It’s been quite a week. On Thursday, I woke up and could find neither clip nor transcript of Daniel Handler’s racist joke at the National Book Awards. So I made one and offered a few comments. I said:
For a powerful white author to make a watermelon joke when handing
out an award to a black author, the message is – no matter what you
write, no matter what you do, no matter what you accomplish, you will
always be a BLACK author, not just an author.
Handler has since apologized and put a lot of money where is mouth is, supporting We Need Diverse Books. And we do need them. Please donate if you can.
The piece went viral, at least in terms of this blog’s history, with tens of thousands of views. It’s been cited on Salon, The Mary Sue (one of my favorite sites!), The Guardian, Lee and Low publisher’s blog, Raw Story, Smart Bitches Trashy Books, Melville House Publisher’s blog. The SF Chronicle referred to me as “many on social media.” That’s Dr. Many on Social Media to you!
Anyway, it’s been lively. Thank you all for reading and sharing.
But what I really want you to read are these two guest posts.
- Ellen Arnold on the way we compare historical disasters. It’s not about size of the disaster, but the human scale. Each life matters.
- Amy McNally on what you should when someone tells you they are considering suicide.
I don’t do many guest posts, so believe these are worth your time. Please share them if you will.
Other posts:
I wrote my first piece for Reproductive Health Reality Check with a related blog post, as I continue to try and develop a better pro-choice, pro-information, anti-eugenic rhetoric. I’m hopeful that RHRC will be a good space for that project.
I wrote a long blog about definitions of autism and the pushback against Seinfeld. I feel it comes from a poor understanding of disability, one with dangerous consequences.
I wrote quick pieces about questions for the NEH Chairman and the death of Tanesha Anderson – Another Disabled Person killed by police.
As always, thanks for reading! See you next week.