Yeah, that just happened.

Elizabeth Bear speaks out!

MY FAVORITE PART is how she tells people they're being mean but uses no specific names. How do we know who's actually being "mean"?!

I JEST.

MY FAVORITE PART is where she arbitrarily declares a ceasefire, complete with a time and date so she can get mad at us when we ignore it.

I JEST!

FOR REAL MY FAVORITE PART? IS THE PART WHERE SHE TAKES BACK SAYING AVALON'S WILLOW'S CRITIQUE OF HER BOOK IS VALID, AND SAYS SHE ONLY TREATED IT AS SUCH TO HAVE A PIOUS EXAMPLE OF HOW TO TREAT THOSE SILLY KIDS OF COLOR.

WHAT THE FUCKING FUCK.

If anyone calls me "honey" in a comment again, this shit is gonna get real.

aqeldroma wrote this post about RaceFail 9000 about silence, and choosing to remain neutral in these arguments.


Nobody said it's easy. Nobody said "We will never misinterpret things you say or criticize your word choice." Because we will! We totally will. And it will suck, and you will feel horrible. But then, if you're really listening, you will never make that same mistake again. The post does not allow comments, so I'm bringing it back to my LJ.

For example, a little over 12 hours ago, I got called out for using mysoginistic hate speech WHILE IN THE PROCESS of calling other people out on their thinly-veiled racism. No really, I did. And really, my first reaction was really defensive and all, "She's wrong!" and possibly, "WTF, I should not be one to call other people out on their shit when I myself still fail so hard."

But if everybody thought that, allies would never call people out on their shit. People of color would never feel safe, nor would the uncountable list of other people disadvantaged by privilege.

To you, choosing not to enter the discussion doesn't necessarily mean you don't condone the behavior. To people of color looking around for allies and a safe space, they see nothing but tight-lipped cowards.

It is SO PRIVILEGED to even have the option to not participate in these discussions. If your worst fear is that somebody might misinterpret what you said [which, by the way, can happen in any conversation ever], then you'd best get over it.