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yelosonLast year, when this first got started, someone told me, "Why bother? It's just blogging, it's not going to make a difference!" (I don't remember the exact words, but it was a very "STFU LOL!" kind of way. Guess who got defriended?)
And, last year, I didn't really have the words to properly slap this person. Guess what? It's a new year.
So, why blog? What difference will it make? I don't know, we could ask the same of political parties and advertisers who've been keen on buying up or buying off bloggers. If it's worth enough to spend money on, odds are it has some effect.
Of course, the logic is, that somehow that blogging matters in one arena but not another. Because we all know that when you talk about something that's a hot button topic, that fills people full of passion, they ignore it and never read about it, right?
No, the reason we blog against racism is the same reason folks wrote against it, made songs on the radio, or even movies against racism. If propaganda can start wars and encourage genocide, can it stop it or discourage it? And, you might want to ask yourself what might be so bad about a bunch of folks writing that "People are people and until XYZ stops, you're not treating them so"?
Of course, the question my LOL-man had, was "What difference will it make?"
The only way understanding a problem and taking action on it doesn't work, is if you're not listening.
Oh, look, there's the problem.
So is the answer for me to stop talking, or for you to start listening?
And, last year, I didn't really have the words to properly slap this person. Guess what? It's a new year.
So, why blog? What difference will it make? I don't know, we could ask the same of political parties and advertisers who've been keen on buying up or buying off bloggers. If it's worth enough to spend money on, odds are it has some effect.
Of course, the logic is, that somehow that blogging matters in one arena but not another. Because we all know that when you talk about something that's a hot button topic, that fills people full of passion, they ignore it and never read about it, right?
No, the reason we blog against racism is the same reason folks wrote against it, made songs on the radio, or even movies against racism. If propaganda can start wars and encourage genocide, can it stop it or discourage it? And, you might want to ask yourself what might be so bad about a bunch of folks writing that "People are people and until XYZ stops, you're not treating them so"?
Of course, the question my LOL-man had, was "What difference will it make?"
The only way understanding a problem and taking action on it doesn't work, is if you're not listening.
Oh, look, there's the problem.
So is the answer for me to stop talking, or for you to start listening?
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no subject
Date: 2007-08-06 05:25 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2007-08-06 05:57 pm (UTC)Word. We got some comments last year on it being self-congratulatory -- I do see that as a legitimate complaint coming from bloggers who do this every day, like Angry Black Woman, and I do think it's a legitimate complaint as a lot of entries last year were along the lines of "My First Encounter With a Black Person." But for others, I wanted to ask them if they had been around when assorted race-related debates took off and if it did indeed sound like preaching to the choir.
no subject
Date: 2007-08-06 06:38 pm (UTC)First, most of us who participate actually do blog about race outside of the one week- sometimes a lot, sometimes a little, but just the same, it's there.
Second, if anything we're learning from the internet is the way in which dialogue produces dialogue- sometimes engineering a wave of focus cracks open other ideas or understanding that you don't normally see. It's the same reason people do retreats or conventions- in order to produce a gathering and spur more thought on the subject.
Is it a sole means of solving the problem? No way, no more than reading books about farming solves hunger, but why would you expect a single tool to solve a complicated problem?
The main thing I'm looking forward to this year is the white allies support, if nothing else, at least as role models and examples that no, it's not just a few folks being oversensitive.
no subject
Date: 2007-08-07 12:50 pm (UTC)Of course, the logic is, that somehow that blogging matters in one arena but not another. Because we all know that when you talk about something that's a hot button topic, that fills people full of passion, they ignore it and never read about it, right?
Hee hee hee. Oh, you makes so much sense. :) Now I feel hopeful.
I'm looking to see what the allies, and the people who I don't know of who are allies, blog about in this week. I'm happy it's rolled around, and now I'm trying to think of what I want to see.
What would you like to see?
...is the answer for me to stop talking, or for you to start listening?
*nods*
Unrelated to this important topic, the scary excerpts I read to you the other day can be found in this