The Fallacy of Symmetry
Jun. 21st, 2010 03:49 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
eumeliaI hate to break it to you, but some opinions are more valid than others.
This is tangentially related to the current RaceFail swooping through fandom and once again it seems that people are misunderstanding what it means "to be silenced" or "walking on egg-shells to keep from offending".
Two years ago, I wrote a post for![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-community.gif)
ibarw which I titled What Is this Symmetry You Speak Of?, in which I discuss the phenomena of silencing the discussion of Race in my locale - which is Israel/Palestine.
Not much has changed, if you saw my previous post (LJ/DW) there is a great amount of fear and hate generated towards opinions that are critical of the status quo.
[ETA]It's important to reiterate that privilege enables you to ignore criticism. What I see being ignored in the discussion is that what is being criticised and brought to attention isn't the right to voice them, but the fact that this is abuse of privilege and bias.
It took me a long time to realise that I had racist bias, surprise! I do my best to be concious of it, usually I fail. Which I guess is unavoidable, but still, it bothers me, it niggles at me, it tells me "do better".
One of the ways of doing better when discussing race is realising the asymmetrical position I have (as a white Jewish woman) in the power structure of the discussion and of life in general. That means that despite the fact that I'm offended by the notion that someone called me on my racism, the hurt I caused by saying or doing something racist is that much more damaging.
Yes, damaging. Not hurtful, not offensive, but actually damaging.
The asymmetry, the imbalance of power between the parties is important because it informs me who has been historically silenced and damaged by the disparity of voices, material resources and media presence. All these are hugely important because without this information you can say, in perpetuating stereotypes, that you're just writing a story, that it doesn't mean anything and that you are simply expressing all sorts of things that stories, media and other tales do.
Because one boy's adventure across the Mississippi, can be another man's continuous verbal assault.
Just as an example to how differently one can read the same story, the same street.
Currently there is a big brouhaha in my locale regarding ethnic segregation in a religious community in a Settlement (i.e. a town situated in the West Bank) called Immanuel, in which a school segregated students according to their ethnic background which informs one's religiosity - the Ashkenazi (European) Jewish people in that town said that the Sephardi (North African) Jewish people weren't religious enough and so the Ashkenazi girls shouldn't be exposed to ideas belonging to the Sephardi girls.
You know what's being spoken about in the News? Whether the Ashkenazi Mothers are in contempt of court or not.
Yeah.
Back to the point. When someone reproduces thoughtless stereotypes regarding people who have been colonised, racialised, segregated and pretty much been beaten up by history like "The Magical Negro" or "Wise Indigenous Woman" - what you are doing is adding to the damaging media representation of people who have been, historically, been shown to be less-than-human.
When you are called on it, the correct response is not "I'm just telling a story" or "You are just looking to be offended".
Stories do not exist in a vacuum and not everyone sees what I see.
Trust me, no one is looking for things to be hurt about.
Honestly, it's just there, all the freakin' time and one gets fucking sick of it.
One of the benefits of fan fiction, specifically, is that you can rectify the damage done by the that book/movie/television show we love, but woe it fails.
Being critical is not personal, it is a standpoint, one that is needed, because feeling that those loud minorities are offending you, because you said/wrote/did something that disregarded that asymmetry of their and your position in life is imperative - especially if we are looking to be better story tellers.
In short, if you feel that you (I and others) are writing something that may offend people; ask yourself, who are you offending and why?
Personally, have no qualms offending people who find my existence and the existence of my friends to be distasteful. I have no qualms saying to people who think that Arabs should stay in their own spaces that that is akin to saying Jews should be placed in a ghetto - offensive? You betcha', worse that saying that Arabs and Jews shouldn't mix? Hardly.
One opinion is considered status quo, the other is not.
I'm not saying not to write certain stories. I do not believe there is a story that shouldn't be told, the question you should ask isn't "Should this story be written?", but "How well written can this story be?"
This is tangentially related to the current RaceFail swooping through fandom and once again it seems that people are misunderstanding what it means "to be silenced" or "walking on egg-shells to keep from offending".
Two years ago, I wrote a post for
ibarw which I titled What Is this Symmetry You Speak Of?, in which I discuss the phenomena of silencing the discussion of Race in my locale - which is Israel/Palestine.Not much has changed, if you saw my previous post (LJ/DW) there is a great amount of fear and hate generated towards opinions that are critical of the status quo.
[ETA]It's important to reiterate that privilege enables you to ignore criticism. What I see being ignored in the discussion is that what is being criticised and brought to attention isn't the right to voice them, but the fact that this is abuse of privilege and bias.
