as small as a world and as large as alone, lichgem: zozi-in-wonderland: andromedalogic: ...

2:45pm June 17, 2014

zozi-in-wonderland:

andromedalogic:

People really, really hate when people talk a certain way here on tumblr.

By “a certain way” I mean all the ways that do not fit under a kind of talking steeped in a particular cliquey social context.

A lot of talk about language accessibility focuses on plain language, and not using so much jargon, which is important. But there’s also this use of — social jargon? Of prescriptive and exclusive tones, certain tones are acceptable and others are not.

Things that make SJ discussions inaccessible, that don’t have to do with the hardness or exclusivity of words:

valuing sarcasm, snark, and a kind of condescending in-the-know tone over a matter-of-fact one

assuming things about people’s lived experiences from the way they talk, and ignoring the content of what they’re saying

a culture of ridicule for minor transgressions

making fun of people for asking questions

not taking a person’s statement seriously because that statement is phrased using different words or logic than the kind you espouse

not accepting words like “nice” and “mean”, “good” and “bad” as appropriate moral judgments — something being “mean” is not enough to make it bad, and it’s assumed that a person using the word “mean” should either use the word “oppressive,” or doesn’t think oppression is bad.

disbelief when people express opinions that aren’t the opinions you expect them to have

laughing at people who don’t understand sarcasm or snark, and refusing to explain it to them

assuming there is no dissent about a particular topic among the people in a given community, or if there is dissent, those who dissent “don’t count” or are not worth listening to, or have drunk some kind of societal kool-aid.

yuppppppppp

It really frustrates me that people can completely turn something that’s supposed to be about being good to people into rampant bullying. And not even see that this is what it is. Because there are people who are “right” and people who are “wrong,” and only “wrong” people will have a problem with the bullying, and only “wrong” people get bullied, so we don’t have a problem here, see? Any criticism or objection is just wrong people trying to get out of getting their just desserts/not understanding oppression well enough.

I think a good rule of thumb to follow is “be extremely careful whenever you feel justified.” People can do extremely cruel and unfair things when they feel it’s justified, and it’s a slippery slope.