General Discussion : Observation about LitReactor

That's not screamo.  It's fucking Pantera.

I wasn't going to say anything but....

When I recently put forth the name of a certain brilliant writer as a potential instructor who, as it happens is not only "OF COLOUR" but also female? I was told, "No. She's way too black and definitely too vagina-ey. And since you're a woman yourself, why are you even talking?"  

HA! 

What really happened? LitReactor immediately opened a dialogue with the brilliant writer about coming onboard to teach some classes here. Doesn't sound like the response you'd get from an intentionally racist site to me. 

LitReactor is less than 17 months old. In the time I've been on here, the only people I've seen who've had racism, sexism, etc. gripes are the same people I've seen piss someone off in a thread/review. As far as I know, as a site and a group, we are far from a bunch of xenophobic assholes. We do, however, have a real intolerance for internet douchebaggery and typical troll antics found in online forums and in comments sections, so while it is fine to discuss things in the Discussions forums, Todd? We don't appreciate anyone harshing our kumbaya vibe. It fucks with our chi. Regular smart ass comments however are encouraged, and feeding the moderators just makes good sense. 

http://youtu.be/6lg51dzWHJE

Here you go. It should be noted that the part of Jemaine is played by a Maori, which constitutes a racial minority. 

@Todd

I work for LitReactor. Before that, I was a writers' workshop moderator at The Cult. So I've got about four years in with this group.

Here's a few things to consider:

-Dennis never asks for a person's photograph until AFTER he decides to hire them on and add them to the masthead. He's looking at their credentials and what they can bring to the table. He's never inquired about a person's age, gender, race, sexual orientation, religion, etc. The information he asks for is specific to writing, education, and publishing background (if any)...y'know...the things that actually matter since this is a writing-based website.

-Race doesn't dictate a higher knowledge of publishing. If you can explain to me how being black or Japanese or Mexican gives an edge when writing a craft essay or how to properly self-edit, by all means, let us know. 

-Let's play the "what if?" game. I'm imagining Dennis putting out a call for new columnists, posting on Facebook and Twitter: "We're looking for non-white writers to add to the LitReactor team." So now it's not really an issue if the person can or can't write, whether they will/won't get their work done on time. It's become an issue of "we need more color for the sake of it," or as you seem to be saying: color = culture. A Mexican will always write a better story of Latin culture than the non-Mexican, right? Nevermind the research process or any of that. You HAVE to be Mexican in order to understand Mexican culture. Wow, that actually sounds a little racist, doesn't it?

-I'll just go ahead and point out yet again that the founder of this site is Portuguese. Sorry if that's not dark enough for you.

I'll just go ahead and point out yet again that the founder of this site is Portuguese. Sorry if that's not dark enough for you.

Phil's hair is black. 

Does he comb his chest hair?  In pictures it looks as if he does.

i'm part black.

Some of my ancestors were gypsies, so I'm ultimately more qualified than any of you to write about gypsy culture. I will do no research, and it will all be off the top of my head, but goddamnit, there's some gypsies somewhere in my fucking lineage (I think...) so, fuck you.

Any statement that ends with the phrase, "So, fuck you!" is a statement I can get on board with.

Mr. Sullivan is indeed a bore, but he constantly has his ego stroked every time someone takes him semi-seriously. He craves it so much he's willing to be publicly ridiculed.

Ask yourselves: Do you wish to continue stroking him? And are you doing him any favors by it, or are you making his condition worse?

Can we show him kindness by deleting this thread?

I too dabbled in pacifism once, Dude. Not in Nam of course.

I hear you, Strange. I just feel sorry for him.

Well, I don't see it as censorship, but I won't deny there's an argument to be made that it is. 

Is there any way at all to lock it and leave it visible? I would have suggested that initially, but I don't think there is.

Of course there is.  But honestly, nothing incendiary is happening here.  Just irritating and overblown.  I don't have any intention of deleting/blocking/taking a big sloppy edit-dump on this thread.  Seems as if a lot of people are amused by it.  By all means continue!

Its entertainment value has really waned for me so I believe I'll just go back to doing my thing.  If anything really over the top happens, somebody PM me and I'll eventually take a look at it.  Until then, ta-ta, thread!

Just food for thought. Thanks for responding.

Oh but Brandon, I think we're moving too fast here. It's just heavy like for me. I need some space.

Now I ask you, Brandon, as one of the people behind the scenes, why not try something like this and see what happens?

