For The Record

Just a little head's up to the various people blah-blahing about me. I an not an African American. I am, however, African Descended. That is, I am black. Not all black people in the world are African American. There is no such thing as a British African American. Or a Swedesh African American.

It is fascinating to me, however, that attached to some mealy mouthed edict of the fact that I (and others) am/are black, there is always some following statement of "You can't talk to that one, because she's an angry 'African American' and is convinced this incident is racist and is thus now highly irrational. You know how it is.".

And yet, when many, many PoC point out "Damn, so and so is being a defensive white person. AGAIN. Not listening to reason, etc... you know how it is." It's suddenly all about hate or something something, and OMG THEY WANT TO TURN SLAVERY AROUND! WHITE OPPRESSION! THEY WANT ME TO TAKE ABUSE!

I mean, it's not confusing. Hardly. But it is fascinating. How privilege and expectations of white supremacy warp pov is very very fascinating.

Someone should do a study.

Ruminating On FilmCritic Hulk; Thoughts On Criticism

HULK ESSAY YOUR ASS: TANGIBLE DETAILS AND THE NATURE OF CRITICISM.

Some people will not like the written style of the essay, some may not enjoy reading it, due to said style. I've done my best to c/p the parts I find most relevant to the dynamic I see often between readers, authors and book critics, especially the divide between readers and 'professional' book critics. And most especially between authors, professional book critics and readers with a particular perspective and the language to express it aka social justice readers.

I am aware of the words just before I start c/ping that discuss bias involved in opinions. I believe having a bias towards social justice and non invisibility of minorities is NOT actually a bad thing and counters the bias against paying attention to these matters as all, as if the world were a contextless, historyless rainbow farting magic bunny land.

Bold and italics (strong and emphasis) as originally posted. Things in colour are my emphasis.

YET HULK DESPERATE KNOW WHY PEOPLE RESPOND TO MOVIES WAY THEY DO. AND MORE IMPORTANTLY HOW THEY THEN PROCESS AND EXPLAIN THOSE RESPONSES. THE ANSWER NOT JUST RELATE MOVIE CRITICISM, BUT UNIVERSAL CRITICISM. HULK BELIEVE CENTER AROUND ONE THING:

TANGIBLE DETAILS....

OK. HULK KNOW YOU THINKING “TANGIBLE DETAILS? DUH, OF COURSE! WHAT YOU IDIOT? OF COURSE THE FREAKIN’ DETAILS MATTER!”...

OUR ABILITY PROCESS THINGS INHERENTLY LINKED TO AMOUNT OF INFORMATION WE UNDERSTAND...

IT OKAY IF NOT KNOW LOT ABOUT CERTAIN SUBJECT. THERE ACTUALLY SUBCONSCIOUS WAY IN WHICH MOST OF US ABLE PROCESS SIMPLE GOOD OR BADNESS OF JUST ABOUT ANYTHING: MOVIES WORK ON LARGELY VISCERAL LEVEL. FOOD CAN TASTE GOOD OR NO TASTE GOOD. SPORTS TEAMS HAVE WINS AND LOSSES. PRODUCTS CAN SIMPLY WORK OR NO WORK. THERE WAY WE UNDERSTAND SOME FORM RELATIVE VALUE OF ALL THESE THINGS.

BUT WHEN COME TIME ACTUALLY EXPLAIN THEM, NOT EVERYONE HAVE LANGUAGE/VERNACULAR TO BEST EXPRESS WHAT AT PLAY. SO ONLY WAY CAN EXPLAIN ANYTHING BY PRESENTING EVIDENCE. AND EVIDENCE 100% DEPENDENT ON THINGS WE NOTICE. AND THOSE THE TANGIBLE DETAILS.

… and FOR MOST PEOPLE, IT NOT ALWAYS THE RIGHT DETAILS PER SAY, BUT INSTEAD THE ONES THAT SIMPLY STICK OUT MOST....

BEING “EXPERT” JUST MEAN YOU ABLE MAKE THE LESS TANGIBLE DETAILS, WELL, TANGIBLE...

THIS MEAN FILM CRITICISM MORE DEPENDENT ON WHAT OTHER FILMS SEEN AND PROCESSED BEFORE IT AND HOW FAMILIAR CRITIC WITH FILMMAKERS. WHICH JUST MEAN ANY INTANGIBLE DETAILS IN MOVIE SEEM EVEN MORE IRRELEVANT TO CASUAL OUTSIDER. BUT OF COURSE SEEING TONS MOVIES = CRITICAL. IT ALLOW CONSTRUCT PERSPECTIVE. A SENSE OF FILMIC TRENDS. NARRATIVE. UNDERSTANDING. ALL THAT GOOD STUFF...

