Oh no, fandom, not again.
May. 6th, 2008 12:34 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
browngirlGodwin weeps, indeed.
So there's an HP RPG whose now-former name was Kristallnacht.
http://www.journalfen.net/community/unfunnybusiness/10047.html is a very good summation of links, including to deleted comments, the previous FAQ, etc. The mods of this RPG changed the name, but...
It's not just that this was wrong in and of itself (and just about all the links in the Unfunnybusiness post can explain why better than I can. Even the fauxpology, in its way). It's not just that I want to say so publicly, that everyone I know who was offended knows there's one more person who supports them. It's that... not a few people have noted the similarities to various other imbroglios over racism, sexism, and so on in fandom. All the statements are repeated with only the proper nouns changed. The "Free speech" argument, the "we're good people" statement with its subtext of 'so therefore we could never be unintentionally offensive, therefore we weren't offensive and you're making it all up', the "mindless sheep" accusations, the complaints about 'tone' and people being 'too angry', the "it was a long time ago, you should get over it already". Even the parallel drawn between those who complained and Nazis. It's all so horribly familiar.
I really love being in fandom, but I really wish we could stop having these discussions. One commonly suggested solution is that those of us who see bigotry shut up about it [which needless to say, is untenable], whereas I really wish the discussions could stop being necessary.
So there's an HP RPG whose now-former name was Kristallnacht.
http://www.journalfen.net/community/unfunnybusiness/10047.html is a very good summation of links, including to deleted comments, the previous FAQ, etc. The mods of this RPG changed the name, but...
It's not just that this was wrong in and of itself (and just about all the links in the Unfunnybusiness post can explain why better than I can. Even the fauxpology, in its way). It's not just that I want to say so publicly, that everyone I know who was offended knows there's one more person who supports them. It's that... not a few people have noted the similarities to various other imbroglios over racism, sexism, and so on in fandom. All the statements are repeated with only the proper nouns changed. The "Free speech" argument, the "we're good people" statement with its subtext of 'so therefore we could never be unintentionally offensive, therefore we weren't offensive and you're making it all up', the "mindless sheep" accusations, the complaints about 'tone' and people being 'too angry', the "it was a long time ago, you should get over it already". Even the parallel drawn between those who complained and Nazis. It's all so horribly familiar.
I really love being in fandom, but I really wish we could stop having these discussions. One commonly suggested solution is that those of us who see bigotry shut up about it [which needless to say, is untenable], whereas I really wish the discussions could stop being necessary.
