And we're hypocritically together ever after!

[dmitchell1985]

Note: Crossposted directly from my IJ

So, I've been thinking about this today and last night about fandom's latest obsession with racism and how it is Evil. (Capital 'e' and everything.) But then I got to thinking about just how hypocritical fandom is at the same time and I had to wonder why do we even take up these causes?

Comments

[silvarbelle]

I just don't have TIME to give a damn about someone's skin color. The only thing I care about:

Are you polite to me? Yes? Okay.

Are you trying to kill me? No? Yay-hooray.

Are you hating ME because I happen to be white? "Oh, well" either way.

Are you stupid? No? YAY! That means I can interact with you. Yee!

That's basically my criteria, using the "General You" format. I honestly don't understand WHAT a person's skin color has to do with ANYTHING; I truly don't.

Which is why I consider most of the world STUPID for losing their shit about it.

I'm far too busy and important to worry myself bald over the whole thing. ^_~

*SNUZZLES*

*icon club!*

[dmitchell1985]

*noddles* I'm glad that someone thinks that way. We can fall into the whole deal around "Those people this" and "Those people that" routinue. It's especially hard when you're raised that way. Hrmm.

Also, *seconds* the killing me part. I've read and saw person talking about how they get scared when a black person walks behind them. I get scared when anyone walks behind me out of nowhere. Violence doesn't stick to one race.

*cuddles*

Re: *icon club!*

[_ataraxis_]

I happen to agree. Skin color makes not one hell of a difference in how I approach you and treat you and I would hope for the same. I'm glad that even though I grew up in a racist household (yes, my parents are bigots, but sigh, I still love them), I've learned tolerance, patience and acceptance. I honestly believe in the idea "fairness" though I am repeatedly told that the world isn't fair and probably won't be in my lifetime. That's just so sad.

Hugs you. I've never experienced racism, and I can't honestly say I know what it feels like or even empathize, but I can listen and try to understand. I believe in being educated and I hope I always will believe in it.

Re: *icon club!*

[dmitchell1985]

Yeah, my family's racist, too, but with good reason, sort of. You see, we live down in Texas and they're older folks that lived through segregation and Jim Crow and the Depression. They still remember the way they were treated and aren't very open to other people.

When I was growing up, I didn't evven understand the concept of racism. All I saw were other children that I wanted to play with. I am definitely sad to say that I understand it now and have to call myself on my bullshit every now and then.

And yeah, I do the whole "that's not fair!" thing, too.

[chvickers]

One of the interesting things I found in the racial discussion was that the people who were screaming and hollering the loudest about racism failed to notice their own US-centrism and even their own racism.

In one discussion someone bitterly complained about three fans who didn't know that Blair Sandburg, a character on The Sentinel, was Jewish. After all, his name was indisputably Jewish and could never be anything else, right? When I pointed out that the fans were Swedish, and Sandberg (spelled differently but sounding the same) is a Christian name in parts of Sweden, I was cut down: those fans were still horribly anti-Semitic and anyone who said otherwise was just trying to make excuses. (It later turned out that the character wore a cross in the first season, which means that if he was portrayed as Jewish in later seasons it was likely a retcon.)

But no, if Americans think something is a certain way the rest of us have to bow down because that's the way it is, and thinking otherwise is racist. Because Americans are always right.

[angelhunter]

Don't you dare to criticise Americans!

Next thing you know you'll wake up and have an invasion army on your doorstep.

[dmitchell1985]

Strangely enough, this made me laugh. That's not exactly true, but you have to be careful of what you say of all governments. It's not unusual, from what I've heard, for a person to be put under surveillance for spouting off.

Also, pretty icon.

Blair... what?

[gillyp]

Actually, Sandburg isn't a Jewish name, it *is* Swedish. *Sandberg* is Jewish - something the TS writers were clearly unaware of.

It's an ankh he wears in season one, btw, not a cross, but the point is the same - he's never shown wearing a star of David, he never celebrates Jewish holidays, there is no menorah in the loft, he eats hot dogs and etc. etc....

He is clearly intended to have Jewish origins (an aparently arbitrary decision in episiode 6, Night Train, when he declares he was Bar Mitzvahed - something that sits ill with his hippie past imo, but - letting it go... (o:) but he certainly doesn't celebrate his heritage in any way I can see.

::is glad wasn't in on that discussion:: *G*

[louisedennis]

Speaking as a white person, I read a lot of thought-provoking stuff during Blog Against Racism week (and leading up to it and on a few bookmarked blogs since). I waded through a lot of nonsense (either self-congratulatory or self-flagellatory) but then the Internet has always been dogged by the signal-to-noise ratio problem.

I didn't post anything but I do think the whole situation gave me a new framework for thinking about how I act and a new set of reference points which were valuable. I'm not sure how differently I act but I'm sure I read situations differently and that I hope that has valuable side-effects.

So I think it was worth doing...

[dmitchell1985]

Oh, it's definitely worth doing. What I should have included was that there was also a HUGE (I mean crazy HUGE!) racism wank in the SGA fandom about the same thing that helped to get me thinking.

I skimmed some of those posts and read entries by people who'd never even so much as been looked at suspiciously in their lives. They were just going on about the black folks/people of color struggle. I read some of it, but I definitely had to back button out of a lot of it

Hey, I do know that it helps me personally when I have an honest racism discussion. It helps me keep myself in check a bit more on some points (at least outside of the community) and understand the different view points involved in this one area of life.

[intheyear2004]

"From what I've seen thus far, this moment is still being anticipated. At least by me."

LOL You and me, dear, you and me both. Nothing but hot air circulating in most cases.

[dmitchell1985]

*noddles* Yeah, but what can 'ya do, but truck along, live your life the best way that you can, and write your own posts thinking a few things over? Especially since the topic doesn't even have to be about racism and I've seen this crazyness.

*shrugs*

[roh_wyn]

Word. I should just say that skin color is the least relevant of a person's characteristics as far as I'm concerned.

However, I do feel the need to comment on this...mostly because I'm Indian:

I can at least walk into most places of business and be served or not have people feel the need to cleanse themselves after coming into contact with me.

I don't think this sort of thing happens on any regular basis in India (or among Indians in other countries) any more. It's a vestige of a pre-urban society where traditional roles were prescribed by one's caste rather than one's abilities. That's not to say that caste isn't still as big an issue in India as race is in the United States, but some aspects of the caste system are seriously misrepresented, IMO.

[dmitchell1985]

It really should be, unless you're admiring how nice it is, which I do! ; )

Thanks you SO much for that update of information. I knew that the things I'd picked up had to be a bit dated and I know that the system has loosened up a little bit.

I was also tying in the fact that in some parts of the US today, a black person would have trouble being served in some restaurants. I've had it happen to me, so I know that it has to be happening to someone else.