hackthis_archive (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
hackthis_archive) wrote2009-03-10 11:29 am
hackthis_archive) wrote2009-03-10 11:29 am
Entry tags:
Talking about race makes me tired (take 2)
I made the following post earlier this morning, and then deleted it, and then started wondering how the hell I'd come to think of my LJ as a place where I can't say what I want when I want, and how fucking WRONG that is. This is my space, and as long as I'm not hurting someone else I am entitled to my opinion, because that's what this is at the end of the day, *my opinion*. I own it and I'll be damned if someone else's failure to respect or understand other races is going to make me worry about it. So, if you don't like it, you are more than welcome to fuck off out of here. In fact I'll even hold the door for you.
I was all set to make a post about the speculation behind Alexander Skarsgard from Generation Kill being cast as Thor after his lunch meeting with Kenneth Branaugh and how excited I was at the prospect of him finally getting a chance to be appreciated and adored by a wider audience, that he would be working with Bob and Sam (Robert Downey Jr and Samuel L Jackson respectively), and how I couldn't wait for him to get off that HBO show, because it is my opinion that True Blood is a POS, waste of production value and invokes all sorts of racist stereotypes that makes my blood boil.
I say this having attempted to watch several episodes simply because Alexander was/is on the show (I tried this with Castle, because it has Jon Huertas (Poke), but that didn't work out). But then I wasn't going to say anything, because I knew the minute I said I thought True Blood is a stereotypical racist piece of shit, somebody would come along and say, "Hey, it's not racist!" and I would say, as a black woman, "Fucking, yes it is!" And then it would be more of the same. More of that shit that everybody's been saying about Race Fail '09, and how obviously my POV doesn't count because I'm a POC and that's some BS.
And then this made me think of Race Fail in general, which I hate to break it to you, happens all day every day every year, but if you're not a Person of Color, you probably don't know that. Probably don't think about it unless it's thrust in your face, which is what seems to have happened at this point. And I could address it, but POCs deal with racism 15 times a day EVERY DAY OF OUR LIVES. Plus, I have better things to do with my time. I will say, however, that a) outing people just because you are being mean and hateful is just WRONG. And you should be ashamed. And b) as active as people are being about this, when it's over, it'll be forgotten, like it always is, because if you spend enough time dealing with racism, you know that's how it goes. People who don't deal with it every day dismiss it until someone forces them to look at it and then they wave their hands around and shriek, "I'm not a racist!" Um, you're missing the point.
Talking about race is good. Screaming about how you're not a racist? Not really the point. I agree with Eric Holder (The new US Attorney General) I do think Americans are afraid to deal with race, and Race Fail shows that, because instead of dealing with the issue at hand, it becomes, "How dare you accuse me of this!" Which has nothing to do with race, but everything to do with someone being offended that someone else would dare to accuse them of being anything less that the most liberal of liberals, because we're all post-racial now that a black man is in the White House!
Except that's how distraction works, if I yell at you loud enough, maybe you'll forget what you were angry about in the first place.
People, don't be distracted from the issue at hand: racism is alive and well.
And to that white guy at the grocery store who was staring at me like he'd never seen a black woman before? Fuck you too.
Goddammit, I'm so angry now I can't even be happy about Alex. The fact that I didn't even want to come to my OWN LJ and say what the fuck was on my mind because it deals with race and I know how people are about race?! This is just untenable. And yes, there are lots of people, who say this better, and with more coherency, and on some level I hope you'll go and find them and listen to them, because this whole thing just makes me tired and upset.
God, sometimes I hate the world.
*Do not link. I like to keep my meltdowns in house.
**Also, I most likely will not be answering comments. I just needed to get this out. Badly.
The fact that my day has mostly been made up of awesome things that have totally been overshadowed by racism doing its thing again? Wow. That's power, dog.
I was all set to make a post about the speculation behind Alexander Skarsgard from Generation Kill being cast as Thor after his lunch meeting with Kenneth Branaugh and how excited I was at the prospect of him finally getting a chance to be appreciated and adored by a wider audience, that he would be working with Bob and Sam (Robert Downey Jr and Samuel L Jackson respectively), and how I couldn't wait for him to get off that HBO show, because it is my opinion that True Blood is a POS, waste of production value and invokes all sorts of racist stereotypes that makes my blood boil.
