Discussion: A Nation of Cowards?

>>White Americans tend to try very hard to not discuss race, hoping that by not discussing it that everyone will eventually forget all about it and get along in a big happy world. It's classic denial, shadow stuff like Jung was into, and they project their own mixed feelings about the whole issue onto others. <<

This is true.

>>Anyone white who dares discuss race in any way at all is instantly labeled a racist, and as if that weren't bad enough, there's no defending against that.<<

In my experience, this is partially true. I've had some good conversations about race that didn't turn into verbal brawls. And there are ways to derail some scripts, if you know enough about the history of race relations and ethnic literature.

>>I mean, look at me. I don't even feel human, let alone white, and one of my aspects comes from a planet where skin color is extremely random and varied, and almost no one has a single solid skin color.<<

*chuckle* I so hear you.

I have an interest in sociodynamics, but if I'm not actively paying attention to it, I tend to be colorblind. Now if I just say that, it pisses people off, probably because a lot of people say it without it being true. But if they watch me a for a while, they can see it in action. Things like the ethnic mix has to be mostly nonwhite before I even notice, and that won't stop me from sitting down unless there's a separate sense of hostility. Or like the way I tend to let other people define their own identity, which can be both endearing and baffling to people who've been bounced out of various groups -- too light for this one, too dark for that. Or the fact that the first thing I do in an African restaurant is search the menu for goat, because most restaurants don't serve it and I like goat, nevermind that it's not something white people usually eat. Or that my judgment of historical accounts is based more on what people did than how they looked, which got me into plenty trouble in history classes. Culturally speaking, I am just not very attached to the modern mainstream; and by the time you add up all the other influences, the result is not monochromatic.

>>I think their attitude would best be summed up by "You can befriend people of other species, from other planets, but you still quibble amongst yourselves over skin color?" With a look of bewilderment.<<

I've done it in science fiction and fantasy too. One thing I like about my desertfolk is that they are not hung up on either skin tone or religion. They'll pick fights over gender identity, tribal affiliation, use or non-use of magic, and certain philosophical points -- but they are plain baffled by some of the stuff other people fight over. Some tribes are pretty homogenous in appearance, but many of them are not. Waterjewel genetics are confetti. So are most of the cities. And somewhere in my notes, I've got a lovely little bit of dialog in which Shareem explains that in desert lexicon, "colored" doesn't refer to skin tone but to whether you know yourself well enough to have established a set of signature colors. They find the idea of racism more than a little ridiculous -- I mean, I've seen bandits lose patience with foreigners over that. Particularly Kiroans, who can be downright pigheaded; even the Kiroan centaurs are stuffy and iconoclastic. And then there was the spectacular bit of ethnic-inspired nonsense in Penumbra, which came to the attention of Kovid, my evil warlord-wizard. His ultimate response -- after the problem kept recurring -- was both nasty and hilarious. Well, okay, I thought it was hilarious. The two sides of the fight (with the exception of the only two sensible people in the whole valley) were much less amused. That's one of my partly-done stories. I should haul it out and finish it someday. It's one I tend to work on when I see news about some really lame dispute in central Europe or the Middle East when the people who hate each other are next-door neighbors and, by the time you figure in all the history of rape, related.

Besides, I'm a big fan of the tradition of ethnic F&SF. I have some real gems in my collection. Got a couple pieces of Australian, a fair handful of Native American, and a substantial amount of African-American examples. Not as much Asian -- it's very popular these days, but most of it doesn't grab me. Though I must admit James Allen Gardner did a stunning job of facing off a Western-style hero and an Eastern-style hero in Radiant.

Of course, then there are the examples that cast racism across the species: the magnificent movie and TV series Alien Nation, and the movie I, Robot which was only vaguely inspired by Asimov but a work of epic brilliance in the irony of a black cop treating robots like niggers. Plus a nod to Star Trek which introduced the mixed bridge crew and a future in which racism (at least among humans) had largely faded; and the historic short story "The Day After the Day the Martians Came," with its fast flick from intraspecies to interspecies racism.

In different ways, they all reveal the folly of judging people based on appearance rather than individual qualities. Some examples are ugly reading; some are sublime; but all invite the reader to think about the issues raised.

We're not the same person, though we do have a fair bit in common.

The only LJ I have is this one. I also maintain several communities: crowdfunding (connecting creators and patrons of the arts), cheap_cookin (recipes and tips for the frugal kitchen), and gore_challenge (making America's energy green). My other blogs are:
Gaiatribe: Ideas for a Thinking Planet
http://gaiatribe.geekuniversalis.com
Hypatia's Hoard of Reviews
http://reviewarchive.iblog.my