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May 1st, 2003
03:57 am - For the record...
You know...I just feel like getting this on the record tonight.
I say a lot of things that tick people off. Some of them, no doubt, legitimately; some of them, less so.
What I find odd is the urge to make up stuff I never said/did. I'd rather just ignore the bizarre legends that circulate, but some of these alleged remarks--at least one of which is of the kind that would quite rightly earn me social shunning--appear to have achieved the status of chestnuts to be pulled out every time someone doesn't like something I say, and I suppose if I never say anything against them, people will just assume they're true. (I mean, it is pretty hard to understand why someone would say something in a public forum that is blatantly untrue.) So here is a short course:
[Most of this stuff is still, as far as I know, in the relevant LJs, if you feel like looking it up.]
(1) "All HP writers are plagiarists." What, am I on crack? Several thousand writers at least, all plagiarists? I said, "HP fandom tolerates plagiarists." You may still find the latter statement objectionable, but it's not remotely the same as the first.
(2) "Fan A is an illiterate moron because she's Hispanic and bilingual [with the alleged implication: all Hispanics/non-native English speakers are illiterate morons]." Er. I suggested that one non-native-speaking fan's English skills weren't so great. Does that mean that I think every or even most non-native speakers must, because of their race, misuse the language or be dumb altogether? Um, no. Some people (of all races) don't speak their second (or more) language all that well, or have only mastered it to a certain level, beyond which deficiencies remain plain. This is a fact indisputable to anyone who has any experience with learning another language or dealing with any number of non-native speakers of their own language, as is the fact that some people (of all races) speak a second (or more) language with skill that shames some native speakers. How that turns into "All Hispanics are too dumb to learn English" is beyond me. Rude to the fan in question? Perhaps. Racist? That's a bit of a logic leap, to say the least.
(3) "All Spike fans are moral cretins." Then I'm a moral cretin, because I dig me some S2 Spike and am a Spike/Dru shipper.
(4) Sarah T. cut ties with a fan who even dared to mention Fandom_Wank in her journal, and wasn't even a member! *shrugs* It's no secret that I think that if you're comfortable hanging in a group that routinely trashes me, you're not really friendly towards me--call me nuts. But the only person I had any sort of ties with that I publicly called out on this was a member of f_w who had actually reproduced in her LJ, with praise, a f_w post slamming me, and then was shocked I was annoyed. Again, you may or may not think this is a reasonable position (personally, I think I should have spoken to her privately instead of responding to the post--my error), but...it's not the position I'm reputed to hold.
(5) Sarah T. proclaimed herself the elder stateswoman of SV fandom! *rolls eyes* Read it in context (my blog got trashed after posting it, but I think someone helpfully quoted it in Te's LJ) and decide for yourself if it's "Squeee! I'm hanging out with a whole bunch of cool SV people!" or "I am the queen of SV fandom! All shall love me and despair!!!!!"
Hate me if you must, folks, but do try to hate the stuff I actually do and say.
Comments disabled because, as I said, I don't want to rehash the original debates again. Nor do I feel like starting a long argument over who said and did what. I just put my position out there, for people who'd like to consider the other side (and perhaps look up the original material themselves) before judging--especially before they start tossing shit themselves.
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