) My journal is not your soapbox. If you want to stand on a platform and lecture, do it in your own journal. I am not obligated to provide for you a platform.
5) This is my journal and I write it for me. That means that I'm not always seeking discussion, and I am not obligated to engage in discussion.
1) When I write/talk about gender/queer issues, queerness, feminism, and related issues, I am not interested in having an entry-level discussion. That means that I am not interested in having such discussion with someone who is totally unfamiliar with the terms being discussed, or who has a skewed idea of the issues such as that formed by right-wing media. I do not wish to have to explain the terms under discussion. If you want to join the discussion in my journal, you must have done some research on your own, and have some background on the subject already.
2a) I am not interested in having anything other than good-faith interactions. This means two things: one, that I am not interested in debate and two, if you wish to engage in this discussion in my journal, you must commit to engaging respectfully and in good faith. If you are a member of a privileged class, you must be willing to acknowledge your privilege (if only to yourself), and refrain from making the discussion about you and your discomfort with said subject. An example of this is when a white person comes into a conversation about racism and says something like "Well, I'm not a racist, the generalizations about white people in this thread (are unfair/hurt my feelings/etc)." In this example, the white person is attempting to turn the conversation from the subject of racism, to the subject of their individual discomfort with the subject and the discussion.
2b) You must do your very best to communicate clearly, and be willing to acknowledge that our experiences may differ. You must be willing to accept that my experiences, as I relate them here, are offered completely honestly and in good faith. If you attempt to invalidate my experiences, you will be removed from the conversation, because I don't have time for that.
3) To engage here, you must commit to reading what I write and responding to that rather than to your own emotional baggage. If I receive a response wherein I am characterized as having said what I did not say, I can only assume that what the writer has brought their own baggage to the table. I am not here to engage with your baggage, so I will not engage with those tactics. I am not here to be your emotional punching bag, or, for that matter, to serve your desires in any other way.
4) My journal is not your soapbox. If you want to stand on a platform and lecture, do it in your own journal. I am not obligated to provide for you a platform.
5) This is my journal and I write it for me. That means that I'm not always seeking discussion, and I am not obligated to engage in discussion.