Because we don't hire people based on race, gender, sexual orientation, religion, class, tax bracket, etc. It's based on credentials, education, and background (if any) in publishing...the things that actually matter, as I said. It's a writing-based website that hires writers. The race, gender, sexual orientation, religion, class, tax bracket, etc. of the writer are non-factors, as they should be.   

Hiring on ability and ability alone keeps the hiring process fair and on an even-keel. How does introducing a racial variant NOT compromise that?

If you want to start a writing website that thinks in terms of race-first/ability-second, go ahead and go for it. But to suggest we do this under the grounds of "try it just to see what happens" doesn't make much sense. You don't seem to be comprehending the notion that color doesn't dictate writing ability, nor do any of the other factors that I mentioned.

You also seem to be under the impression that we (the site) have a problem or some kind of a shortcoming stemming from a lack of diversity. I don't agree with you. I don't see anyone jumping in this thread to agree with you. You're the only one who thinks this, so why would we change our entire hiring system based on what ONE person thinks under the pretense of "just to see what happens"? 

I said

No reason to think a Mexican, Chinese, Japanese, Iranian, Venezuelan, or Jordanian person would be common on an English speaking site. Puerto Ricans are some what more likely, but would often be writing in Spanish.

You said in reply:

Again, I have a feeling that with a more diverse cast, comments like this: (quotes my above statement) probably wouldn't be made.

I stand by my statement. It is unlikely many writers from groups the vast majority of don't speak English as their primary language will be on an English language writing site. I'm not saying they can't, never will, won't, or aren't welcome.

The point everyone is making that you just won't address is even if you are right, what can be done about it? You've come up with a ton of 'reason's to support that you are right, but no suggestions. What could be done, short of a race specific recruitment which seems both absurd and possibly illegal in the United States, to remedy the situation? If no one has an answer to that what is the point in having the debate?

Strange, your metaphors are magical.

Todd, how does being a non-white influence a news, craft, or review column? And why do we need that particular influence?

Thanks, Moon, I just say what I think. Well, what I think minus the violent urges and strings of expletives.

Oh, and Todd, home skillet, king of diversity with 20 years in the writing/publishing field...

It's given

And perceive.

Too bad any compass holds little value when you're already facing North.

I like the use of a compass as metaphor, though. And to steal from the great Emancipator - no, not Todd - let me just say that even if this site weren't already facing the right direction, a compass can only point you the right way, but it can't point out the swamps and deserts ahead.

Making an open call to the world for nonwhites, no matter how sincere and genuine the sentiment is, would lead this site right into sinking in a swamp of minorities who have enough self-respect to be insulted by such a call, or into scalding to death in the desert of scorn and de-legitimization in the eyes of the public at large because only a closed, elitist, self-aggrandizing person or group of people would deign to call out for people who are already more than free to come to the site in the first place.

I was thinking about this, and wondered if Todd would stand in a grocery store, see there were only whites in the aisles, and scream that the place was racist and no ethnic foods could ever be prepared properly by these honkies. No? Of course not, because a grocery store, like a LitReactor, is open to all who wish to partake in its wares. It is up to the masses to decide whether they are hungry enough to enter.

Personally, I think that's a good idea, and probably easy enough done. It seems to have been dismissed at hand, but I don't see why it can't be done. As I noted, publishers, magazines, and journals do similar things all the time, asking for more submissions about something in-particular.

If you can't see the difference between journals asking for a specific genre and them asking for contributors of a specific race, well...

Looking at writing through the eyes of people whose backgrounds have giving them a cultuarlly different prism by which they preceive the world makes you more critical of literature itself, allowing you a greater understanding of the art you endeavor in.

and it's been pointed out that there are a ton of different nationalities and social backgrounds here. This isn't about diversity for you, it's about your feeling that you NEED a black person around.

and I want to address something, because it's been alluded to. I'm a Portuguese woman who grew up in a predominantly Hispanic area, and I'll tell you that not being "dark enough" was a big deal for me an my cultural identity growing up, so yeah, I do feel a bit... Weird... With some one waltzing in here and acting as though that particular ethnicity "doesn't count" especially when you SAY you're talking about culture...like my family doesn't have a rich culture? Portugal isn't an interesting place with its own culture an history? Further, that same Portuguese founder lives in a different country than Portugal. But again, the site lacks "cultural" diversity.

no, I don't think that's what you mean. But I wanted to thank you for coming in here and reminding me of what it is like to be marginalized for being "the wrong" minority. I'm sure that was your intent, right?