Goddamn, that was racist.

[hackthis_archive]

I want to start this post by saying a) I do not participate in Supernatural fandom b) I am a black person c) I have not read the story that started this week's Race Fail Brouhaha -- and let's be honest, it is only TWF (This Week's Fail, because that's just how this works). But I did read the informative post made by bossymarmalade. And trust me. That was plenty.

I have also read subsequent posts both on my reading list and in the (very) wide fandom universe. Some have made me so blind with rage I've had to go outside. And some, like this one from tevere and the one she linked to by facetofcathy have made me go, "Thank you, ladies, you are better people than I, because mostly I think 'The more things change, the more nothing changes what. so. ever.'"

And I say all this to say:

I am a Person of Color. I am not your Racism Police.

Nor is any other Person of Color your Racism Police.

We were not put here to tell you when you are being a racist asshole. We are not here to be the back drop for your great romance. We are not a fucking background. We are PEOPLE. We are born, we live, we love, we die. We bleed just the same as any. body. else.

Just because you may not encounter a PoC in your daily life does not mean we are tiny people living in your TV that only start dancing around for your entertainment.

People of Color are not here for your entertainment.

We are not here to be your plot points or to be your One Minority Friend That Proves That You Are Totally. Not. A. Racist.

We are not birds. We are not exotic.

Our cultures. Not exotic.

So every time you ask to touch our hair because it looks different, or rub our skin as though the color might come off; and every time you ask what extraction we are, where our parents are from (implying that we obviously are "not from around here") or say we're pretty since we're mixed;

Every time you think, "These people are so *other* from me they must need a good white person to save them," -- and you know who you are (especially you, Hollywood) -- you are being a racist dick.

Point of fact, however, you don't have to be white to be racist. Anybody can be a racist. In fact, every time there's one of these Race Fail Tempests you inevitably get people asking, "Well, how am I supposed to know when I'm being racist?"

If you have to ask if you are being a racist, do I have to finish the rest of this sentence?

We are not small-eyed, thick-accented, Spanglish speaking or dark-skinned just to give you something to talk about. To give you something to compare yourself to and find yourself superior. We are not here for your artistic merit.

I don't care if your feelings are hurt today, I will still be a Person of Color tomorrow.

And yet, this still isn't going to change anything. It never changes anything. And why does it never change anything? Because people are making this into a theoretical discussion when it's not. These are people. Real fucking people. And these things really happened. And they caused a lot of fucking tragedy. The earthquakes? They happened. Colonialism? It happened. Blood diamonds. They happen. The wiping out of entire cultures by a bunch of greedy explorers. War in the name of oil or minerals (heads up, Afghanistan), the new land or spices or genocide. That shit happened. It keeps happening. It was not made up by six white guys in a air-conditioned office on the Warner Brothers back lot in Burbank drinking Diet Coke.

These things are happening now. And they will keep on happening. And just because they haven't happened to you in particular does not make them any less true, any less valid, or there to be exploited just for your amusement.


So I'm going to save the rest of my breath to cool my porridge and let Dave Chappelle say it best, because truly, "you ever have something happen that was so racist, that you didn't even get mad, you were just like, DAMN, that was racist."

Comments

[sharksdontsleep.livejournal.com]

GAH. I'm going to apologize in advance for this essay of a comment.

You make a good point, particularly about people's receptivity to criticism. It's a good starting point for discussion and change, absolutely.

I think I'm having an issue w/ the transfer of responsibility. If I fail, I want my friends (RL or internet or whatever) up in my shit about it, because people should be open to criticism. But it's not their responsibility to do so.

I have a disclaimer on my LJ that says concrit welcome - maybe I should expand that saying concrit encouraged...and something along the lines of:

"If I suck, let me know, but it is in no way your responsibility to tell me, just know that I won't be offended or angry but will probably say 'thank you' and change it or at least try to discuss it with you. I won't do a non-apology apology, or tell you you hurt my little feelings or whatever, because I am a grown-ass woman and I can deal with being an imperfect product of an imperfect society and also, am a person who should self-monitor and may have failed and would like to hear your thoughts."

But, you know, eloquent and stuff.

In terms of the "you don't have to be white to be racist," agreed, but it helps, esp. in the US. I have no idea where the OP who wrote the story is from, but I can only speak to my experience and that's in the US. I live in a majority minority city in the US, meaning the people in power in local politics are POCs, but the US is what it is in terms of power dynamics.

I've heard a lot of white people here complain about "reverse" racism, which is generally code for "I don't know what I'm talking about and POC called me on it and didn't treat me like I am a special snowflake." So...there are POCs here biased/discriminatory against white people, but I feel like you need a real power element to make it from discrimination into racism. So, this is obvs. flavored by my own experience.

Of course, you could pretty much do a Ctrl+F and replace "white" with any dominant culture, so there you go. Which is my long-winded way of saying: AGREED.

And yes, failure is inevitable, but the backlash doesn't have to be.

Lastly, 16 Days in September is one of my favorite GK stories. I read your post about how it would compare as an original fic, and I would read either story, but was glad of the opportunity to read the one you wrote. The OCs were indelible, and you had both a closeness to and a distance from the events that made the story immediate without being exploitative. My two cents.

[tevere.livejournal.com]

"If I suck, let me know, but it is in no way your responsibility to tell me, just know that I won't be offended or angry but will probably say 'thank you' and change it or at least try to discuss it with you. I won't do a non-apology apology, or tell you you hurt my little feelings or whatever, because I am a grown-ass woman and I can deal with being an imperfect product of an imperfect society and also, am a person who should self-monitor and may have failed and would like to hear your thoughts."

I think this is a wonderful idea. (Made more eloquent or left as-is!)

[sharksdontsleep.livejournal.com]

Thank you! Now if I can find a way to phrase this that's a little more...succinct.