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8 tweets,
2 min read
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1) Hey folks, somebody raised an objection about this thread which I think is valid, about making sure people from marginalized groups know their experience and work is valuable.
2) I certainly meant this in the context of asking the sort of question you’d ask at a dinner party or bar “What’s a good boom about this so I’m not a clueless dipshit”, focusing on the social aspect of Twitter.
3) but the person pointed out that if its job related, that’s labor, and asking anyone from a marginalized group to do free labor for you is exploitative. I think that’s a valid point.
4) where is the line between “starting a conversation” and “doing work for me”? Just as in RL it depends, I think, on whether you chat with this person regularly, kind of know them, just bombing in on a stranger, etc. I’m not the boss of you.
5) but I think it’s absolutely fair to say you should, when asking someone who works in the cause of a marginalized group or another analogous situation,offer “I have a question, could I ask you, for a consulting fee, this question?”
6) give them the chance to say “No, it’s cool.”
7) because writers lives are WRITING, and we spend our lives asking questions, the line between personal and professional is very blurry. It’s fair to remind us that’s not true for everyone.
8) this was me being a kind of clueless white dude. Consider this a sincere addendum. /xx
