My response to the "IA vs. NOLA" racist email

[as_alas_i_was]

Thanks to the comment responses that grant pointed out to this similarly racist comparison of Iowa and New Orleans and some rampant plagiarism of this helpful piece by Tim Wise, I was able to construct

Comments

[twiec5tose]

I think that's clear, polite, and compelling. I'm far less able than you at addressing such issues directly and effectively, and I'm glad to see it done in a way that I would like to do myself. You class act, alas.

[as_alas_i_was]

Thanks. I think my sister was a little upset, all the same, and i'm not sure it works even to have sent this to the whole list. My smallest hope is that all my relatives will eventually just stop sending me these mass forwards....

[parallelgirl]

Go you.

[spyinthehaus]

Innocent that I am, I missed the entire comparison of the stout, self-reliant people of Iowa to.. well, it's black people, isn't it? Is there a reason not to post this refutation verbatim to the right-wing sites? I'd be happy to...

And I think you are absolutely within your rights to respond. After all, your sister felt it was appropriate to share this; how could she not want people to read and think about it?

[as_alas_i_was]

I was certainly within my rights; i'm just not sure, in this situation it wouldn't have been better to talk to her alone first, rather than posting it out to the whole list. (If you look, you'll see the initial piece just below this one in my lj).

Reminder that this is largely plagiarized from Tim Wise, with some serious deletions, a minor addition and a few revisions; before you post it anywhere, be sure to read his original. His is probably better for most purposes than my redaction.

[grantb]

Damn straight.

I'm actually tempted to pre-emptively forward this on to my circle of relations.

Tim Wise is, isn't he.

[as_alas_i_was]

Good approach--i.e., esp. including that line about the objection being with the information and not the sender. I think I'll adopt that.

My sis actually thanked me for the information. She is a good person.