just because Western literature has a long and great tradition of using POC tragedies like this doesn't mean one should continue it
It doesn't mean they should, absolutely not; but it does mean that they do and they do so without even noticing.
The 'long and great tradition' makes it sound like something that's perpetuated on purpose; in most cases it's not. It's something that's perpetuated because it's normal, it's part of the landscape, it's something none of the people in certain groups (i.e., lots and lots of groups of white Westerners, at least here in the USA) think anything about.
Which is not to excuse it; just to say, people keep saying 'how could she not have seen what she was doing?' and 'how could her betas / friends / artist / readers not have noticed and said something?' -- the answer is because they literally didn't notice. If you and everyone around you is used to stepping over a crack in the sidewalk every day of your life, you'll all keep doing it until someone comes along and says, "why don't you idiots just FIX that?"
(And if it seems like I'm conflating racism with something as mild as a crack in the sidewalk -- that's because for a lot of people, it is.)
It's just. I don't even. I think things are working toward getting less full of unbelievable fail, but there are certainly no end of examples of how far we have to go.
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Date: 2010-06-16 12:22 pm (UTC)It doesn't mean they should, absolutely not; but it does mean that they do and they do so without even noticing.
The 'long and great tradition' makes it sound like something that's perpetuated on purpose; in most cases it's not. It's something that's perpetuated because it's normal, it's part of the landscape, it's something none of the people in certain groups (i.e., lots and lots of groups of white Westerners, at least here in the USA) think anything about.
Which is not to excuse it; just to say, people keep saying 'how could she not have seen what she was doing?' and 'how could her betas / friends / artist / readers not have noticed and said something?' -- the answer is because they literally didn't notice. If you and everyone around you is used to stepping over a crack in the sidewalk every day of your life, you'll all keep doing it until someone comes along and says, "why don't you idiots just FIX that?"
(And if it seems like I'm conflating racism with something as mild as a crack in the sidewalk -- that's because for a lot of people, it is.)
It's just. I don't even. I think things are working toward getting less full of unbelievable fail, but there are certainly no end of examples of how far we have to go.