Remyth Project: All the Community We Need

[yeloson]

So several folks who've been excited by this have asked if we can form an LJ community for it. I've held off on the idea for personal reasons (hella busy), but, now that I've had some time to think about it, I think we should NOT have an community, and here's why:

Remyth is about having ownership of your words, stories and myths, and how you choose to share them.

When you post to your own journal, you have full control over it, not only in editing, deleting, etc. but you can choose to share it only with your friends. When you post to a community, (at the very least) everyone in the community can see it- and you don't necessarily pick who's in that community- the mods do.

Even if it's a safe space, honestly, people are dealing with some serious stuff here, if they just want 5 of their friends in on it and screw the rest of the world? That's ok. That's Remyth. Power is being able to choose your audiences, choose who you bless with your words.

Second, if we had a community, what happens to the people who are doing Remyths who aren't part of that community (Perhaps for even the reasons above)? Are they less legit? This isn't a cool kids club, and the biggest issue of even possibly having a safe space in the first place is that once you make a stage, people will come for the spotlight...

Although communities are fun, and great, as a social structure, it's not a good fit for the Remyth Project.

So. People of color with power over their own stories and past.

That's what it is and that's what it should be.

Because realistically? All I did was come up with a catchy name for something people have been fighting and working for, for generations.

Comments

[ardhra]

If people just want to centralise the links, you could create a del.icio.us account and then syndicate the feed here on LJ. Or create a comm in which you're the only poster (everyone else as a watcher), disallow comments, and only post links. Both perform the function of sharing the love while keeping commenting restrictions in the hands of individual contributors.

If people want a space to talk about the issues arising from Remyth, that's a different story.

[yeloson.livejournal.com]

A delicious account might be the way to go. Thanks!

[lavendertook.livejournal.com]

Hi! I've been reading some of the project from some of my friends and got the link to the main page that people are sharing there. I've mentioned it to other friends who aren't fans of color. After reading the above, I'm not clear if that is all right, or would you like the circulation of that link to remain limited--for fans of color to pass on and for allies to keep our little paws off of it?

[yeloson.livejournal.com]

Realistically, if you post anything publicly on the internet, you can't control where it goes.

What you may want to consider is this- Remyth doesn't have white folks as the audience, and, going from experience, most white audiences assume POC stories are either a) for their personal entertainment, b) for their appropriation and ownership, c) a "theory" which must be challenged, all of which are the usual reasons that we don't get to have a voice or don't want to share the stories we have left in the first place.

If you find yourself linking to people who come from those viewpoints, and they bring the drama, I wouldn't be surprised if many if not most of the contributors remove their stories and posts, and even disassociate from the project completely (and -I- would do it too).

So people will do whatever they're going to do, but consider that from the standpoint as an ally first.

[pgdudda.livejournal.com]

This is a question I have trouble asking without feeling like I'm trying to co-opt your project (and therefore the narratives in it)...

...because I acknowledge being guilty of some of the white privilege stuff...

...and yet so many of these stories hit home when read through my filter as a deaf person...

...and I end up wondering whether the white privilege trumps the emotional resonance of these stories with these other parts of my identity as a deaf, gay, immigrant and means I should read your comment as a "Stay Out"?

(Not looking for answers. More questions, maybe, but not asking feels more like giving up than asking does.)


[Edit for clarity and forgotten Actual Question I was trying to ask.]

[yeloson.livejournal.com]

Anyone can read whatever is publicly available, no one should demand the stories change in content or tone to fit their comfort zones, whims, or needs.

You'd be amazed at how hard that is for a lot of people.

[maerhys.livejournal.com]

♥