It took me a long time to realise that I had racist bias, surprise! I do my best to be concious of it, usually I fail. Which I guess is unavoidable, but still, it bothers me, it niggles at me, it tells me "do better".
One of the ways of doing better when discussing race is realising the asymmetrical position I have (as a white Jewish woman) in the power structure of the discussion and of life in general. That means that despite the fact that I'm offended by the notion that someone called me on my racism, the hurt I caused by saying or doing something racist is that much more damaging.
Yes, damaging. Not hurtful, not offensive, but actually damaging.
The asymmetry, the imbalance of power between the parties is important because it informs me who has been historically silenced and damaged by the disparity of voices, material resources and media presence. All these are hugely important because without this information you can say, in perpetuating stereotypes, that you're just writing a story, that it doesn't mean anything and that you are simply expressing all sorts of things that stories, media and other tales do.
Because one boy's adventure across the Mississippi, can be another man's continuous verbal assault.
Just as an example to how differently one can read the same story, the same street.
Currently there is a big brouhaha in my locale regarding ethnic segregation in a religious community in a Settlement (i.e. a town situated in the West Bank) called Immanuel, in which a school segregated students according to their ethnic background which informs one's religiosity - the Ashkenazi (European) Jewish people in that town said that the Sephardi (North African) Jewish people weren't religious enough and so the Ashkenazi girls shouldn't be exposed to ideas belonging to the Sephardi girls.
You know what's being spoken about in the News? Whether the Ashkenazi Mothers are in contempt of court or not.
Yeah.
Back to the point. When someone reproduces thoughtless stereotypes regarding people who have been colonised, racialised, segregated and pretty much been beaten up by history like "The Magical Negro" or "Wise Indigenous Woman" - what you are doing is adding to the damaging media representation of people who have been, historically, been shown to be less-than-human.
When you are called on it, the correct response is not "I'm just telling a story" or "You are just looking to be offended".
Stories do not exist in a vacuum and not everyone sees what I see.
Trust me, no one is looking for things to be hurt about.
Honestly, it's just there, all the freakin' time and one gets fucking sick of it.
One of the benefits of fan fiction, specifically, is that you can rectify the damage done by the that book/movie/television show we love, but woe it fails.
Being critical is not personal, it is a standpoint, one that is needed, because feeling that those loud minorities are offending you, because you said/wrote/did something that disregarded that asymmetry of their and your position in life is imperative - especially if we are looking to be better story tellers.
In short, if you feel that you (I and others) are writing something that may offend people; ask yourself, who are you offending and why?
Personally, have no qualms offending people who find my existence and the existence of my friends to be distasteful. I have no qualms saying to people who think that Arabs should stay in their own spaces that that is akin to saying Jews should be placed in a ghetto - offensive? You betcha', worse that saying that Arabs and Jews shouldn't mix? Hardly.
One opinion is considered status quo, the other is not.
I'm not saying not to write certain stories. I do not believe there is a story that shouldn't be told, the question you should ask isn't "Should this story be written?", but "How well written can this story be?"
no subject
Date: 2010-06-21 02:55 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2010-06-21 02:56 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2010-06-21 07:26 pm (UTC)I'm not saying not to write certain stories. I do not believe there is a story that shouldn't be told, the question you should ask isn't "Should this story be written?", but "How well written can this story be?"
It summarises everything I have been thinking about complaints about silencing so nicely.
no subject
Date: 2010-06-21 10:00 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2010-06-22 01:49 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2010-06-23 07:36 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2010-06-23 07:40 pm (UTC)Hey, would it be all right if I added you to my circle? You're, you know, really cool :)
no subject
Date: 2010-06-23 07:46 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2010-06-24 01:17 am (UTC)Hear, hear. I'm not sure how to get through to people that these things ACTUALLY HURT REAL PEOPLE IN REAL LIFE FOR REALSIES.
no subject
Date: 2010-06-24 01:38 pm (UTC)Honestly, it's just there, all the freakin' time and one gets fucking sick of it.
This is what people don't seem to understand, that it's not like there is a hunt for the most offensive thing ever, and a special prize for whoever sees it first.
It's more likely that when you become aware of something as an injustice, you can suddenly see it all over the place. But at the very same time, it's invisible to those who haven't recognized it as such, and who keep saying "what is all your fuss about?"
no subject
Date: 2010-06-24 01:42 pm (UTC)I now feel all squishy! :D
And yeah, that is what's possibly the greatest issue regarding white supremacy, heteronormativity and all the oppressions conveyed ideologically by social norms and society at large, is that they are insidious to a degree so that even if you notice it, enough people will say so "oh, you're over reacting" and then feel as though you are overly sensitive, over reacting, etc.
It's a dangerous position to be in.