Saturday, September 2, 2017

A Brief Discussion about Social Media & Authors...

So let's chat about the bullshyt I saw on twitter the other day.  Now I could sit here and really articulate why this is a fresh hot pile of dog excrement, but I'm really in my feelings and I'mma just say this like a pissed off Jamaican Bronx girl, so sorry not sorry if my language offends you.  This isn't my doctoral thesis bitch, it's a rant .
The tweet that started it all.

Earlier this week I signed on to twitter that I haven't been on in months!! And the first tweet I see is a subtweet about an author writing a post on the RWA website.

She tried to share the post but because you have to be a member it wouldn't show.  After a few tweets she names and shames the awful author who dared to write some racist post and to my disappointment but not surprise it was one of my **now former** favorite authors Linda Howard. Thanks to Ann Aguirre this bitch will no longer be getting any of my dollars.


I cannot even begin to explain how saddened, disappointed and just over it I am.  I literally own every single title she's ever written, I even have two of them that I hate on my shelves because I wanted to own the catalog.  I was disappointed by the last book that came out and even have a review for it. I featured her on so many of my favorite book lists, and have several videos with her books in them, now I'm not going to take them down because that's who I was in that moment.  I'm not going to throw away her books because I've already given that bitch my dollars, and tossing them isn't going to hurt her.  I really want to toss them but I have such good memories of the stories that I'm kinda torn on getting rid of them; I feel like it's going to hurt me more than her.

Now normally if this was a man who had been accused of being racist or a pedophile or even someone who excuses those things, I would have vocally tossed them and shared why and been happy.  I would have never thought twice about it because this is how you fight back against the patricachy.  You give 'em the finger and move on.

I feel like sometimes we give women a pass; because she's a woman and all of the bullshyt stereotypes that we believe goes with that *i.e she didn't really mean it, she's sorry when she's really not sorry, she's misguided she's changed now, to hate her for being INSERT TERRIBLE THING HERE is being antifeminist, it's woman bashing*; like Taylor Swift loves to do, she's about to play the "I'm a white woman being attacked even though you have receipts to show just how shitty a human I am, save me I'm just so fragile" victim card and there will be people willing to jump to her aid.  

I'm Black, a Witch, a woman, an immigrant, the daughter of immigrants, the sister of a Queer woman writer, and have three beautiful siblings that are also artists and are black as hell.  The f*ck I look like supporting her??  I've always said that I would rather people wear their KKK hoods and let me know who they are upfront so I know not to waste any of my valuable time on them; had I not signed onto twitter I would have never seen this and would have continued to support her work, and y'all would have been looking at me like "ok girl" .  Like I tried googling this and nothing popped up.  I feel like there needs to be a list, so I can know to save myself the trouble.  And no,  I cannot separate the artist from the art, because in this care the "artist" creates/writes art that is exclusionary and doesn't believe I and others that look like me deserve to be in the same space as her.

I have so many feelings. I'm glad so many women trashed her on the thread and on twitter. I have a whole new slew of women to now read and admire.  I've started following even more authors on twitter than before.

I have to say I loved Beverly Jenkins', KM Jackson's and Brenda Jackson's response to her old hateful rhetoric. Made me glad I read, love and support their works and made me happy I had just purchased most of Brenda's catalog that I didn't already own.  Next year I'll buy all of Beverly's that I don't currently own.


Of course, there will be few real consequences to her being hateful because she's prolific, she's been around for decades and let's face it she's white in America and because this isn't something someone not in the book community will know about.  Even though we've trashed her words many more people were silent on the matter and that's what is so disappointing.  It's knowing some of them are too savvy to come right out and support her, but in their homes and private spaces they believe what she says.

This is why I don't separate the artist from the art. This is why as much as a I love MJ, I no longer listen to his music, why R. Kelly never gets played at any party I'm at. Why I will never read so many other books by authors who have let the world know they are anti LGBTQ rights, or they are chauvinists, or practice misogynoir like so many black male authors *I'm looking at you Tyrese* or they are just plain out and out racist, or they aide in pedophilia like Marion Zimmer Bradley.  The need to worship artist and have them on a pedestal even when they sully that pedestal is something I can never understand.

We treat so many of these people like gods and ignore their flaws even if those flaws hurt others as long as they don't hurt you or yours. You will support/fight/stan and troll the internet and the damn world for them.  Supporting the artist, giving them money supports their habits behind the scenes, and I can't be a part of a scene where you take my money but want to make sure there are no spaces where non white cis/non-cis gendered writers can feel comfortable or be promoted on the same level as you.

I guess I have answered my own question then. I know for a fact after today she'll never see a dime of my money and I will never promote her works E.V.E.R.   Just do me a favor, if you're a racist author let me know so I can save my time, money and efforts because I'm really getting sick of this shyt.

Let me know your thoughts, Are you surprised?? So many of my author friends weren't surprised she said these things, which made me wonder what else she been saying over the years.  Share in the comments any authors you think I should avoid because they are any of the above listed non starters for me.

Thanks for stopping by and reading my rage post.  Post was edited for issues and grammtical errors by my lovely sister,then I went back and added things so if there are errors blame me. LOl.
 

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