Persecution is endemic in the vicious world of Young Adult publishing
It was Lionel Shriver who saw the writing on the wall.
Giving a keynote speech at the Brisbane Writers Festival three years ago in which she decried the scourge of modern identity politics, Shriver observed that the dogma of ‘cultural appropriation’ —which demands no less than complete racial segregation in the arts — had not yet wrapped its osseous fingers around the publishing industry.
But, she warned: ‘This same sensibility is coming to a bookstore near you.’
Reader, it has come.
Continue reading HERE
Chris The Story Reading Ape's Blog 
Reblogged this on Claire Plaisted – Indie Author and commented:
Enjoyed the read, however, I can hardly believe some of the idiotic thrusts of words from some authors in this article… Why do some US Authors think they were the only country with a history of slavery..re-one book mentioned in this article. On top of this, the book was fantasy fiction. People really need to get over themselves.
I was reading in the news yesterday about North Korean women being sold into sex slavery just yesterday. Slavery is bad for any human, no matter their ethnic origin. We are…after all …born in the image of God.
Read my YA Fantasy…it is full of multi-cultural young adults …however, they aren’t really human either…lol…except one.
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Claire, some of the US authors you may be referring to understand and are pointing out that slavery in the United States was based upon the false narrative of race, through the lens of white supremacy’s belief that people of African descent were subhuman. Then you must consider the one-drop blood rule that defines any person with black ancestry (no matter how non-“black” they look is considered “black”. It’s truly a stupid rule meant to keep people down based on something they have no control of. Slavery in the US is a major problem because it has left a major stain on our country’s history, and the trauma it caused is still creating aftershocks in the present. Laws have made passed, decided “illegal” time and time again because just because something is lawful doesn’t make it righteous. Laws come and go because the hearts of men are desperately wicked. Laws do NOT change hearts or minds. Until this gaping disease called “racism” is addressed and discussed properly, these aftershocks will continue. I think every person (especially United States citizens) should read “Slavery by Another Name” by Douglas A. Blackmon. Or at least watch the documentary on YouTube for free. It’s a meager start, but a start nonetheless. For example, as a black woman living in the USA, I am treated much differently than other people of color (this includes “white” people) on a regular basis. And until experiences like mine are taken seriously and addressed, this issue won’t be resolved. I agree with you that we are all children of God, but which God? Blond hair, blue-eyed white “Jesus”?
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Jesus was blonde and blue eyes…blame the 15th century artists for that one. To me it is in the image of God not the colour of God. I see us all as Humans first…I maybe white in colour though i married into a muti cultural family and live in a multi cultural society which I love. I love the culture and the heritage. I am shocked at how racist the UK has become too.
However my point about the book was it didn’t sound like it was based in the USA rather it was based in Europe and or Russia which also had slavery. While I was in the UK last year I was told not to let my daughters visit various places due to kidnapping and white sex slave trade…Yeah I’m horrified to any type of slavery for any culture. As humans we should treat each other as equals. I would treat you exactly how i’d preferred to be treated. I have seen racism right in from of me. Wasn’t amused at all… It’s a sad world today.
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I feel that recognising the difference between reality and fiction has become blurred – books, tv, movies…
Even when writing or talking about a real event it is still only from one perspective. It’s all very well to get into a book and feel yourself involved but that is not real just a good creative writer has succeeded. As has already been mentioned, research is important to know your subject, theme, setting, characters etc. Perhaps in larger font on the copyright page, a disclaimer saying something like: “this is a work of fiction, fantasy (or whatever genre), some of the setting has been altered or created, and the characters wear a collection of past attitudes that are not necessarily acceptable today.” Anything which does have violence, racism, and the many other atrocious attitudes then that needs to have it’s own additional warning.
Bottom-line is if a reader doesn’t like a book and its possible content and intent then it’s quite simple – don’t read it.
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I suspect they stopped reading after they found something to object to, Suzanne – or were told about something to look for!!!
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Why do people relate fiction to fact, per se history? It stumps me that as writers of any genre whether it be literary, sci-fi, fantasy, spec-fic, sui generis, etc we are creating “other” worlds to get out of the racist, bigoted realism that we all live in. Writers are only drawing from that multicultural melting pot. Lionel Shriver is right – it’s censorship at its worst!
