Oh fandom. Maybe I will quit you.

[browngirl]

So I was trying not to make this post, but I read too many discussions in short order to keep from doing so.

So I read N. K. Jemisyn's Things People Need to Understand, issue 223.2, which excellently states, "We have to shed this idea that SFF is somehow special. That it is perfect. That it is in any way better than the mainstream society from which it derives. It isn’t. And in fact, SFF’s manifest unwillingness to examine itself is one of the things that makes it worse than the mainstream." [And I just deleted a mini-rant concerning my opinions on the statements she was replying to, which isn't necessary considering this post of mine. So, moving right along...]

So I also read jimhines's Crap People Say About Sexual Harassment, which was further illuminating and depressing. A comment led me to this discussion on "taboo songs' in filk, where a bunch of people proudly proclaimed their Hatred of Censorship and Right to Sing Whatever They Want. It reminded me of the discussions about warnings in fic fandom, where one side doesn't want to be triggered as much and the other said, "you can't warn for every trigger in existence so you shouldn't bother warning for any of them, and asking me to warn is censoring me and I won't stand for that." Same thing here, but with filk. I suppose I benefited from the reminder of why I've left, but it was still disheartening.

Also, I came across the Overheard from the Smof Mailing List tumblr, which may go away soon due to the DCMA take-down notices being issued, and which is further illuminating and depressing as to how many in the backbone of fandom view... I was going to say 'the rest of us', but many of those pushing back against sexism and racism in fandom are just as much part of its backbone as those who view themselves as holding the line against the orc horde. ETA: However, in the comments here there's a discussion of that Tumblr, the accuracy and context of its quotations, and the harm it may have done to its seeming goal.

I was going to say more, but my Littlest Roommate requests my attention. So I'll close with a couple more links that warrant signal-boosting:

Things You Should Know About the Fallout
What Conventions Are and Aren't
Pride and Prejudice and Readercon
American Fandom goes to, err, War

Comments

[achinhibitor.livejournal.com]

Well, I don't mean that the pushing has to be really, really hard. But it does have to take some effort, because for any thing there is someone out there who will object, if objecting takes no work at all. I've seen one writer cry tears (metaphorically, but it did seem to have that level of emotional intensity) that the heroic entrepreneur had his hard-earned money taken by the evil tax man. Consider what that guy will object to... and as far as I can tell, he really does feel hurt. And God help us all if we have to worry about hurting the feelings of the white-power zealots...

As far as I can see, any reasonable solution comes down to the common-sense questions: How many people are hurt? How much are they hurt? How much work would have to be done to avoid the hurt? Does the thing we are attempting to restrict "have serious literary, artistic, political, or scientific value"?

(I don't know details of the disputes you're referencing, but I suspect from what you've said that getting the answers to these questions would support your case.)

I suppose that's a very utilitarian way to look at it. Maybe that's the difference in how we see things, I've long since given up the idea that the world cares about individuals, and I've come to suspect that even looking toward a caring world as an ideal is likely to cause more problems than it's worth. At the least, the idea that an individual has some sort of right to demand that the world be caring towards one's self seems to open the way for a great deal of exploitation under the guise of victimhood.