On #AmericanDirt and @flatironbooks statement regarding the cancellation of the book tour amid (bullshit) "threats of violence." I doubt that physical violence is really what's worrying Bob Miller or Jeanine Cummins. I've formed this theory based on over 20 years in this game.
In 2010 I wrote a blog post about white people feeling "unsafe" & what that boils down to. I would link to the post but it's very inside baseball, which may detract from the point. So here are the salient bits:
White convention-goers wrote to WisCon about feeling unsafe.
White convention-goers wrote to WisCon about feeling unsafe.
I happen to know one of the people (a published writer who is still in the business) who wrote to the concom, and in a discussion with that person afterward she told me that her unsafe feelings came not from physical discomfort and not from fear of POC ganging up on her....
The fear was that she would say or do something hurtful, or clueless, or whatever, and then would be talked about on the Internet. It was the last part – *that people would talk about her on the Internet* – that was of most importance.
Because once it got to the web it could hurt her tangibly.
At the time, I wasn’t really sure how to answer that fear. I’ve come to realize why I can’t really sympathize with it, nor sympathize with the feeling of unsafeness it gave this writer.
At the time, I wasn’t really sure how to answer that fear. I’ve come to realize why I can’t really sympathize with it, nor sympathize with the feeling of unsafeness it gave this writer.
Because it prioritizes her feelings over others'.
Also because where else are we supposed to discuss these issues but on the Internet? We’re a community spread out across the country. And we come together on the web to do many things, including to discuss that which harms us.
Also because where else are we supposed to discuss these issues but on the Internet? We’re a community spread out across the country. And we come together on the web to do many things, including to discuss that which harms us.
The unspoken desire here is that this writer would rather people just not bring up her problematic behavior in public.
It all comes down to: Don’t bring up my problematic behavior in venues where it will make me feel uncomfortable.
It all comes down to: Don’t bring up my problematic behavior in venues where it will make me feel uncomfortable.
The writer was comfortable processing her problematicness in person. But there's always this attitude that people who are hurt by problematic behavior should kindly, quietly, take the person aside and have a closed, private discussion in order to make the perpetrator comfortable.
Making the perpetrator comfortable is not the goal here. It should never be the goal. When you engage in hurtful actions or speak hurtful words, your comfort is not of prime concern.
Especially if you're from a privileged group and the harm is perpetrated on a marginalized group
Especially if you're from a privileged group and the harm is perpetrated on a marginalized group
To be 100% clear, I believe that the only safety concern Cummins faces if she shows up to book events is that she would have to hear people who don't agree with her say things in a tone that isn't polite.
And if your reaction to this is to say BUT BUT THERE WERE THREATS!! I invite you to read this thread and stay out of my mentions.
