Time for a follow-up. When is criticism like “wilding?” Never. Never. NEVER.<\/p>\n
Unless, of course, you’re a racist<\/a> trying to defend friends from people of color.<\/p>\n It is possible to describe criticism coming from people of color in a way that doesn’t equate words with violence. The criticism is fervent; it’s angry; it’s passionate; it’s vehement. If one disgarees with it, one could call it overblown, exaggerated, vicious, cruel, unreasonable, stupid, ridiculous, douchebaggy, mean-spirited, made in bad faith, irrational.<\/p>\n Who is the primary target of historical and present racialized violence? People of color. Black men lynched; black women raped; Chinese men slaughtered; Native American’s scalps collected and turned into the government for cash; Native American women systemically sterilized against their wills until 1975 so that 1\/3 of child-bearing aged Native American women had undergone a (usually involuntary) hysterectomy; Chinese women imported for prostitution; Japanese people caged ni internment camps; Indigenous peoples all over the globe shoved aside to make room for colonial conquest; and so, so much more.<\/p>\n Amanda and Seal Press are being critized. Their lives are not in danger. Their physical integrity is not in danger. They are not being dragged through the town square. They are not being “handed a rope.” They are not being lynched, wilded, or raped.<\/p>\n This language suggests actual physical threats that are historically and presently used against people of color in general, and particularly people of color who stand up against racism. It uses that language to suggest that citicism from people of color is equivalent to these actions. Black men are slaughtered by policemen who fire into a car full of unarmed men<\/a> and white women are criticized with harsh, unflinching language.<\/p>\n These are not equivalent.<\/b><\/p>\n And even if you think it’s clear as crystal that Amanda and Seal Press are being unfairly and hyperbolically impugned, it should be really easy to see why.<\/p>\n See also my original post<\/a> about hyperbolic language being used to describe criticism coming from people with less privilege than one has.<\/p>\n (Feminist, anti-racist commenters only.)<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Time for a follow-up. When is criticism like “wilding?” Never. Never. NEVER. Unless, of course, you’re a racist trying to defend friends from people of color. It is possible to describe criticism coming from people of color in a way … Continue reading