The Wiscon thing. A view from outside.
I've been reading around about the things Elizabeth Moon said.
I read her entry. I read K.Tempest Bradford and a bunch of other people.
I'm talking here from the outside. This is not my literary community but one I am interested in and the continuing racefails do something to me.
One thing (among many) I got stuck on in Ms. Moon's entry was this:
This nation was founded with an overt appeal to universal rights of mankind--those stated (but not stated to be all) being life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. But the survival of this nation depended then, and has depended since, on citizens taking responsibility, not just liberty, as one of the rights of mankind.
People who say that. To be frank it took me this long to read her entry beyond that point.
Those rights by our founding fathers were referring not to mankind as is obvious by our country's awful history. Those rights (for a long time) did not apply to Black people, Chinese people, Native American People, Italians, Irish, some Dutch. It did not apply to the British people sent here as an alternative to being executed. It did not apply to women. It did not apply to the poor, and on and on. This country still is not as a whole demonstrably interested in "mankind". We try to legislate who people can and can't marry, we screw the poor, we don't support our own people so no, this country is failing at liberty and the rights of mankind.
As I read some defenses of her statements and what others have said here's the thing.
Things like this kill any interest I as a Black author may have in that community. As an observer who has been observing for a while, I would not feel welcome or safe.
I do not feel that if I could afford to go to WisCon like I would have a good experience.
I believe wholeheartedly in the first amendment and I would shout myself hoarse defending Ms. Moon's right to her opinion. I'm not saying she can't have her opinions.
I suppose my issue at this point is that as someone who has a desire to perhaps join this community, the continued fails make me not want to.
What these situations say to me on a gut level is this.
You Marginalized person will get no support here but come and help us with a teachable moment anyway.
I am a Black woman in America. Too much of my life, time and energy has been taken up with this kind of shit and frankly despite my interest in the community, no thanks.
I don't want to give my passion and energy to a community that clearly doesn't give a fuck about me. I just don't.
I don't want a PC community. I want a vital community that has standards. A community that will stand up and say hey, we are not putting up with that, we are not doing that. I want a community that no matter how well you write or what kind of venerated artist you are, if you're a douchebag to people within the community you don't get away with it.
And it's not just WisCon this is just the latest in a long line of things that hurt me in a way that I don't have to put up with so I won't.
This sort of thing is why I don't participate in a lot of communities that I once did. I'm too old, too tired and have too much self respect to put myself into a position where I feel awful. So no, you won't see my face in these spaces. Not my face, not my words. Nothing.
I haven't slept more than four hours in the last couple of days so some of this may not make sense.
I read her entry. I read K.Tempest Bradford and a bunch of other people.
I'm talking here from the outside. This is not my literary community but one I am interested in and the continuing racefails do something to me.
One thing (among many) I got stuck on in Ms. Moon's entry was this:
This nation was founded with an overt appeal to universal rights of mankind--those stated (but not stated to be all) being life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. But the survival of this nation depended then, and has depended since, on citizens taking responsibility, not just liberty, as one of the rights of mankind.
People who say that. To be frank it took me this long to read her entry beyond that point.
Those rights by our founding fathers were referring not to mankind as is obvious by our country's awful history. Those rights (for a long time) did not apply to Black people, Chinese people, Native American People, Italians, Irish, some Dutch. It did not apply to the British people sent here as an alternative to being executed. It did not apply to women. It did not apply to the poor, and on and on. This country still is not as a whole demonstrably interested in "mankind". We try to legislate who people can and can't marry, we screw the poor, we don't support our own people so no, this country is failing at liberty and the rights of mankind.
As I read some defenses of her statements and what others have said here's the thing.
Things like this kill any interest I as a Black author may have in that community. As an observer who has been observing for a while, I would not feel welcome or safe.
I do not feel that if I could afford to go to WisCon like I would have a good experience.
I believe wholeheartedly in the first amendment and I would shout myself hoarse defending Ms. Moon's right to her opinion. I'm not saying she can't have her opinions.
I suppose my issue at this point is that as someone who has a desire to perhaps join this community, the continued fails make me not want to.
What these situations say to me on a gut level is this.
You Marginalized person will get no support here but come and help us with a teachable moment anyway.
I am a Black woman in America. Too much of my life, time and energy has been taken up with this kind of shit and frankly despite my interest in the community, no thanks.
I don't want to give my passion and energy to a community that clearly doesn't give a fuck about me. I just don't.
I don't want a PC community. I want a vital community that has standards. A community that will stand up and say hey, we are not putting up with that, we are not doing that. I want a community that no matter how well you write or what kind of venerated artist you are, if you're a douchebag to people within the community you don't get away with it.
And it's not just WisCon this is just the latest in a long line of things that hurt me in a way that I don't have to put up with so I won't.
This sort of thing is why I don't participate in a lot of communities that I once did. I'm too old, too tired and have too much self respect to put myself into a position where I feel awful. So no, you won't see my face in these spaces. Not my face, not my words. Nothing.
I haven't slept more than four hours in the last couple of days so some of this may not make sense.