For years, I have asked why the SFF community has embraced Elizabeth Bear post-RaceFail.
And now here we are.
And now here we are.
Remember how Elizabeth Bear basically *started* RaceFail, traumatized and gaslit a bunch of BIPOC fans + authors, never really apologized, and now gets to be seen as a super-progressive SFF author?
Being a white woman is a hell of a drug.
Being a white woman is a hell of a drug.
For the record, I believe Alexandra Rowland and I'm so fucking furious. 
CN: racism - You know what, it's two in the morning and I'm still too angry about Elizabeth Bear to go to sleep, so here's a little reminder that her last word on the subject of RaceFail was that POC have privilege over white people, actually.
CN: racism - In Elizabeth Bear's last post on RaceFail, she says RaceFail was turning her into a racist, actually.
Yeah, she pulled the classic abuser/ white liberal "calling me out on racism actually makes me more racist" excuse.
Again. No apology.
Yeah, she pulled the classic abuser/ white liberal "calling me out on racism actually makes me more racist" excuse.
Again. No apology.
[CN: racism] If you want to read the rest Elizabeth Bear's "ceasefire" post on Racefail, go right ahead. It's... I mean it was not good in 2009, and it has aged even worse.
bit.ly/3hZE99j
bit.ly/3hZE99j
As Lena Corazon notes below, the SFF community did such a good job erasing Elizabeth Bear's involvement in RaceFail that people thought they'd imagined it.
Why in the world did the community collectively forget this instigation of racism?
Why in the world did the community collectively forget this instigation of racism?
In SFF, we ended a man of color's publishing career in *days* because he emotionally abused people (totally fair). But when a white woman starts RaceFail, she's still happily publishing 11 years later?
Spot the difference.
Spot the difference.
Over the last 11 years, the white woman in question (Elizabeth Bear) has been close to lots of Cool People. And when I saw Cool People tweeting with her, I'd think "maybe she's apologized and done The Work. Maybe she's sufficiently reassured them."
And that's possible! If you are personally friends with Elizabeth Bear + she reassured you on RaceFail... fine. But a lot of people who were harmed by RaceFail aren't in that Cool People group. They did not reap the benefits of that reassurance, that work - if it did happen.
There are BIPOC author who never published because of RaceFail. There are BIPOC fans who never came back to SFF because of RaceFail. And there are just fans who were doxxed or traumatized or went through racist gaslighting and trauma at the hands of SFF community members.
The other thing re: the SFF community forgetting that Elizabeth Bear instigating RaceFail because she has Cool Friends, or Learned is... what about all the new people?
People who were around in '09 can make an informed decision about whether they trust Bear. New People can't.
People who were around in '09 can make an informed decision about whether they trust Bear. New People can't.
In this case, Claire Willet gets *assigned* Elizabeth Bear as a mentor by SFWA - the professional org for SFF authors - and she has no idea that Bear started RaceFail.
How is Willet supposed to know? [White people] in SFF collectively chose to forget.
How is Willet supposed to know? [White people] in SFF collectively chose to forget.
If you're a new author in SFF, and you're being assigned a mentor, heck yeah I think it's relevant whether that mentor has a *history of racism.*
It's not the new person's job to trawl through FanLore to figure it out. That's SFWA's job.
It's not the new person's job to trawl through FanLore to figure it out. That's SFWA's job.
SFWA just rolled out a bunch of stuff in support of the Black Lives Matter movement. A thought: maybe... don't... have mentors that your mentees need to vet for racism.
By forgetting that Elizabeth Bear was at the center of RaceFail, SFF continued to privilege a white woman's career over the very real harm she did to BIPOC fans and authors.
By continuing to forget, we harm new fans + authors who deserve to know the community they're entering.
By continuing to forget, we harm new fans + authors who deserve to know the community they're entering.
And for those BIPOC fans/authors who stayed despite the racist vitriol of RaceFail - where was their apology from the SFF community? Was it the Sad Puppies? The Rabid Puppies? Gamergate? Every racist con?
Did white fans ever get better at protecting BIPOC from community racism?
Did white fans ever get better at protecting BIPOC from community racism?
