I've been trying to organize an Algonquin Round Table style elitist lit group where we would gather at certain snooty establishments, sip the finest cognac out of gilded snifters, discuss and more importantly deride the current state of literature. Except for the good stuff which (of course) would all be written by us. That would be universally praised, ad nauseum and so forth.
I would be the Edna Ferber of the group, obviously. So far no takers. I'm serious about it too. Most days I want to suck the creativity from other writers' brains and set it in a jar for my own personal use at a later date. This would be a convenient way to surreptitiously accomplish the task, like herding sheep. Not that I'm generally surreptitious but supposing I were I certainly wouldn't be advertising it, if ya know what I mean.
I'm kidding...
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You Left Your Typewriter at my Apartment
1 week ago
7 comments:
You're "white" funny.
What the heck kind of a racist comment is that?
I'm not "white" anything, thank you very much.
Lol. I apologize reverend Jackson.
I disagree. That's not an apology and that statement is just as condescending and ignorant as the first one.
What I wonder is why you would make the first comment and then fake apologize for it if you didn't truly believe it when you wrote it?
You don't have to apologize to me for anything that you think, but I asked you a question in my first response which you didn't answer.
What the heck kind of a racist comment is that?
I can't reconcile your goal in posting that. Surely you didn't expect me to laugh at that statement and if you did come to that conclusion I fail to see how you could ever think a black person could think that comment is funny unless they were a total self-loathing sycophant.
The only thing I can think is that you wanted to take a shot at me or something and you certainly reinforced that with your Tim Hardaway-esque unapology.
You want to have dialogue, fine. But this blog isn't a platform for you to make snarky comments at my expense.
To answer your question, it is not a racist comment. It is a comment based on stereotype. My second comment was a response to your comment.
I am not a racist. It was not a racist comment; therefore, I labeled you a race baiter by referring to you as Reverend Jackson. That was a bit out of line but, in my defense, I thought you were joking. What I should have done was explain myself.
Explanation...
My comment was of poor design and does not represent my opinion of your post. I was just trying to emulate the elitist (snooty) members of your group. I don't think you are a total self-loathing sycophant but I have a feeling that your group members would. Think of my comment as a companion piece.
Honestly, I think your post is very funny and very well written. It is currently my favorite post from this blog. It is short, witty, intelligent, thought provoking, not to mention, I have experienced the very people you're talking about. The funny thing is you most recent comment is just as entertaining and thought provoking as the blog post itself.
I can see how my comment could be considered an attack on you... but only if it was written by someone you don't know. I think you know me pretty well. I know you've experienced plenty of miss-fires when I try to be funny. Maybe the race issue is clouding how you would normally react. I have a feeling that if this were a verbal exchange you would’ve socked me in the mouth.
This is the internet and a comment without context is just that. The words stand on their own left for the reader to interpret and without any additional physical cues, like facial reaction and tone of voice that interpretation can be a mystery if the clarity isn't provided in the words themselves.
Obviously, I've known you many years but I would never claim with any certainty to prejudge a person's intent. Personal history hasn't prevented others from saying mindbogglingly horrific things to my face, assuming that I'd just think it's okay because we were tight.
And really, you never truly know someone, no matter how much you think you do.
So, water under the bridge.
Lastly, I'm not the type of person to punch my way through a conversation. If we can't sort it out through dialogue, even if that means agreeing to disagree, then I'm probably walking away from the conversation.
I suspect, had this happened in person, it would've been sorted out from jump.
I have always thought that Internet conversations leave a lot unsaid. At the same time, a lot is lost in translation as if we're each writing in a different language and using 3rd party translation software. Your analysis is right on.
You're also right about what would happen if this started out face to face. Remember our first interaction... I know you love it when I bring this up. Lol. You wanted to sock me in the mouth for what I said. We talked things over and straightend things out. What I thought and what I said out loud turned our to be drastically different.
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