There's Something About Tor Writers

Or perhaps the title should be: There's Something About White Female Want-To-Feel-Progressive-Writers

There's Something About White SF Writers



Ahh, that's the ticket.

Now, Lois McMaster Bujold in response to criticism on Patricia Wedge's erasure of Native Americans in her pioneer fantasy 'The Thirteenth Child', says this:

You know, I thought you were making a few interesting points, till you came to this:

"I've come to the conclusion that based on the shadow cast by white supremacist colonization and the ongoing genocide of the original inhabitants of the Americas, I can't-- in good conscience-- read the Thirteenth Child. It's not so much recoiling from a shadow cast by a distortion in my head but disgust with a trope that holds that even when they're strangers in a strange land, all white people need in order to prosper is whiteness."

My mother -- born in 1912 -- used to have a phrase for this: "My mind is made up. Don't confuse me with the facts."

A stance of moral superiority really cannot be floated over an abyss of ignorance. (Though I admit, people routinely try.) It's especially not a sound footing for this book which, within the limits of its scope, actually does some very interesting things with subverting assumed Avyrupan dominances.

I will stop recommending you read it, however. The book deserves better than to be pored over by an inquisitor only seeking evidence for a conviction already decided upon.

Ta, L.

Someone says "The complete erasure of Indigenous Peoples echoes current pseudo myth that all White People needed to survive is themselves/their whiteness, they never had to rely on anyone to get by."

And Bjould says: "You've already made up your mind to dislike this. This book/this author deserves better than someone who is LOOKING FOR RACISM."

Yes, as if Racism is microscopic and some of us don't trip over log sized wedges sticking out of people and institutions on a daily - no, an hourly basis.

Well, it looks as if I shall never be finishing up the Saga of Miles Vorkosigan.

And right now, I'm just going to scroll through Tor and put all their authors on my 'TO NEVER READ' list. Maybe I'll cross reference said list with a list of minority writers and gain a handful of new authors. But I'm tired of this white bullshit.

And I agree with the poster over on the Tor site who pointed out the death of colonies who weren't assisted by Natives who shared their crop of Corn (which currently rules us all) and how to plant and what to eat. Yes, it's 'nice' to write about the colonization of the Americas without Whites grave robbing, raping native women, killing women and children, infecting with diseases, treating as subhuman, destroying cultures and a way of life and committing genocide. Apparently, however, Patricia Wrede feels the way to do that is to erase the multiple native peoples of the Americas out of existence.

But isn't it 'nice' all the white people reading can totally imagine themselves in her world? Who cares about the First Nations Peoples, Blacks, Mexicans, Latinos and Chinese who all played a part in 'The Matter of America' who will end up going 'WTF?!!!'. They're just being picky.

And because I don't want to write another post, since I'm already covering WHITE SCIFI DOING IT WRONG - District 9, where the intergalatic peoples being exploited in South Africa; with their technology being stolen and reapplied for martial purposes, where they are second class citizens labeled non-humans and constantly advised against using or wandering into human only zones or bathrooms or swimming holes; are COCKROACHES.

Yes.

You read that right.

The sub-human group that needs to 'know its place', that's considered a burden, that's watched and monitored and can be disappeared just like that - intergalatic. cockroaches.

It should be noted that the original short film, doesn't have the aliens as cockroach shaped. I wonder who added that little titbit, an American? Or a South African? My bet's on American.

If you do NOT see the problem here, you should stop trying to be an anti-racist. Just. stop.

Meanwhile, Peter Jackson is rapidly becoming a Hollywood living marker of 'INSIDE: Amazing Skanky Race Issues!'. He got a pass for continuing Tolkien's race prejudices, but King Kong and now this are all on him.

Intergalatic COCKROACHES, people - who need to go back where they came from! And the plot seems to revolve around a white, male, human, by the way, the cockroaches are not taking center stage in this possible Apartheid parallel.

Y'know, I bet McMaster Bujold would tell me I'm just looking for racism so of course I'll find it. How cold is it that I'm guessing she just might be a FireFly fan too?