Via Andy Brokaw.
As a straight, white, mostly able-bodied male, I know that there are a few people (not many) who wish I would just stop writing, solely based on my demographic. Fortunately, there are plenty who are OK with me lending my voice to diversity and representation, even if I don’t always get it right.
Originally shared by Troy
We live in a world where someone takes a webcomic strip that agrees with the worldview they want to project and say “This.” As if it’s the most powerful statement anyone can say. The world is too complex for such simplistic, knee-jerk meme sharing.
Lines of attack like this are being used on people who are actually minority individuals. It happened to an author friend of mine – the attack claimed they were a straight white male “cashing in.”
So we agree as a society that white people can’t write people of colour. Then the next step is to say, well, so-and-so is Asian. He can’t write a black character. Then, so-and-so is cisgender. She can’t write a transgender character – or the reverse. So-and-so is Christian. Xe can’t write a Muslim character.
Then: you can’t play a Vulcan, because you’re a human.
The alt-right is led by people who are actually quite smart and capable of spreading damaging ideas and lines of reason. They actually want this, too. They don’t want white straight males (who are frankly in the majority of novel sales) creating stories that empower minority groups and inspire them to write. Or inspire young minds with heroes and cultures, giving them the power to reject empty racist arguments. The business of mythmaking is a serious one.
