"I actually liked reading her stories when I first joined Medium, they seemed quite real, a view of racism I don't see myself, obviously."
Yeah, that's just it. I think with Rebecca it's a question of exposure. The first couple of stories of hers I read struck me as a little sensationalist, but I though, "sure, she's a different person, m…
"I actually liked reading her stories when I first joined Medium, they seemed quite real, a view of racism I don't see myself, obviously."
Yeah, that's just it. I think with Rebecca it's a question of exposure. The first couple of stories of hers I read struck me as a little sensationalist, but I though, "sure, she's a different person, maybe her experiences have simply differed from mine." I believed she was at least being genuine and was willing to excuse some of the hyperbole as fear or a difference in personality.
But then there's the next one. And the next one. And each time it gets a little harder to take her seriously. Especially when she starts talking about the way black people in general are treated, and it's obvious that what she's saying simply isn't true. Eventually any sympathy I might have had is completely eroded because it's obvious she's just a liar.
This is a microcosm of racial discourse at the moment. Especially on social media. And it's doing exactly the same thing to people who I see becoming increasingly racist in their thinking. They didn't start out like that in most cases. Some I personally know started out perfectly reasonable and engaged. But the constant drip, drip of bullshit, coupled with being told how evil and racist they are all the time, has led some of them to reflexively deny racism even in situations where it's obvious, or to generalise about black people in response to the generalisations about white people.
Increasingly often I find myself having arguments with people because they've just assumed I hold a bunch of views that I don't, because they're the views "black writers" hold. People like Rebecca and Marley are doing real, measurable damage.
Good luck with Vocal, I haven't given them a go yet but I'll be interested to hear your experiences with them.
"I actually liked reading her stories when I first joined Medium, they seemed quite real, a view of racism I don't see myself, obviously."
Yeah, that's just it. I think with Rebecca it's a question of exposure. The first couple of stories of hers I read struck me as a little sensationalist, but I though, "sure, she's a different person, maybe her experiences have simply differed from mine." I believed she was at least being genuine and was willing to excuse some of the hyperbole as fear or a difference in personality.
But then there's the next one. And the next one. And each time it gets a little harder to take her seriously. Especially when she starts talking about the way black people in general are treated, and it's obvious that what she's saying simply isn't true. Eventually any sympathy I might have had is completely eroded because it's obvious she's just a liar.
This is a microcosm of racial discourse at the moment. Especially on social media. And it's doing exactly the same thing to people who I see becoming increasingly racist in their thinking. They didn't start out like that in most cases. Some I personally know started out perfectly reasonable and engaged. But the constant drip, drip of bullshit, coupled with being told how evil and racist they are all the time, has led some of them to reflexively deny racism even in situations where it's obvious, or to generalise about black people in response to the generalisations about white people.
Increasingly often I find myself having arguments with people because they've just assumed I hold a bunch of views that I don't, because they're the views "black writers" hold. People like Rebecca and Marley are doing real, measurable damage.
Good luck with Vocal, I haven't given them a go yet but I'll be interested to hear your experiences with them.