I've been quiet about
Mammothgate (Racefail 09 part deux), partly because it's so easy for me to understand the blindness going on there. I doubt I would have even noticed the assumptions, much less thought of speaking out against them. I just didn't see it either, completely missed the
wrongness of handwavingly undoing the existence of all Native Americans for the sake of an interesting story.
Though I have learned that
listening is a whole lot better than trying to justify oneself about things that matter like this. The author and defenders didn't think: would they have argued so much if it was a huge anachronism they missed, or a quote from someone 100 years later? Why not shut up and learn, and maybe say
Oh shit, I screwed up.
Following a bunch of links I found a fabulous essay by a woman of color writing Science Fiction/Fantasy,
Nalo Hopkinson: Looking for clues It's all good, articulate, emotional and inspiring. My favorite bit is this:
... by Samuel R. Delany, which comes from a speech he gave at the Studio Museum of Harlem: "We need visions of the future, and our people need them more than most."
Which is true and right and meaningful but she follows immediately with this:
And yet, that isn't really why I write science fiction and fantasy. It's more like the result, not the reason. Or like the air I'm breathing when I sit down to write.
I hope, very much, we can go on from there.