Thread by @MaryRobinette

@robert_zubrin I'm going to attempt to answer you in good faith, instead of with the rage your line of questioning inspires. It is a line usually used in support of white supremacy. I hope that is not your intent.

Publishing, along with most of the US, has long been discriminatory and...

1/?

@robert_zubrin ...optimized for white writers. Black writers are disproportionately underrepresented in publishing and many have been driven out.

In addition, pretending that the evils of racism or the damage of colonialization are limited to slavery is disingenuous. 2/?

@robert_zubrin ... Jim Crow acts, gerrymandering, wage gaps, redlining, voting rights, and police brutality are all ways that modern America still enforces white supremacy.

This is race and privilege in modern America. 3/?

@robert_zubrin Specifically withing publishing, the wage gap means that a disproportionate number of Black writers cannot afford to attend conferences or the other professional opportunities that can help a writer succeed.

SFWA also offers dues relief for authors, regardless of race.

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@robert_zubrin After decades of an industry telling people that they are not welcome, active reparations and actions are necessary to create an equitable playing field.

Finally, if you don't understand how racism works, you are going to replicate this on Mars. 5/5