BUT EVEN IF THE “EXPERTS” = THE QUALIFIED ONES, EVERYONE STILL HAVE RIGHT THEIR OPINION ON MOVIES. IT ULTIMATELY JUST A CONVERSATION AFTER ALL....

IT HARD LEARN HOW DIGEST WHAT OFTEN EMOTIONAL REACTIONS.

BUT EVERY YEAR HULK GET SHARPER IN ABILITY TO EXPLAIN IDEAS, THE VISCERAL REACTIONS, AND THE SUBCONSCIOUS FEELINGS THAT MOVIES ALWAYS ELICIT. THE EDUCATION NEVER STOP.

Do note, I will laugh at anyone who comes away from this thinking I'm describing activist reactions to exclusion as purely emotional, and thus untrained and in need of processing. Emotions aren't separated from the insult of invisibility, no. But people capable of having an actual conversation (however highly peppered with cussing) have long since processed all that they can bear, and then some.

I will also laugh at anyone walking away from this thinking the only reason these things are seen, is because people are looking for them, with some kind of 'Playing The Race Card Super Cool Spectacles'. You don't look for invisibility, invisibility slaps you in the face - which oddly enough makes me think of that so and so who was all 'Straight White Male Gamers Are Being Oppressed' at the Bioware Dragon Age 2 people. Not being specifically catered to - nay, exclusively catered to, felt like invisibility to him, and thus like a slap in the face.

Fuck You, Jim Butcher

OH, okay. Now I get it. I'm white, so I need to have that kind of hate thrown my way and STFU. <- Jim Butcher (Twitter Account)

Also this:

LucyZephyr I did respect them, actually. Up until the "fuck you Jim Butcher" part. < - Jim Butcher (Twitter Account)

Ghost Story comes out this month. The 26th, I believe. And Jim Butcher has opened his mouth and I have heard about it and now, now I can't fucking FINISH the damn series!

I want to. I really, really want to. I've more invested in Harry and Murphy and Tom and Ivy and Mouse and Mister than I had in Miles Varkosigan.

But the tone argument? THE TONE ARGUMENT?!

Your Chicago IS the most white washed thing since ever. And it IS no consolation that somehow people of colour just don't SHOW in your universe all that much, but werewolves, demons, fairies, fairy tales, do. That it's a hesitant feeling when Indigenous American Folklore is invoked, cause 'Injun Joe' is mystical red man of mysterious powers.

He honestly doesn't get it? Can't project it? Imagine it? Hypothesize it? He's writes what he writes and he honestly can't see/hear the hurt and disappointment and sorrow in that 'FUCK YOU JIM BUTCHER' ? He can't get inside another person's head at all? His privilege as white and male is THAT FUCKING THICK? REALLY?

He can't see it as akin to Murphy saying 'Fuck You' to yet another person disparaging her because of her size, her gender, her sex, or her appearance happening to match some cute fragile woman ideal?

He can't see it as akin to Tom saying 'Fuck You' to any person who thought Vampires can't want more than they are? Or that his only interest in Justine could be as food?

He can't see it as aking to HARRY saying 'Fuck You, COUNCIL' for thinking that people don't grow and change, don't and can't learn discipline or different forms of discipline, can't be led unwilling and unknowing into things? But turn it around, make a change and become BETTER?

HE of all people, given the characters he writes, can't imagine the bound up emotions of someone screaming out 'FUCK YOU' at their disappearance? At their malignment?

He has his character scream 'FUCK YOU' to the Christian Deity, and to Arch Angels, and it mean so much, so very much and be all about not expecting a reverent tone when respect and trust aren't even jagged and broken but crushed glass pills?

He can't get it? Privilege is too thick? He has to pull an Elizabeth Bear and an Emma Moon and a Patrica Wrede?

All these years I've been reading more skill into his writing than is really there?

Well fuck. Fuck indeed. Fuck you, Jim Butcher.

Aside: I want to hold out hope for him. I really do. I think this might be the first time RACE FAIL has touched someone whose work I enjoy so much. Not respect, but enjoy; their universe being a place of actual escapism; a safe place. So I know that my lingering stupid hope that something will somehow hit his forebrain and illuminate and enlighten is the remnant of that the trust I'd placed in him as a writer - the trust that let me follow him when dabbles in chauvanism and dangling plot ends and shortened classism issues and all the damn gay jokes.

But sweet spikey haberdashery, I know better than to expect change.

PS: I saw the tumblr response to the series weeks ago and agreed with it, and put my hope in the new book. And now I laugh, I laugh that NOW near the release date it's apparently been linked to him and he's being ass enough, loud enough, that it lights up the boards in my circles.

[ETA: Link to OP. (July11th)]