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Equal Opportunity Hate
Jan. 17th, 2010 06:39 amThere is a certain group on Dream Width and Live Journal called the Anti-Oppression Linkspam Community that claims to, and I quote from its profile, "serve as a resource for anti-oppression efforts." That is all well and good. In the digital age it can be reassuring that independent eyes are on the lookout for that which devalues free thought and decency.
But what happens when the group that watches for oppression does the oppressing? Does that group tattle on itself? Nope. It sits in smug superiority while it falsely judges and name-calls.
A group who is supposed to be on the watch for actual oppression manages to go beyond snarkiness by labeling one author's innocent and un-offending musing as "straight white privilege." Umm.... that wouldn't be ok even IF the author fit the label, much less when the author is only one out of those three.
But it gets worse. The "community," and I use that term loosely, goes on to label and warn other lifted texts as "white privileged", "white privileged and derailing," "dismissing and derailing," and "white, derailing." Since when is a person's race a warning?
Does being white mean an opinion must be flagged? Does disagreeing with the narrow views of linkspam incur the derailing or dismissing warning? Can't linkspam let readers judge for themselves or is that too much to ask? Maybe the anti-oppression linkspam group simply likes bandying about labels and races?
But why would an anti-oppression community want to be the one applying labels? Why would an anti-oppression community want to throw stones, to cast aspersions, to be the judge and jury of its readers? Why would an anti-oppression community name-call, lie, and be intolerant?
Why? Because the group has clearly crossed the line from being a true and helpful watchdog into territory in which the community spews hate, ignorance and venom as much as those it condemns.
So who watches the watchmen (or watchwomen)? Certainly not the linkspam folks. They're too busy readying their newest digital jab to see the gross error in their ways. And that is too bad. Every bit of good work they may have done in the future is now tainted.
And yes, linkspam, that is coming from a straight, white man.
But what happens when the group that watches for oppression does the oppressing? Does that group tattle on itself? Nope. It sits in smug superiority while it falsely judges and name-calls.
A group who is supposed to be on the watch for actual oppression manages to go beyond snarkiness by labeling one author's innocent and un-offending musing as "straight white privilege." Umm.... that wouldn't be ok even IF the author fit the label, much less when the author is only one out of those three.
But it gets worse. The "community," and I use that term loosely, goes on to label and warn other lifted texts as "white privileged", "white privileged and derailing," "dismissing and derailing," and "white, derailing." Since when is a person's race a warning?
Does being white mean an opinion must be flagged? Does disagreeing with the narrow views of linkspam incur the derailing or dismissing warning? Can't linkspam let readers judge for themselves or is that too much to ask? Maybe the anti-oppression linkspam group simply likes bandying about labels and races?
But why would an anti-oppression community want to be the one applying labels? Why would an anti-oppression community want to throw stones, to cast aspersions, to be the judge and jury of its readers? Why would an anti-oppression community name-call, lie, and be intolerant?
Why? Because the group has clearly crossed the line from being a true and helpful watchdog into territory in which the community spews hate, ignorance and venom as much as those it condemns.
So who watches the watchmen (or watchwomen)? Certainly not the linkspam folks. They're too busy readying their newest digital jab to see the gross error in their ways. And that is too bad. Every bit of good work they may have done in the future is now tainted.
And yes, linkspam, that is coming from a straight, white man.
