I. D. Effin'. K.
After reading Charles Tan's essay "No Foreigners Allowed", I'm left trying to figure out how anyone thinks it would be a positive if we were to encourage writers to pen more works like Heart of Darkness. In fact, I can't say how the world would be worse off without that particular book.
I have read it, as part of a literature class in high school with a teacher who, like many others, considered it to be great literature. The same as they taught Mark Twain's works without remark or comment upon the many problematic issues with those books, and not only that period in American history, but it's ongoing effects. The same as they taught me a lot of books and along with them, snuck in no small amount of lessons on how it was okay, indeed, praiseworthy to think and write about those Other people in such ways, without regard to whether it was accurate or compassionate or respectful or ethical to do.
Were these bad teachers? No, I don't think so, but these books and the attitude that the things in them were something worthy of being transmitted to a new generation of students was and is. The system was bad, and part of changing this system is with discussions like RaceFail, and making it clear that no, such works are not okay. No, it is not praiseworthy to write such things. Dehumanizing other people because they are not your people because you live in a system that allows you the privilege of doing so is NOT OKAY.
I don't think I'm saying this very well, but luckily, a far wiser soul than I, Deepa D., has said what I don't think I have quite the brainpower to express right now in An Open Letter to Charles Tan.
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delux_vixens expresses a similar opinion with a very relevant quote, and lanning says oh charles tan no.
Charles Tan's response to Deepa D.,which can be found here, does not inspire any kind of hope in me that this will turn out to be anything productive - but check this comment from Jha, which beautifully and wonderful encapsulates, in amazing brevity, the fallacy in Charles Tan's approach and indeed the entire "damned if you do, damned if you don't" false dichotomy. Likewise this comment from N.K. Jemisin shows why it is particularly obnoxious to step into this discussion without having done any research and hold out one's hand or cry "educate me!".
Like many others, I am not swayed by any argument that places writers above readers - or in this case, the development of writers or potential writers coming from a place of privilege above the results their works will have on the readers and the world those readers inhabit.
If RaceFail09 makes a privileged writer that much more cautious before they say "good enough!" in regards to writing about marginalized people, before they decide that watching a special on the History Channel or just checking Wikipedia suffices when writing about such things, I cannot see how that is a bad thing. If it makes them wary of releasing their works into the world before thoroughly examining them, and perhaps examining themselves, all the better.
If RaceFail09 makes writers more aware of the consequences of their words on other human beings, of the consequences of privilege and oppression in relation to those words, this is not a detriment to writing or the SF/F genre. It would be rather the opposite, actually.
I'm not interested in encouraging writers to just write any old thing and let the chips fall where they may, let whoever is hurt be hurt. I'm not interested in a genre where we encourage writers to believe that because they make up stories, because they have the privileges that allow them to even get a piece of paper and pen in hand and have the time and space and physical safety to tell a story, that this is more valuable than the readers who will be hurt by those words, or those who will never read their works but will still feel the affects.
I'm not interested in more stories for the sake of more stories, I'm interested in better stories for the sake of a better world.
If Racefail09 keeps the careless, clueless, disrespectful, and willingly ignorant from adding to the veritable ocean of racist, misappropriated, colonialist, HURTFUL works that other careless, clueless, willfully ignorant writers have been creating for centuries, that's nothing to mourn. That's cause for celebration.
I have read it, as part of a literature class in high school with a teacher who, like many others, considered it to be great literature. The same as they taught Mark Twain's works without remark or comment upon the many problematic issues with those books, and not only that period in American history, but it's ongoing effects. The same as they taught me a lot of books and along with them, snuck in no small amount of lessons on how it was okay, indeed, praiseworthy to think and write about those Other people in such ways, without regard to whether it was accurate or compassionate or respectful or ethical to do.
Were these bad teachers? No, I don't think so, but these books and the attitude that the things in them were something worthy of being transmitted to a new generation of students was and is. The system was bad, and part of changing this system is with discussions like RaceFail, and making it clear that no, such works are not okay. No, it is not praiseworthy to write such things. Dehumanizing other people because they are not your people because you live in a system that allows you the privilege of doing so is NOT OKAY.
I don't think I'm saying this very well, but luckily, a far wiser soul than I, Deepa D., has said what I don't think I have quite the brainpower to express right now in An Open Letter to Charles Tan.
Also
delux_vixens expresses a similar opinion with a very relevant quote, and lanning says oh charles tan no. Charles Tan's response to Deepa D.,which can be found here, does not inspire any kind of hope in me that this will turn out to be anything productive - but check this comment from Jha, which beautifully and wonderful encapsulates, in amazing brevity, the fallacy in Charles Tan's approach and indeed the entire "damned if you do, damned if you don't" false dichotomy. Likewise this comment from N.K. Jemisin shows why it is particularly obnoxious to step into this discussion without having done any research and hold out one's hand or cry "educate me!".
Like many others, I am not swayed by any argument that places writers above readers - or in this case, the development of writers or potential writers coming from a place of privilege above the results their works will have on the readers and the world those readers inhabit.
If RaceFail09 makes a privileged writer that much more cautious before they say "good enough!" in regards to writing about marginalized people, before they decide that watching a special on the History Channel or just checking Wikipedia suffices when writing about such things, I cannot see how that is a bad thing. If it makes them wary of releasing their works into the world before thoroughly examining them, and perhaps examining themselves, all the better.
If RaceFail09 makes writers more aware of the consequences of their words on other human beings, of the consequences of privilege and oppression in relation to those words, this is not a detriment to writing or the SF/F genre. It would be rather the opposite, actually.
I'm not interested in encouraging writers to just write any old thing and let the chips fall where they may, let whoever is hurt be hurt. I'm not interested in a genre where we encourage writers to believe that because they make up stories, because they have the privileges that allow them to even get a piece of paper and pen in hand and have the time and space and physical safety to tell a story, that this is more valuable than the readers who will be hurt by those words, or those who will never read their works but will still feel the affects.
I'm not interested in more stories for the sake of more stories, I'm interested in better stories for the sake of a better world.
If Racefail09 keeps the careless, clueless, disrespectful, and willingly ignorant from adding to the veritable ocean of racist, misappropriated, colonialist, HURTFUL works that other careless, clueless, willfully ignorant writers have been creating for centuries, that's nothing to mourn. That's cause for celebration.