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Reblogged this on adaratrosclair and commented:
This topic is . . . complicated. Once upon a time (two years ago to be exact) I wrote a story centering on a bi-ethnic girl (half-Black and half-Japanese). I was told that because I wasn’t Japanese I would receive criticism (as an appetizer to the vitriolic shaming a la meat-tenderizing) to follow. I learned from the wonderful author, Linda Sue Park (A LONG WALK TO WATER) that writing outside of your ethnic group is okay so long as you do it intelligently, sensitively, and knowledgeable. There’s more to it than that and I will most likely write more about my experience and this new trend (yes, please oh please, let this be a passing trend) where even when writers are sincere, passionate, compassionate, and accurate in their story-telling are bullied and shamed into writing self-centered memoirs. Write what you know has taken on a sinister, new meaning. :*(
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Oh goodness. I have so many typos. *knowledgeably not knowledgeable* Ughhhh! Is it summer yet – real summer? Lol.
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LOL – Don’t worry, Monique – we understood what you meant ❤
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More decades ago than I’d care to admit, my college courses included sociology and history classes that went beyond the normal Western traditions. Like “Red, White and Black” history, for example–that included Native Americans who were more literate than that the Caucasians for forced them onto the Trail of Tears.
Taken together, the courses reveal that slavery, racism and other forms of oppression have been around for thousands of years on every continent and most islands. Similarly, cultures have evolved by incorporating knowledge, behavior, speech and more as immigrants or invaders settle in new places. I’m guessing, but suspect self-absorbed trolls assume anything they read is about them or about what they know–and what they know may be much less than those they critique.
Fiction will be less rich if one can include no descriptive details of characters lest someone complain. I will likely never write an YA fiction. Thankfully, I don’t need to supplement my retirement by big bucks book sales. So I really don’t care if anybody DID troll anything I do write–whatever audience my books might be targeted to. That’s their problem, not mine.
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Well said, Sir.
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Agreed, John
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Actually, a lot of these twits professing to be anti-racist are worse than the most blatant racists. Their rants have little rhyme or reason and they should be told to go and dribble quietly in a corner somewhere.
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As a former police officer and a writer of Police Adventures, I was asked about Police Abuse in the black community. I had to admit I was the wrong person to ask about it. The towns I worked didn’t have a black community. Indeed, in Conejos County, I can recall only one black man and he and I were friends (he was a local teacher and the kids and community loved him). But racism isn’t just about white and black. It can be white and Hispanic, Hispanic and oriental, even white against white or Hispanic against Hispanic. Racism takes some funny faces, and can be found in economic classes, religious settings, and so on.
The first place I ever worked Law Enforcement with a large number of different races was in the Military, and even that was weird. For instance, if a white guy came in and said a bunch of black guys jumped him and beat him up, there was a 99.9999% probability he was a liar. The reverse was true of a black guy making that claim. But if a white guy came in and told you a bunch of white guys jumped him and beat him up, he was probably telling the truth. The same was true for a black guy making a claim of a bunch of black guys beating him up. There was very little friction between the races, and they seemed to get along just find. But among themselves, well, that’s a different story.
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Tribalism has become a terrible thing, William.
What probably started off as a survival technique (uniting family and friends against a common enemy or danger) has developed into a despicable thing that nowadays is called racism – It’s a great pity more folks don’t understand (mainly because they don’t want to) that we are all one species (or race) of human – regardless of colour or ethnicity – there is no such thing as different races of humans – all the other human races are extinct.
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And, hopefully we present-day humans won’t follow our earlier ancestors into extinction Chris. In love and friendship there is no race or colour, simply love and friendship. As the old hymn has it, “the creed, and the colour and the name won’t matter, I’ll be there”. I am agnostic, but those are fine and beautiful words with which (in a non-religious sense) I agree.
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Thanks for sharing this article, Chris.
I recently listened to the complete audio edition of Treasure Island from Audible. As someone who is blind, I was struck by the author’s portrayal of “Blind Pugh”. Pugh is violent. He physically and verbally abuses Jim and is feared by his fellow pirates. Where Treasure Island to have been written today, I have little doubt that the author would be roundly condemned for portraying a blind/visually impaired person in a negative light.
