Comments on: Engaging in negative stereotypes — the ongoing struggle

By: I Have Not Yet Stopped Doing The Happy Snoopy Dance at K. Tempest Bradford

I Have Not Yet Stopped Doing The Happy Snoopy Dance at K. Tempest Bradford — Tue, 17 Jun 2008 15:24:19 +0000

[...] Altered Fluid and, later, the Black Beans (who took a look at the revision I did for SH, mentioned here). Big thanks, y’all [...]

By: tempest

tempest — Tue, 06 May 2008 12:28:30 +0000

A lot of what I've already said on the subject is contained in these (very long) discussions here and here. That would be the place to start.

By: tempest

tempest — Tue, 06 May 2008 12:25:31 +0000

Thanks, Nic :) I’m glad it was useful to you!

By: Rose Fox

Rose Fox — Tue, 06 May 2008 12:25:22 +0000

That’s an intriguing distinction. I’m not at all trying to challenge you here, just going off on a tangent because I’m curious: How would you define the difference between racism and prejudice?

By: tempest

tempest — Tue, 06 May 2008 12:21:47 +0000

I would never say that I am completely prejudice free. I think people can be, but it takes a lot of work and time. I try to put in the work and time, but I’m not nearly far enough along to say that I don’t have any prejudices. But then prejudice and racism are not the same thing. I am pretty confident in saying I am not racist.

Not knowing which statements of mind made you uncomfortable, I cannot guess if that discomfort is based in my actually saying something prejudiced or saying something that isn’t prejudiced but makes white people uncomfortable nonetheless. The latter happens quite often and is mistaken for the former, but sometimes it’s the former.

By: Nic

Nic — Tue, 06 May 2008 09:37:56 +0000

Thanks for the link towards Lisa Mantchev’s story on Fantasy. Reading the comments thread was fascinating: I found that my initial reaction to the complaints was, indeed, “It’s just a story!”, because I had not spotted the Roma parallels. But then I thought about it some more, and realised how I would react if the (however unintentional) stereotyping therein was something I recognised, touching on some of my hot-button issues… in such cases I would *know* that it isn’t just a story, that assumptions work through fiction, etc etc., so why was I letting this one go?

I loved the story; but I’ve been educated by the comments, and by your commentary here, and I love that, too!

By: Rose Fox

Rose Fox — Tue, 06 May 2008 05:29:00 +0000

Tempest, I’ve seen you say some things about white people that were pretty far out there, to the point where I don’t think you would stand for it if someone said the same things about black people in front of you. I make plenty of allowance for irony, because I have a pretty good sense of where you’re coming from, but sometimes I wonder whether I’m overgenerous there, because it occasionally gets to the point where I feel uncomfortable around you because of it.

I deeply admire your efforts to fight prejudice of all kinds. I don’t think you’re free from it, any more than anyone else is.

By: Veronica

Veronica — Mon, 05 May 2008 20:15:15 +0000

I realized at the time you were that you were modelling the way a person needs to behave in that situation, and I really admired you for it. I hope I can/do behave like that in any comparable situation.

Now…include Dayna in your icons (http://www.hermit.org/Blakes7/SevenCyc/D.html#Dayna)!

By: Debbie

Debbie — Mon, 05 May 2008 19:35:21 +0000

“even if that truth makes you uncomfortable”

The one thing I would change in this lovely post is to say “and you should expect that truth to make you uncomfortable,” because I’ve come to understand that discomfort is inevitable in any confrontation of one’s own privilege, rank, or stereotyping behavior.

It’s hard to welcome the discomfort, but I keep trying.

By: Vy

Vy — Mon, 05 May 2008 19:29:34 +0000

Okay. It feels to me that even having the thought, brief as it is, would count as racism (even if you combat it with conscious thought). Sounds like just a matter of semantics. Certainly those who consciously confront the thoughts are doing better than those who don’t.