tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3235431266233602422.post2637219654115673588..comments2024-02-27T03:15:13.798-08:00Comments on Silver Goggles: Racist Things Steampunks Are Not Immune To: Looking for Other People's Hurt To be Offended ByJhahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16985629384463009968noreply@blogger.comBlogger3125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3235431266233602422.post-60780790672477506822014-12-22T08:36:12.527-08:002014-12-22T08:36:12.527-08:00(Sorry if double posting, couldn't tell if pre...(Sorry if double posting, couldn't tell if previous comment was eaten or not)<br /><br />When writing I sometimes feel anxious that I'm going to get it wrong, that I'm going to offend someone. I've attempted to have a nice mix of characters without all the heroes being whities, but did I appropriate someone else's culture? Did I write a stereotype without realising? It's always possible, and I always worry. But whenever it starts to get on top of me I always remember, I'm white. I can just stop caring. I always have a safe place to go back to where nobody will be bothered by my mistakes. But for other people, there isn't always that option- discrimination is something they deal with every day, in places I would never imagine. I might feel 5 minutes discomfort thinking about how I might have been offensive, but it's nothing compared to the lifetime that's endured by the people I might offend. So in the end I sit down, shut up, do my best and hope that if I do fuck up, someone will call me on it and I'll have the good graces to fix it.<br /><br />I found your site because I love writing Steampunk but felt more and more guilty that I was romanticising a really horrible period in history. But thanks to your blog I see now that there's a lot of amazing writing going on inside Steampunk that doesn't glory in colonialism, and it's opened my eyes. Thank you so much.Darienhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02234158944683060861noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3235431266233602422.post-15398650811913409142013-01-24T15:06:38.417-08:002013-01-24T15:06:38.417-08:00... wow.
VERY well said.
I'm white, fairly...... wow. <br /><br />VERY well said. <br /><br />I'm white, fairly successful, and admittedly privileged, and *I* get pissed enough over this topic to smack people. The self-centered egoism displayed by many (usually white, often male) people in our culture is beyond exasperating. I can't even begin to imagine how it must infuriate you. <br /><br />Keep fighting the good fight, friend. You can't change a culture (or a subculture) in a day, or in a generation, but if enough people push back, the change WILL happen. Greenwood Creationshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12999562362115863803noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3235431266233602422.post-33494384029042913422013-01-20T16:52:28.288-08:002013-01-20T16:52:28.288-08:00That's what bothers me, the people who complai...That's what bothers me, the people who complain things are not ok because they are not a part of the predominant white culture. for myself, I prefer to dress in a more English way, but when I write, I do have some characters from other countries. I was afraid that people would judge me, be like, that isn't correctly historical, etc. but alternate history is the entire point of the stories, and I think it's nice to represent other cultures instead of ignoring them for fear or causing offence. Because to say that someone is totally Other and we can't even write about them, well, that's kind of racist too!Laura Morriganhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16402692693911867276noreply@blogger.com