I say this having attempted to watch several episodes simply because Alexander was/is on the show (I tried this with Castle, because it has Jon Huertas (Poke), but that didn't work out). But then I wasn't going to say anything, because I knew the minute I said I thought True Blood is a stereotypical racist piece of shit, somebody would come along and say, "Hey, it's not racist!" and I would say, as a black woman, "Fucking, yes it is!" And then it would be more of the same. More of that shit that everybody's been saying about Race Fail '09, and how obviously my POV doesn't count because I'm a POC and that's some BS.
And then this made me think of Race Fail in general, which I hate to break it to you, happens all day every day every year, but if you're not a Person of Color, you probably don't know that. Probably don't think about it unless it's thrust in your face, which is what seems to have happened at this point. And I could address it, but POCs deal with racism 15 times a day EVERY DAY OF OUR LIVES. Plus, I have better things to do with my time. I will say, however, that a) outing people just because you are being mean and hateful is just WRONG. And you should be ashamed. And b) as active as people are being about this, when it's over, it'll be forgotten, like it always is, because if you spend enough time dealing with racism, you know that's how it goes. People who don't deal with it every day dismiss it until someone forces them to look at it and then they wave their hands around and shriek, "I'm not a racist!" Um, you're missing the point.
Talking about race is good. Screaming about how you're not a racist? Not really the point. I agree with Eric Holder (The new US Attorney General) I do think Americans are afraid to deal with race, and Race Fail shows that, because instead of dealing with the issue at hand, it becomes, "How dare you accuse me of this!" Which has nothing to do with race, but everything to do with someone being offended that someone else would dare to accuse them of being anything less that the most liberal of liberals, because we're all post-racial now that a black man is in the White House!
Except that's how distraction works, if I yell at you loud enough, maybe you'll forget what you were angry about in the first place.
People, don't be distracted from the issue at hand: racism is alive and well.
And to that white guy at the grocery store who was staring at me like he'd never seen a black woman before? Fuck you too.
Goddammit, I'm so angry now I can't even be happy about Alex. The fact that I didn't even want to come to my OWN LJ and say what the fuck was on my mind because it deals with race and I know how people are about race?! This is just untenable. And yes, there are lots of people, who say this better, and with more coherency, and on some level I hope you'll go and find them and listen to them, because this whole thing just makes me tired and upset.
God, sometimes I hate the world.
*Do not link. I like to keep my meltdowns in house.
**Also, I most likely will not be answering comments. I just needed to get this out. Badly.
The fact that my day has mostly been made up of awesome things that have totally been overshadowed by racism doing its thing again? Wow. That's power, dog.
no subject
no subject
The only reason I commented on the acting was that I got the impression that you'd seen him in something else and liked him, but I've only seen him in True Blood and I mislike him in that role for the simple reason that it's *bad.* I know that we're supposed to divorce the show from the books, but I love the books and his character (actually, all the characters) measure up poorly in comparison. He's supposed to be this big, grinning (and smirking) *presence,* all energy and (ironically) life and dominance and cruelty and intelligence. He's my favorite character in the books, and he's so terribly written in the show that it's one of the reason I gave up before the season was out.
Which, again, doesn't really touch on the larger issues you were posting about, so I'll stop now. I think I've had so many conversations about True Blood (and why the show is awful) that they've just sort of worn a groove into my brain. Sorry I sidetracked.
no subject
1. Yes. Generation Kill. Rent it, behold the awesome. Move on.
2. The point isn't whether True Blood is good or bad, here: it's the racist portrayals that are the problem. Birth of a Nation is a brilliant film that is also a racist piece of shit.
3. If you're going for historical accuracy on what a Viking looked like, try to keep in mind that people were significantly smaller a few centuries ago. As an example, take a look at Henry VIII's armor - it's wee.
4. And this is the real point of the matter: are you on glue? She made it very clear that the (I wish it were) unbelievable racist bullshit had angered her so much to the point that she couldn't even be excited about this movie news or much of anything else. So maybe you should take the news about Thor, post it on your LJ and be happy with having a debate about appropriate casting there. Instead of coming over here and co-opting a post about disgraceful behaviour and her personal reaction to it to talk about why you think she shouldn't be excited about the one thing she was maybe cheerful about in the whole meat of the post.
no subject
The point of this post is to discuss my problems with True Blood as a program, Race Fail in general and the manner in which POCs tend to be silenced by the majority. This is not a post about Alexander's acting skills or your opinion thereof, if you wish you discuss that please do so in your own journal and not in mine.