While I am surprised by the portrayal of Pugh, one can make a good case that the author does not patronise disabled people. Indeed he shows (rightly) that people who are disabled can be just as vicious as non-disabled people. Indeed, in the case of Pugh he is even more fearsome than many of his fellow pirates.
I, personally, have come up against this idea that only those with direct experience of something have any right to express a view on it. In my case, I responded to a post by a black lady who expressed the view that only those with dark skin should teach black children about slavery. I, very politely disagreed with her perspective, and expressed my disagreement (in measured terms) on a comment on her blog, and via a post on my own website which linked back to the blogger’s original post. My comment was never published and I received such a tyraid of abuse on my own site that, for the first time ever I closed comments on my post.
Some time later the originator of the article contacted me and said that she haden’t approved my comment as it might cause offense/upset to her followers. My own perspective on the matter is that the blogger in question was not prepared to accept any view which contradicted her own, consequently, rather than engaging in debate she blocked me and, I suspect anyone else who dared to question her viewpoint.
This is a worrying trend and we risk creating either a very bland literary landscape where no one dares say anything mildly controversial, or a milder version of Orwell’s 1984.
Sorry for the long response.
Best – Kevin
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To qualify the above a little. I do believe that anyone writing about a group with whom they are unfamiliar would be wise to consider carrying out in-depth research prior to publishing their work. For example anyone who is not blind (and does not know any visually impaired people) would be wise to read up on the experiences of those with visual impairments and (ideally) interview people who are visually impaired. This would add to the authenticity of their story. So its not about being “politically correct”, simply being a good author researcher. However the bottom line remains that anyone has the right to write about whatever they wish and they certainly shouldn’t be attacked for expressing views and/or portraying groups in a manner which others dislike. If someone portrays a blind person (or the blind in general) as objects of pity, I will take issue with that portrayal not because the author does not have the right to express that perspective in literature (they do), but because it is inaccurate and my criticism would be based on the inaccurate portrayal, not on a demand that the author should withdraw his/her work.
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Agreed, Kevin
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Absolutely right you have to research it out. I’ve a draft for one my characters have a bit of an adventure. It’s the ultimate cold case, and involves a black police officer we met in Book 2. Everyone calls him Jonesy. His wife gives him a subscription to Ancestry.com, and in the course of researching his lineage, he comes across something that shocks and terrifies him. having to know the truth, he goes and does an on ground investigation, going through old records and the recollections of people.
Here’s the problem. I’m not black (there is some in the old family tree, but like my Native American, not enough anymore to brag about). It’s going to take a lot of work to get it right.
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Your response is appreciated, Kevin – imagination is part of our humanism and contributed, or even driven, our technological progress. Unfortunately, it has also created God, Devils and leads us to that darkest of all traits – righteous indignation. While It is good that we should be mindful of others, it should be balanced by common sense, in my opinion.
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Thanks, Chris. We certainly shouldn’t be walking on egg shells for fear that we might, just possibly offend someone. It always amuses me when people apologise for saying “see you later” because they (mistakenly) believe that I, as a blind person will be offended by this oft used expression. In fact I frequently use it myself without even thinking about it. So, chris, “see you around”, or do I mean “see you later?”
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Both are better than “catch you later” which could imply that you are the hunter and me the prey, or me the criminal and you the Law LOL
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This is discouraging. Unfortunately, there is no way of “winning” in this controversy since that isn’t what trolling is about. The only characters that we can claim to be authorities on are ourselves, and a book about me would be a really boring book in my mind.
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I’ve been following this persecution for some time and I’m shocked at what’s being said – and frightened. First off, Zhao’s book set in a Slavic world with indentured labour; isn’t slavery a global issue – not just on one continent? Second, if writers can only write what they know, where are the alien writers? Third, and personally, as a WASP hetero writer – albeit disabled – what happens to my WIP with a queer MC? I’m not even a policewoman or Welsh.
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I have no answers, Roland
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Fortunately, I aim to use diversity/sensitivity readers – when I find them. But I fear that the ‘trolls’ ignore what they want – as a retired equestrian journalist and organiser, when my debut novel was published, someone accused me of not knowing about the horse-world.
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Haters will hate whatever they want to 😎
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Serfdom was only abolished in Russia in the mid 19th-century and the liberal Czar was asasinated by revolutionaries for his humane and courageous act. So you are right, slavery/serfdom is a world-wide issue.
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